MREs get a new kick with caffeinated jerky and Zapplesauce

[Wookard]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/caf ... story.html

MREs get a new kick with caffeinated jerky and Zapplesauce
By Christian Davenport, Published: October 29

Natick, Mass. — And now, from the folks who developed the atomic bomb, Kevlar underwear and the Humvee, presenting the latest in war-fighting technology: Caffeinated meat.

Evolution of field rations.

That’s right, an Army lab here is testing a beef jerky stick that looks and tastes just like your average Slim Jim but contains an equivalent of a cup of coffee’s worth of caffeine to give even the sleepiest soldier that up-and-at-’em boost.

After a decade of war, military food scientists have been hard at work at a little-known research facility outside Boston transforming the field ration — known as the Meal, Ready to Eat, and perhaps the most complained about food in the world — into something not just good-tasting but full of energy-enhancing ingredients.

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[fdsman]

Interesting, looks like they're starting to borrow from the FSR.

[Treesuit]

Well after reading that I'm still skeptical. From what I understand caffeine is the one thing that is difficult to modify, infuse or just inject into any type of food without having some really nasty tasting side effects. It does work with sweet products but jerky?

The thought of infusing caffeine into a jerky treat and having it taste the same probably has been a real difficult subject and process for those folks at Natick Labs.

[Wookard]

I had some Energy gum one time I bought at a local pizza place. I started chewing it about 8pm and mind you I was very tired at that time. I was just starting to play computer games on my new pc and ended up staying up until about 5am. The stuff in that gum was insane, I was instantly awake and it took forever for me to get tired. All my friends who normally stay up way late went to bed hours before me. Maybe they should just try gum instead.

[Ruleryak]

I had some Energy gum one time I bought at a local pizza place. I started chewing it about 8pm and mind you I was very tired at that time. I was just starting to play computer games on my new pc and ended up staying up until about 5am. The stuff in that gum was insane, I was instantly awake and it took forever for me to get tired. All my friends who normally stay up way late went to bed hours before me. Maybe they should just try gum instead.

Wook I have to throw my two cents at this - holy crud! The Stay Alert gum is ridiculous. I had a few packs with me on a recent trip thanks to some of Treesuit's 24 hour rations and I stayed on the road easily twice as long each day as I could have otherwise. If you treat it like nicotine gum it really kicks in fast. I doubt half a dozen cups of coffee would be the same