2016 LRP Review: Menu No. 8 Spaghetti With Meat Sauce

[SentientTootsieRoll]

I'm back again with another LRP ration from my 2016 case. This is the second spaghetti meal from the case. I reviewed the other one. That one was pretty good, but I wonder what the differences are between the two menus. Let's take a look!

You might notice that the white sticker we saw previous review isn't on this one. This one also includes the M&Ms which were mysteriously missing from the previous menu. But let's look at what we have in this one:

-Mountain House Spaghetti
-Raisins
-Soup, Noodles, Ramen, Instant Chicken Flavor
-M&Ms
-Vanilla Dairyshake Powder
-Beverage Base Orange Type III
-MRE Spoon
-Accessory Packet with coffee and other standard components

This one was pretty good! I've never seen Ramen in a US Ration before, must be a new addition. The Spaghetti tasted the same as it did in the last ration, which was pretty good. I really enjoyed the raisins. They're not nearly as sour as the osmotic raisins. The M&Ms were of course a tasty snack. As usual, I really enjoyed the dairyshake. You can never go wrong with those.

Prior to preparing the Ramen, I decided to taste it on its own without water added. I noticed the noodles were definitely softer than you'd expect. They were definitely easier to chew on compared to store bought ramen. After adding water to it and letting it set, I tasted it and it was pretty enjoyable. It tasted a little less salty than store ramen. The orange drink was the perfect way to wash all of this down. It wasn't overly tart and had the perfect amount of sweetness.

Overall, this ration gets my seal of approval.

[sourwes]

Very nice review, thx for sharing! I usually keep a case or 2 of these LRPs around and the spaghetti is one of my favorite.I'm with you on the osmotic raisins for sure; I think they are terrible. Like a raisin soaked in a chemical bath "yuck". The chili mac is pretty good also....

[SentientTootsieRoll]

Thanks. I know there wasn't a whole lot to read but I think pictures are worth a thousand words, so hopefully that will suffice. Spaghetti and Turkey Tetrazzini are surely the best ones in my opinion.

[DCHD]

Your right on "osmotic raisins" kiwidudemre got a sure pak from me and said same thing osmotic raisins are weird.....

[Biobrew]

Your right on "osmotic raisins" kiwidudemre got a sure pak from me and said same thing osmotic raisins are weird.....

I agree, the osmotic raisins I've had taste odd. You folks may already know this, but the osmotic raisins (and other osmotic fruits and vegetables) are made using an osmotic dehydration process, which involves soaking them in a fluid that draws out water from the fruit or vegetable. It may be the solution used to dehydrate them, or preservatives or antifungal agents added to the osmotic fluid gives them the off flavor. As this is a "wet" process, I suspect the potential for spoilage or fungus is greater than with a drying process.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4152536/

I'm not sure why you wouldn't just dry rasins normally.