1998 Long Range Patrol: Chicken Stew (Menu No. 1)

[SentientTootsieRoll]

I'm back again with yet another LRP review. This is a 1998 Food Packet: Long Range Patrol, Chicken Stew menu. I've never had this one before, so naturally I'm looking forward to it. Let's take a look, shall we?

Great! Looking good as always. First, we have some mysterious candies. I unraveled the packaging and out came some Tootsie Rolls, one of my favorite candies as I'm sure no one around here could have possibly guessed. Second, we have an oatmeal cookie bar, a treasure as always, although not chocolate covered this time, but that's okay! (Would you believe I've had oatmeal cookies in the least three rations I've had?). We also have a corn flake bar, this ought to be interesting as I've never had this before. We also have chicken stew and apple cider along with an accessory packet.

In short, I will list everything off:
- Candy 1 (4x Tootsie Rolls)
- Oatmeal Cookie Bar
- Chicken Stew. Cooked, Dehydrated
- Corn Flake Bar
- Beverage Base Powder, Apple Cider
- Accessory packet containing:
- 2x Toilet Paper
- Gum
- Matches
- Iodized salt
- Taster's Choice coffee
- Domino sugar
- Creamer

Closeup of the oatmeal cookie bar, chicken stew and Tootsie Rolls for those interested.

Let's break open the Chicken Stew and prepare it, my curiosity awaits!

And here be dragons! A near 20 year old ration ready to be ingested. I really have no qualms when it comes to eating a freeze dried ration. From my experience, no matter what their age is they all tend to be good, and I doubt this will be an exception.

The chicken stew entree tasted very good, I was pretty impressed. Basically, it's just a version of the beef stew wherein the beef was simply replaced with chicken. Aside from that, I didn't see any differences. So, that definitely earns my seal of approval. The oatmeal cookie and corn flake bar were okay, but perhaps a little on the stale side, and dare I say they tasted a bit like those dog treats. Perhaps a bit of a disappointment, but the Tootsie Rolls were still pretty good. They were a bit more chewy and sticky then new ones, and they definitely tasted a bit aged. I could also tell that they had picked up some flavor from that paper they were wrapped in. Still, not too bad!

The Apple Cider left me jaw-droppingly impressed. I prepped it with cold water just to be different and my taste buds were serenaded with a pleasing balance of sweetness and artificial apple flavoring. It was fantastic! Easily one of the high points of this ration, and it mixes very well with cold water, at least when compared to store bought cider. As with the last 1998 LRP I tried, the Taster's Choice coffee was dry molded. I'm sure that's a surprise to absolutely no one at this point. Not to worry, I replaced it with some newer coffee I had laying around and used the creamer and sugar in that. It sufficed, thus I was able to enjoy a complete ration.

Overall, I was pretty satisfied with this one. I'm sure some parts of it would've tasted better 15 years ago but even the worst parts were not that bad. All things considered, this ended up being a fun experience!

[steve1989]

Another fantastic review, Sentient.

Chicken Stew is one of the best - and the white gravy & kinda chewy chunks of chicken really do give a "chicken pot pie" without the crust sorta feel to me.

Too bad your bars got kinda tainted - I recently had an oatmeal cookie bar that tasted off... and dog treat is a great way to describe it. haha!

That old LRP/RCW apple cider is sweet, tart, and very aromatic of spice. The most stimulating and enjoyable instant cider in a ration.

There is something strange about 95% of all red color Taster's Choice packets - whether they are in with tobasco sauce or not they dry mold. Packaging must be inferior in some way and air almost always gets in. I wish I knew the answer to the culprit of what does that.

Thank you for sharing yet another fun and exciting ration experience.