Vintage MRE's from ForeignMRE.com

[mikeoverhere]

I just received two vintage MRE's from ForeignMRE.com

Menu 9 Meatballs, Beef and Rice, in Tom. Sauce

Menu 15 Beef Enchiladas

Of course I immediately ate them, or at least the mains.
#9 was a Brown Pouch with the main dated 1267 (1991). It was as I remember, almost no rice to speak of, lots of sauce, meatballs about ¾" in size. Meatballs were a bit dry inside and the BBQ like sauce very rich. Thought about putting it on MRE Rice but used MRE Tortillas instead because I have a ton of them.
#15 was a Khaki colored pouch and the main dated 4121 (2004) and the Refried beans dated 4085. Three long beef enchiladas with plenty of sauce.

Both mains and the refried beans were perfectly edible. I like the current meatballs in tomato sauce better than these meatballs in bbq sauce, though I wish the meatballs were bigger. The beef enchiladas is one of those menus I don't know why was discontinued, I really enjoyed them. I enjoyed the refried beans and those would go well in several MRE's, especially a vegetarian menu to make burritos with, along with the cheese and perhaps rice. I really miss the mexican rice side. The MRE also came with Picante Sauce which I didn't use. Large pouch of it too. I have yet to try the other components like the Cheese w/Jalapeno, Peanut Butter, Cookies and Cream cookie, Vegetable Crackers, etc but I will update as I do. I was very, very happy for a couple of components - the freeze dried peaches, and the Chocolate Covered Cookie! Those are among my all time favorites.

The point of this post is really just to say that the Vintage MRE's I ordered were absolutely edible. Even the FRH in the 2004 ration still worked! I expect the rest of the components to be good too. They must have been stored well. I would not hesitate to eat the other Vintage menus ForeignMRE.com is offering. I don't get these to collect, I get them to eat! What a blast from the past.

Thank you Art and Nina!

ETA: Crackers in the 1991 and 2004 rations were fine, not stale or rancid smelling/tasting. The Vegetable crackers still tasting really good. The 2004 Creamsicle Cookie was delicious. The Cheese with Jalapeños was as brown as Peanut Butter, but was still edible.

[LoriJean8591]

That is excellent to know, thank you. I just ordered the 2004 spaghetti Mre. I was going to order the older version but I was not sure how I would be able to handle it and honestly a little nervous.

Art and Nina are excellent to deal with, they are professional and extremely helpful. I know shipping to Canada (visa versa) is stupidly outrageous. I couldn’t be more please to deal with ForiegnMRE.com. Huge rave.

[mikeoverhere]

I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I would have to have fresh 1991 rations to compare to because I honestly can't tell these are old except for the gum which has turned hard, and the bottle of Tabasco sauce which has somewhat grayed but both of those things can happen in just a few years. Even the vanilla caramels were still soft. I expected the crackers to have gone bad but so far the 1991 crackers were fine. My confidence has been bolstered to the point I might even order the 4 fingers of death ration as I actually liked that one when it was being made. If you ever wanted to try an old US ration, these are going to be one of your best bets for scoring one in good enough condition to completely eat though it may depend on the specific ration. I don't know if the 1994 rations are in the same condition as the 1991 and 2004. I still have a few components left to sample but so far so good!

[LoriJean8591]

Thank you, I do indeed look forward to reviewing this meal!

[ViperGTS]

Did you take any pics, or make a vid Mike?

[mikeoverhere]

Sorry, no. I do not usually eat the entire ration at one sitting. There are so many great reviewers that I don't bother to contribute with my novice skills.

[mikeoverhere]

I saw ForeignMRE's recent video review of 1991 Menu #5 Spaghetti with Meat & Sauce. In it, Art said the main was bad and burned his throat. He also said the crackers did not taste good. It may be some of the menus are no longer edible or perhaps were not stored with the others. I was a little surprised as my 1991 #9 Meatballs Beef and Rice with Tomato Sauce was totally edible. I have eaten almost all the entire ration and I ate the entire main with no problems. Only the Cheese with Jalapeños was somewhat questionable as to flavor (it was brown like peanut butter) but I still ate it. Nothing made me sick or burned my throat, even the crackers tasted fine.

But be cautious if eating, they may not all be equally as edible. Could have been some mains survive better than others over time and probably not all the MRE's are from the same batches and storage conditions.