I'm new to the forum and I thought writing a review on German EPAs would be a good start. I'm from Germany and I've been demobilised from the Bundeswehr last year. In my nine months of basic service I had to eat a lot of those rations. We had 2 bivouacs and two two week exercises as well as one one week exercise (which makes a total of about 40 EPAs
).We had rations from 2003 to 2005.
Let's start with the entrees and the sides:
Type I:
Lentil stew with sausages: I'm not a friend of lentil stew in particular, so I didn't like this meal too much. Fortunately, we were served with Type II meals most of the time. But I think it's quite edible, especially after hours of shooting in the rain. The sausages are juicy, whereas the lentils are quite dry. (Adding of salt is adviced, btw.)
Tagliatelle Bolognese: I haven't eaten this one yet, but I've got one in the basement for a later review.
Semolina pudding: I really like it. After stirring it a bit, you get a nice, solid but still very creamy semolina with raisins, tangerines and candied lemon (and orange) peel. It's best when it's refrigerated. Don't heat it up, because the semoline will get molten and it just doesn't taste good anymore.
Type II:
Cevapcici: My favourite EPA entree. You've got rice, beans, peas, pepper and hashed beef (and pork). The beef is really good, no grieves or fat in there. The rice is a bit dry, just pour a bit of water in it. You should also put the cheese on it and stir after it melted. Also, this meal is quite filling.
goulash: I really like this one, too. I actually can't remember if it had potatoes in it, but I've got one in the basement to look it up. The meat is juicy and has no fat. The sauce is, I wouldn't excactly say hot, but it is spicy. Not as filling as the Cevapcici, but it's enough.
Fruit salad: Don't like it that much. It has a very thick and sweet sauce. The fruits are mostly tangerines and, if I remember correctly, some pieces of apple and pineapple. I've only eaten three of them.
Type III:
Vegetable stir fry with tofu: I've never eaten this one.
Beef Patties With Tomato Sauce: The beef tastes good and has no grieves or fat. It's a bit dry, though. The sauce is spicy and quite thick. This entree is not filling at all.
Now to the spreads and the other stuff:
beef, lyoner, liverwurst, beerwurst: I've not eaten a single one of them, because I get sick of the smell of the gelatine the wurst is laid in.
cheese spread, plain: Tastes how cheese spread is supposed to taste, got to put it on the Cevapcici.
chesse spread, with green peppercorns: Quite hot actually, good taste.
jams: They're all fine on the biscuits or on the bread.
bread: Very, very dry. Can't eat it without spread, but edible with jam or cheese. (I've got some cans in the basement and I sometimes eat a slice or two with butter and salt, tastes really good.) Just remember to put the cover back on the can since they dry out very fast and start to molder.
biscuits: Very hard, don't have much taste and don't crumble at all. Taste good with the jam, cheese, or with a dash of salt.
coffee: I really like it, especially with some sugar and the coffee whitener.
tea: I drank a glass of it and got the trots, haven't touched it since. I think it's supposed to be peppermint tea, but it doesn't really have a taste.
beverage powder:
grapefruit: I don't like grapefruit, too sour.
exotic: Drinkable, but too sweet if you use the recommended 400ml of water (doesn't even dissolve completely in 400ml), good for 500ml. Has a pinacolada flavour.
chocolate: A nice bittersweet chocolate. When you're in the field, you should eat your 50 grams of it every day for not having to take a dump too often.
chewing gum: Standard peppermint gum. It's the same as in the Dutch and French rations (Stimorol).
matches: They made me go mad. The matches themselves were fine. The striking surface however wouldn't work on at least(!) half of the books. The books have a nice slogan on them, which still makes me laugh: "Bundeswehr - with safety". They are so safe, you can't even light them.
I bought a CASE B 2004 MRE on eBay today for 39 EUR. I'm really looking forward to it and maybe I'm going to write some reviews, too.
