Refrigeration to prolong shelf life

[Howard_L]

I just picked up my first MREs a few weeks ago, which ended up being an entire case of vegetarian menus from 2010. I'd never eaten these before, but I found them for the low low price of $30 at an army surplus store, so I figured I'd give them a shot as a hiking meal. Luckily I really enjoyed them, so I definitely plan on eating the rest ASAP. That might take me awhile, though - I still have about 14 of these meals left (I grabbed a few extra, non-vegetarian ones as well), and I probably won't eat more than 1 every other week. That means I have to keep them sitting in my house, which tends to start warming up this time of year.

My question here is, if I want to keep these things fresh (or as fresh as a 4 year old meal can be), is there any reason why I shouldn't be able to refrigerate them in the meantime? I know that freezing them can cause issues, but I can't seem to find ANY information on whether there are any problems with keeping these things in the fridge over the summer. I appreciate any information anyone can provide on this - it would save me from having to worry over these going bad in my terribly insulated house in the next few months!

[housil]

Howard_L, welcome to forums

I´m not a vegetarian guy either, but I also eat the vegetarian MREs and I like them.

The shelf life of MREs is in the direct relation with the storage temperature - so you are right, as cooler as longer they will last.

Don´t worry about the age, as long as the red sticker "TTI" isn´t dark inside, they are "OK". I store mine down in my basement at the same temperature the whole year(s) ~50-60F and still eat 2003 MREs with no problems.

If your storage place gets too warm, I guess there is no reason why not to keep them refrigerated to avoid heat stress.

[Bypah]

I keep them in a closet at home which keeps them at a a nice temp. even when I use the heater in winter .
I have some MRE's and HDR's which are over 7 years old and still they taste ok.

[Norton]

My good friend gave me a case of 2006 MRE's from the NG. that had been stored in a deep freezer from 2006 until 2013
We had a big snow storm got suck inside, so we went in the garage broke out the Swedish stove
My son and I sampled several components and found most everything tasted fresh with some exceptions.
Such as the Tabasco bottles had dried up
So I know it doesn't hurt
We took photos and sent them to the friend that gave them to us with a review for each
My son had the ravioli ( still good) and potato sticks (They tasted stale)
The coffee and creamer tasted great after all these years
For the record the M&Ms tasted like wax mixed with sugar

[cavguy]

Norton,

How was the brownie I see in that pic, did freezing affect it's taste?

[housil]

Great pics and review, thanks for sharing!

Such as the Tabasco bottles had dried up
(...)
My son had the ravioli ( still good) and potato sticks (They tasted stale)
The coffee and creamer tasted great after all these years
For the record the M&Ms tasted like wax mixed with sugar

After a "certain" time, all Tabasco bottles have dried up, no matter if frozen or not.

I have eaten last week for four day´s MREs out of 2003. They haven´t been stored deep frozen, just in my basement. The coffee was molded as always after that long time and the dried out Tabasco bottle.

All other items were great as on their first day. No lost in quality. So I don´t know if freezing them caused the stale potato sticks and the "waxy" M&Ms. But I have to say, most of the dishes taste a little bit "stale" due to their poor amount of salt.

Litte bit OT, but I saw you using the German style mess kit to heat them up

I used my "new" 1965 German Army fuel cooker to heat the entree´s

Heating them up in boiling water always increase their taste than just heating up in the FRHs.

[rationtin440]

First of all welcome to Norton and other new folks in forums! I was wondering about the waxy M&Ms and the only plausible explanation (notice I said plausible, not necessarily even possible ) is that they were made to resist high heat/humidity like those bars from Desert Storm or the high temp chocolate from wars past. Now that I think about it though, a couple things make that unlikely: 1) the M&Ms appear to be in the same wrapper with no changes in the label to indicate they are "special", and 2) I'm not sure that waxy texture is the best way to keep chocolate from melting----in WW2 the D-ration bar was a solid block which seemed to stay solid in the heat of the Pacific theater quite well.

[housil]

in WW2 the D-ration bar was a solid block which seemed to stay solid in the heat of the Pacific theater quite well.

This is why German EPa´s still today have not milk chocolate but a dark, 45% Cacao chocolate. Milk chocolate melts above 30°C (86F). Over 40°C (104F) it spoils.
Dark chocolate does not

[Name_not_found]

I think the waxy-ness is the same as what happens to other chocolates, but in a different environment.

When the M&M are sealed in their candy shell they still experience the same stresses normal chocolate does. Im speaking of the white coating or "Chocolate Bloom", this is the separation of either fats or sugars (depending on the environment) from the rest of the chocolate.

So when your sealed in a candy shell what happens, pressure builds of course!

This causes the fats/sugars ooze out of cracks that form and a waxy buildup occurs, instead of a thin coating on the whole bar.

[Norton]

Norton,

How was the brownie I see in that pic, did freezing affect it's taste?

I had it with the coffee and thought it tasted about like a standard off the shelf energy bar
Not stale or crumbly

My opinion is it was better than the older mid late 70's to 1980's cakes in both MCI or MRE
The coffee had a slightly nutty taste, I add only the sugar and creme in the ration
My son though the grape drink was to tart, but drank it anyway
I also had the cheese spread and will post the photo latter