Examining 1968 DoP MCI B-1A, B-2, & B-3A Units (+Extras)

[rationtin440]

What you mentioned about the poundcake steve, it just proves my point that when an MCI component started going bad, it wanted everyone to know as soon as the can was opened, kinda like an alarm of sorts, but like I said, we were pretty lucky since I never got sick and I don't recall us ever treating a case of food poisoning from MCIs (not much we could do in the field anyway). The MREs on the other hand? I'll have to relate a personal horror story in the off-topic section. Pretty ironic once you read it.

[steve1989]

Yessir, the visual, smell, taste (in that order) test has saved me more times than I can count!

Actually just picked up a case of MCI's with an October 1980 DoP last week for a very fair deal.

Went along and just safely removed the bands this evening by slipping them off, and although this case has some dings, the inner contents are beautiful - I of course am taking pictures but I really got excited and had to relay this message first.

I want to first tell you I opened up Ham and Eggs, Chopped first. The Pear Quarters leaked and are dry. Oddly enough the leak isn't nearly as bad as expected and most of the moisture simply evaporated in the can leaving it in great condition.
Opened the B-1 Unit and found your Vanilla Fudge Bar!! rationtin440, & thought of ya as soon as I saw the thing.Wondering if it's still edible since I just ate a whole cracker - the cracker just wasn't all that great. I had ones from 1968 that I enjoyed more in the past.

I really want to do these Ration's justice - this time my photo set's surface is a Army Green Wool Blanket and a solid black background. Hopefully these pictures turn out better than some of my recent sets. I try different methods and some work, some do not. Thinking I ought to stick to mainly dark non fabric surfaces too. Even this wool blanket may not be good for when I get crumbs or something spilling. Will try it out on this first one and maybe I will change it up as needed.

Also,its best to open all the cans from the bottom for presentation before replacing them in the boxes, they can have an almost guaranteed indefinite storage integrity and we don't have to worry about bursting cans later down the road. Plus, the best part is, we can see the stuff (well, once I get these photos up.). I am taking the pictures with my old trusty Coolpix P500 - although not the absolute highest Megapixel option, the photos upload more efficiently and they require less load time to view.


This is one is going to keep me busy!

[rationtin440]

Ah yes, the infamous ham w/eggs Actually the old adage "if you drown it in catsup, you can eat pretty much anything" kind of applied to that one. Fortunately my crew-chief took good care of us and always made sure we had catsup and seasonings on-board the ambulance to make the MCIs go down easier. As for the vanilla fudge disc, it kinda choked me up when you mentioned it / because that was one of my favorite desserts. I do recall the chocolate having an almost waxy texture and taste, hard to describe but I think it had something to do with keeping it from melting and sticking to the paper. Unfortunately those crackers were not designed for very long-term storage and were never all that great to begin with unless you smothered them with peanut butter, jam, or cheese. I recall one trick we had we'd buy cheese whiz and a small box of Ritz crackers for our 3 man crew and only have the MCI crackers as a last resort. Just don't eat the ham w/eggs and you should be fine.

[rationtin440]

I forgot to mention, steve1989, that if you do decide to sample the vanilla fudge disc, my advice is to smell it good first and if nothing seems off, take a small bite. I myself would not eat the whole thing because I'm not sure how well the chocolate and other ingredients have stored, and to be honest with you----as good as it was, the MRE desserts now are sooooo much better and less likely to make you violently ill. As cool as it would be to try, if something smelled even slightly off, it is just not worth the trip to the hospital. As for the pears can being clean inside, all I can figure is that the acid in the juice from the pears may have acted as an anti-rusting/anti-corrosion agent but who knows? Just wait until you find an MCI where the applesauce looks like mud and coffee grounds when you open the can you want to be up-wind when that happens. We never did get sick from MCIs but we did occasionally find bulging or leaking cans which we quickly disposed of and cleaned our hands. I'd have to say that the oldest ration component I ever ate was a can of MCI tuna which tasted and smelled like cat food but did not make me sick.