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One night, I was browsing around on eBay for some MREs, namely some produced in the early 2000s when my dad would bring home cases of them for us to eat. Keep in mind that they were more of a treat, not a meal replacement. So, we weren't allowed to eat them all of the time, but on occasion. I really wanted to relive that experience and try to find some produced from 2000-2004 or so. I came accross this meal. I didn't know the production date as the listing did not include it, but it was the post-2007 bag design so I made a smarty pants bid on one for $0.99 and somehow managed to win it!

I present to you a 2005 Beef Stew MRE. You can't really tell by looking at the picture, but it was produced on "5265". Let's get it all laid out. The first thing I decided to do was to put the entree in the FRH. Sadly, it no longer worked. Feeling hungry and lazy, I decided to rip into regardless. Cold MREs aren't that bad!

Next, let's look at the strawberry dairy shake. It tasted pretty good and just like the ones produced today. We're off to a good start! What about the chocolate sports bar. I don't recall anything quite like that, so I'm curious. Inside the initial packaging was a wrapped protein bar. Here's what it looks like, party eaten along with the crackers. It still tasted great! And now onto the beef stew. I realize the picture probably doesn't do it a whole lot of justice, but I don't think this one held up. It didn't smell bad either! It tasted and smelled exactly like pumpkin pie, oddly enough. And just in time for Thanksgiving, too! But I was too curious to stop there. I took a quick bite of it and had to spit it out. It didn't taste bad, but it did not taste at all like any Beef Stew MRE I've had. I had one from 1987 and another from 2014 and those both tasted the same. That would lead one to believe that they've probably followed a similar recipe in that time in between.

The coffee was dry molded, so that was also a loss. Oh well, I do have a large turkey dinner to look forward to. In a way, it's probably a good thing that I didn't eat the whole thing.

Thanks for reading, and happy Thanksgiving all!

It's sad when MREs go bad.

The dry molded coffee is a common problem with "old" MREs, the beef stews has "white spots"

shawker71 wrote:It's sad when MREs go bad.

It is, indeed. One has to wonder how all of the other components stay so fresh, yet the main course didn't make it. 2005 really doesn't feel that long ago, but I guess it kind of was.

housil wrote:the beef stews has "white spots"

I'm really curious about that. Where does it come from and how does it form? I'm just shocked that a 1987 beef stew still tastes good whereas a 2005 one has gone bad. I guess storage conditions really mean a lot.

I'm really curious about that. Where does it come from and how does it form? I'm just shocked that a 1987 beef stew still tastes good whereas a 2005 one has gone bad. I guess storage conditions really mean a lot.

Usually it´s fat that separated. Did you warm the the stew up?
Yes - storage is the key.

housil wrote:Did you warm the the stew up?

No, but I should have now that you mention that was fat. Oh well, it's not like I was planning to eat it. The FRH failed and I wasn't up for hunting around for a newer one that worked.

SentientTootsieRoll wrote: The FRH failed and I wasn't up for hunting around for a newer one that worked.

Next time, add a dash of salt into the FRH.