Canadian IMP Thoughts
Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2017 4:19 pm
Sorry, no pictures; I always think about doing a proper "review" video, but never seem to get around to it. Instead, I bring you my thoughts in a text-based manner.
I picked up a trio of Canadian IMPs from BlackDogBob, which are the first that I've ever tried. I must say that I'm quite impressed, though without an FRH it must be difficult to prepare the hot entree in the field. Although you do what you have to, I doubt many of these entrees would taste very good cold. Looking at the packaging, I can see that these aren't really intended to have a long shelf-life, but that's okay as I think everything I ate was free of any preservative taste. And, I think the hamburger bun is probably one of the best bread/starch items I've had out of a field ration; no nasty Wheat Snack Bread here!
2014 Hamburger
Pretty much as advertised, though I'm generally more of a cheeseburger man myself; didn't think about it then, but I probably should have used a leftover Nacho Cheese packet, or cheat and pull a slice of cheese out of the refrigerator. The patty did have a slightly greasy/fatty taste like corned beef or jerky, but I suppose that's a necessary evil to get the shelf life. Because I used the bun for the burger, I didn't have anything to put the Peanut Butter & Jelly on. I guess you're supposed to knife & fork the hamburger patty, and eat it along with your PB&J? I really liked the bean salad, would be nice to see something like that in an MRE. The Fruit Punch (two pouches) went well with the menu, and the Reese's Pieces were a nice finisher, though I've always been more of a Peanut Butter M&M's fan.
2014 Chicken Cordon Bleu
Not the breaded entree I'm used to getting at the chow hall, but it had the requisite ham and chicken that were sort of mechanically pressed together. It was packed in a thin cheesy-type sauce, if it were a little thicker (again, cue the Nacho Cheese) I think I would have been more satisfied with it. The Garlic Mashed Potatoes did not seem to mix well in the bag, I still had clumps of powder at the bottom, and when I got it all out into a bowl, I thought they were too runny; I would recommend emptying the powder into a bowl and adding hot water to your preferred consistency, because the bag method doesn't seem to work well. Peanut Butter and Honey sandwich was a nice change, got to have some variety in your PB&J. Lemon-lime drink (also two pouches) was good, but I don't feel it was an appropriate pairing. I don't really like Pears, so I skipped them. I had the Soldier Fuel chocolate bar for breakfast at work; despite the Canadian packaging, it's the same bar found in MREs and other places.
2015 Indian Chicken
The chicken wasn't bad, though I thought the Blueberry Applesauce was an odd side choice--I really could have used some rice to mop up the leftover sauce. I've picked up a couple of the microwaveable rice pouches from the store, surely there's a retort pouch that would reconstitute using an FRH or boiling in the bag? As an item by itself, though, I thought the Applesauce was spectacular, and it's made by Wornick--Dear Natick, please include this in a future US MRE menu! This also came with the standard PB&J, but only one pouch of Strawberry drink. In general, it seems like this one didn't have as much "stuff", only one drink and no appropriate side dish--is that a change with the 2015 menus?
Overall, I think the Canadians have done an excellent job with their field rations, I think there are a few cues that could by used to improve the US offerings.
I picked up a trio of Canadian IMPs from BlackDogBob, which are the first that I've ever tried. I must say that I'm quite impressed, though without an FRH it must be difficult to prepare the hot entree in the field. Although you do what you have to, I doubt many of these entrees would taste very good cold. Looking at the packaging, I can see that these aren't really intended to have a long shelf-life, but that's okay as I think everything I ate was free of any preservative taste. And, I think the hamburger bun is probably one of the best bread/starch items I've had out of a field ration; no nasty Wheat Snack Bread here!
2014 Hamburger
Pretty much as advertised, though I'm generally more of a cheeseburger man myself; didn't think about it then, but I probably should have used a leftover Nacho Cheese packet, or cheat and pull a slice of cheese out of the refrigerator. The patty did have a slightly greasy/fatty taste like corned beef or jerky, but I suppose that's a necessary evil to get the shelf life. Because I used the bun for the burger, I didn't have anything to put the Peanut Butter & Jelly on. I guess you're supposed to knife & fork the hamburger patty, and eat it along with your PB&J? I really liked the bean salad, would be nice to see something like that in an MRE. The Fruit Punch (two pouches) went well with the menu, and the Reese's Pieces were a nice finisher, though I've always been more of a Peanut Butter M&M's fan.
2014 Chicken Cordon Bleu
Not the breaded entree I'm used to getting at the chow hall, but it had the requisite ham and chicken that were sort of mechanically pressed together. It was packed in a thin cheesy-type sauce, if it were a little thicker (again, cue the Nacho Cheese) I think I would have been more satisfied with it. The Garlic Mashed Potatoes did not seem to mix well in the bag, I still had clumps of powder at the bottom, and when I got it all out into a bowl, I thought they were too runny; I would recommend emptying the powder into a bowl and adding hot water to your preferred consistency, because the bag method doesn't seem to work well. Peanut Butter and Honey sandwich was a nice change, got to have some variety in your PB&J. Lemon-lime drink (also two pouches) was good, but I don't feel it was an appropriate pairing. I don't really like Pears, so I skipped them. I had the Soldier Fuel chocolate bar for breakfast at work; despite the Canadian packaging, it's the same bar found in MREs and other places.
2015 Indian Chicken
The chicken wasn't bad, though I thought the Blueberry Applesauce was an odd side choice--I really could have used some rice to mop up the leftover sauce. I've picked up a couple of the microwaveable rice pouches from the store, surely there's a retort pouch that would reconstitute using an FRH or boiling in the bag? As an item by itself, though, I thought the Applesauce was spectacular, and it's made by Wornick--Dear Natick, please include this in a future US MRE menu! This also came with the standard PB&J, but only one pouch of Strawberry drink. In general, it seems like this one didn't have as much "stuff", only one drink and no appropriate side dish--is that a change with the 2015 menus?
Overall, I think the Canadians have done an excellent job with their field rations, I think there are a few cues that could by used to improve the US offerings.