US 2010 MRE Menu 10 - Chili and Macaroni

[Synthpeter]

Girlfriend at work all afternoon and evening, so I figured it was time to try my second MRE.
I picked the next menu from my pile.
It was an Ameriqual MRE with date code 0061, Menu 10 - Chili and Macaroni.

I set the video camera and got to work.
Video review first and then text version with just two freeze frames below.




The Pork sausage patty I had before (which was my first MRE impression) really wasn't to my liking.
I mean it was OK, but .. a tasted a bit like "compressed something with herbs", however this chili was actually quite good.
There was corn bread in this MRE, which I've never had before. It was really nice! Similar to "sockerkaka" in Swedish...
It was soft and juicy, a bit oily, kind of sweet. Very nice!
As snack there was a bag of dehydrated cranberries.
The boring bland dry crackers were there, but this time there was a bag of cheese spread with jalapeno. It really turned the crackers into something nice to go with the macaroni and chili. Perfect combination!
The macaroni themselves were not exactly "al dente", more over-cooked, but I guess they were OK for a 7 year old MRE. The chili was mildly spiced and tasted fine, as as expected. I got a small bag of red pepper to use for extra spice on the chili which was nice. Only used a tiny bit of it as I like my food to retain some of its actual flavour and not just drown it in hot spices.
There was a bag of tropical skittles: a necessity for every soldier!
The main beverage was lemonade (yellow stuff, mix with 600mL / 20 fl oz water) and some apple cider beverage mix (brown stuff, mix with 180mL / 6 fl oz water) which was found in the accessories bag.
There was no coffee or hot beverage in the bag though, which was a bit of a surprise. I thought they all had that.
Apart from that there was the usual paper tissues, salt and towelette.
Gum was cinnamon flavour, which was also a first for me. It's not that common in Sweden but it was nice with a cinnamon flavored gum with a tiny hint of mint.

So here's a view of everything on a tray.


I had to save most of the cranberries and skittles for later, as I was quite full up after eating the chili, crackers and the delicious corn bread.
Also they're super sweet and I don't think I need all that sugar at once.

I didn't edit the video yet, but I guess I'll do that in the coming days and upload it.

The corn bread... mmm.... Hope it's common in these MREs

Happy New MRE-Year from Sweden!

[shawker71]

Good review. The cornbread surely is a tasty bite. Sadly I think it only comes with chili menus.

[parafireboy]

Good review! The cheese spread certainly does help make the crackers a good part of the meal. I'd take the cheese spread over the peanut butter any day. The cornbread in this menu is definitely a nice addition, agreed! Unfortunately, the cornbread is pretty limited, and since 2011 it only comes with the chili and beans MRE.

[Synthpeter]

Uploaded the edited review video to youtube and updated the first post with a link.
I get a bit confused by there existing both an "MRE Reviews" section and an "MRE/Ration Videos" section.
Where do review videos go?

[Wolfsbane]

Synthpeter, just wondering if you've seen fellow Swede's "The Swan of Tuonela" or "Emelie Learning Bushcraft" on YouTube ?

[Synthpeter]

Synthpeter, just wondering if you've seen fellow Swede's "The Swan of Tuonela" or "Emelie Learning Bushcraft" on YouTube ?

Hi,
No I haven't.

I've seen a link to "Emelie Learning Bushcraft" as a recommended video, but never actually viewed any videos, just checked what her list of videos looked like.
Sorry if I sound sexist, but I get a bit put off by seeing only freeze-frames of her own posing face in basically every video. Gives me a feeling that she's using her "looks" to get views. Show what you're doing instead of showing yourself. At least that's what the thumbnails tell me. Still, it might be nice to see someone actually trying bushcraft in Sweden, not in some other countries where you have different resources that need different techniques. But why the make-up posing in the thumbnails? A bit like "emmymadeinjapan" videos. It's just a close-up of her face with styled hair etc and you see her biting into something. And she's got MILLIONS of views. I don't get it. Makes me wonder why people watch her. Want to show your face? Do it like "Crazy Russian Hacker" and show it as part of what you're doing, don't let it be the focus of every video. But, emmymadeinjapan is successful, as is Crazy Russian Hacker, so what do I know. Maybe I'm a bit too judgemental, but whatever Just trying to make my point.

As for "The Swan of Tuonela", no I never heard of her before. Actually she seems to be from Finland, but I guess that's close enough from anybody not from Europe Looked at her video list now and it seems to be only political stuff. Not interested. Sorry.

Why do you ask, if I may ask? I thought you were going to ask if I've been watching "The Magnus"

I'm not an outdoors person myself. It's tempting to try it out sometimes, but I'm too comfortable with staying at home. I do enjoy watching "Primitive Technology"'s videos though. He doesn't say a single word (!) throughout all his videos.
OK he's running around wearing only his dirty shorts, but it seems genuine to me. Yes, he's got a bare upper body, but he's also barefoot, so he's not half-naked just to show off

[pjc71]

i have a 2013 packed one and i was worried about trying it well after seeing this not any more the us mre really last well

[elkabong]

Hey, I just got a case of 2011 MREs, any idea what the condition of your case was (TTI)? Trying to guesstimate how roached this one will be.