Israeli "Battle Rations" update

[dirtbag]

Shop rite is a pretty big grocery chain, in the North-east US.
http://www.shoprite.com/

The cans are probably their 'House brand', made to order for the israili Army.
Just Generic tuna, with different printing on the can.
IMHO, anyway.

[Cracker]

There are many "relabelled" civil food cans in military service world wide..
In most cases it's far cheaper to simply buy a standard product then buy it to your OWN specs..

Especially small countries have loads of civil stuff in their rations. Because cans with and coloured label are just as good as cans with a plain white or green label

[biscuits brown]

There are many "relabelled" civil food cans in military service world wide..
In most cases it's far cheaper to simply buy a standard product then buy it to your OWN specs..

Especially small countries have loads of civil stuff in their rations. Because cans with and coloured label are just as good as cans with a plain white or green label

Thats spot on.

And not only the smaller military nations, also many "medium" sized countries. The UK, and France, Germany some items..

Really its only the US that have so consciously created the MRE "brand" so almost everything has the generic "look" and packaging. China is also the same rations looking. Russia is somewhere in the middle.

Its costs. This new UK ration that Britman shows on his thread as well. Cost cutting disguised as "improvement", if you want to be cynical.

Especially in these days of economic catastrophe...

[Treesuit]

BB,

Yes, I would agree but even in the US some food items are getting more civil in certain ways. Say, for example the "Jimmy Dean" bagged meal boxes we now have. Mind you there's several different brands on pre-packaged meals to feed the troops rather than MRE's but the civlian side is starting to catch up just not in the combat zone.

[rationtin440]

I'm curious, is that chocolate halva spread anything like the "Nutella" chocolate/hazelnut spread that walmart sells? Of course with the strict dietary codes of the Hebrew faith, halva spread is probably a heck of alot better for you than Nutella, just a guess.

[biscuits brown]

Halva is awesome in bar form as an energy type food, and its got decent natural ingredients, and pretty ancient as a food item.
Trying to imagine it in spread form though is not easy

[Treesuit]

BB,

Curious to know what is in Halva?

[Stef]

Hi,
I think traditionnal halva is made from sesame seed paste and honey. It's very common in all the southern and eastern Mediterranean from North Africa to former Yugoslavia and Middle East.
I LOVE that stuff...

[rationtin440]

Of course, nothing brings a chuckle to friends of mine in the IDF quite like Adam Sandler dipping the chocolate bar in the jar of hummus on "You Don't Mess with the Zohan!" as well as him using hummus for nearly everything else. They were quick to assure me that hummus does have it's place in their culture, but.......

[donaldjcheek]

Found some more information on the new Israeli combat ration pack. No pictures and no further information, sorry.

An article which appeared in the Jewish Chronicle on November 18, 2010 talked about the efforts of the British military to provide kosher food for Jewish soldiers, but had some information at the end concerning IDF rations.

IDF combat rations come in small boxes designed to hold a day's food for five soldiers. For 60 years the main course was tins of "louf", a local version of the British army's bully beef of World War Two. Tins of turkey, corn, tuna, sardines, pickles, olives and for dessert, halva and sweets, are also served.

All products are authorised by the IDF's military rabbinate and purchased from manufacturers under supervision of local kashrut authorities.

In recent years, the army has been phasing out the beef, though large reserves of the tins still exist. But combat soldiers have complained that there is not enough meat in the rations and the IDF is currently developing a local kosher equivalent of the American army's MREs (meals ready to eat).

It is an aluminium bag containing goulash, shishlik, or other meaty dishes, with a sachet of chemicals for heating up the meal in 30 seconds.

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/41434 ... army-march