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Good day fellow "ration hounds!"
I recently traded for these relics that my grandfather sustained himself on durring WW2. Im completely fascinated by the shelf life of these components. The displaying of the tins, will be a centerpoint for my collection.
I just dont want the tomato sauce to leak out unexpectedly. Perhaps causing more harm and ruining other rations in the process.
Soooo I decided to open them up and see what I was working with.
On first glance the 3 tins were in great shape...as little rust on seams and lids may be off putting....I believe they are still unscathed and in great shape. I decided to lightly wash them with joy soap and a soft sponge. I removed any forign debris and dust. I tried not to damage the wording.


I was supper surprised to see no funky mold blooms or stagnant piles of goo! They smelt edible on first pass. And on visual inspection they even looked edible.
So I got them out on a tray!
Wow, are you kidding me...what amazing condition...(Steve1989 would be proud! Haha. Hes dug through a few of these in his day.)

So I got right into the coco by making an ision on the back lower section. The powder looked to be from a modern coco pouch! Time was gentle on these tins.
Next, I got the coco into 8oz of hot water and started investigating the peanutbutter and crackers.

CONTINUE TO PART 2

Looks good next time save me a bite lol!

Part 2 continued...

The peanutbutter was spot on! It smelt and TASTED perfect!
No sence or rancidity or spoilage....im blown away eating tasty creamy peanutbutter from 70 years ago! AMAZING!
(This must have been grandfathers bliss in a can. Peanutbutter was his favorite treat after the war)
I dug right in with the crackers....spot on peanutbutter....creamy and a hint of sweet and salt. The crackers were a tad stale but had a nice first flavor of buttery crackers and a whole grain taste. The after taste on the crackers was a speckle of metalic tinge. I opted to not swallow the crackers.

The peanutbutter was enjoyed my myself and the pooches! Licked it clean!!! Haha

Now for the frank and beans in redsauce...
I cant believe this dish smells and looks edable. The tin linning was partially melted into the sauce...rendering it inedible. But it really held up amazingly well. I was on the knifes edge to taste it.....the whisper of my loving wife and 3 kids, kept me from using my body as a tasting tool. I opted to pass. Im sure it would tasted close to ok...but the metal undertone would have spoiled it. My dogs also passed on the smell taste. (I wouldnt let them eat it anyway...they are just good detectors of rancidity.)
The hot chocolate was a fine loose powder with sugar crystals glistening in the light. It smelt of coco and cardboard(paper linber or paper padding for crackers)
The final taste was weak and metalic. With a loose coco taste. Time held it nicely but it lost its punch of flavor.

Continue part 3...

Continued part3....

The rest of the review I will post in video form here in a couple of days.
I hope you all enjoyed my first written review.
Cheers gang!
Thanks for inspiring me to do this Ol Smokey and Steve!

Last picture...rest video on the way!

You gotta get excited when all you smell is coco and see no mold!

What do the tops of the cans and labels look like?

BTemple wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 08, 2018 2:26 pm

What do the tops of the cans and labels look like?

I mustly covered that in the video i made...ill take a few pictures for you now.

All 3. Peanut butter seems newer. Or simply held in better environment for storage.

Looking good! I always enjoy classic/vintage ration reviews.

limp_noodle wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 08, 2018 8:32 pm

Looking good! I always enjoy classic/vintage ration reviews.

Thankyou sir. Im a goof, but im serious about my rations!