I've had a couple of leftover bags from a case of 1984 MREs that I saved for a future review, and one of them was definitely not a "thing" haha..for your reading/viewing pleasure I present Chicken a la King (the main has a date code of 4098).
Here's a shot of the contents (yep, I got the unfortunate opportunity of having to try out some 33 year old cheese spread, but luckily it didn't leak or purge its nastyness; everything was in excellent condition..except for, umm, well you know).
-The main
-Fruitcake produced March 3rd, 1984
-Crackers and cheese spread
-Cocoa Beverage Powder, Type 1
-Accessory Packet A (no candy)
I'll get this out of the way right now: the crackers were toasted, crunchy, lightly salted..simply delicious. There was absolutely NO WAY I'd ruin and disrespect these crackers by even getting them within close proximity of an
open pack of 33 year old cheese spread! But here they are, side by side.
This was triple wrapped in old newspaper and tin foil, then thrown away after checking in out. Vile with an absolutely disgusting smell of old, spoiled dairy, chalk and vitamins...weird.
Folks, the Chicken a la King was fantastic! It has great, fresh color with only the lightest hint of a metallic taste. It was barely noticeable! I've had much stronger hits of metallic flavor in MRE retort mains that were 20 years older, and those were inedible! Not this puppy..flakey chunks of mostly white chicken, firm green peas, red bell pepper and only a few mushrooms. I usually get a dog food type smell from some of these meals, but nothing of the sort! There was something that appeared to be a filler of sorts, it could have been the food starch & wheat flour.
The fruitcake tasted soooooo good people! It sure doesn't photograph well with the dark walnuts, but make no mistake, these nuts were fresh with absolutely no rancidity or bitterness..perfect!!! The raisins, pineapple and cherries were delicious! Cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon rounded out this fabulous dessert and the aroma was well balanced. Typically cloves overpower anything it's paired up with, but not in this case...plus the pineapple and cherries had a nice firm crunch to them (just like the cherry nutcakes, I totally love those!)
The coffee instant (2.2 grams) and the cocoa beverage were perfect too (along with the creamer and sugar..no clumping!) I prefer my coffee instant to be strong, so I usually go with 4 fluid ounces rather than 8. Add creamer and sugar, and that's a nice cup o' joe my friends!
I'm nearing my photo upload limit so I guess that I'll wrap this up..oh, the gum. DONT EVER go into this old MRE gum like you would with something newer folks. I didn't hurt myself but your apt to crack or lose a tooth if you don't go slow! Be careful!
This meal was so damn fresh you guys, I'm not even exaggerating or joking around. I had a couple more photos of the Chicken a la KING that I wish there were room to add. It was perfect, and so was this fruitcake. What a meal! I still have a case of 1982 brown bags (still double banded) that came from the same lot..I can't wait to check them out and share with you guys. Well, I have some KING to finish in my kitchen! Take it easy!
