German EPA 2013/2014 Ration for the weekend FINAL

[Teddydogno1]

Some of my rations are getting a bit past prime, so I'll be eating through some while they are likely to be good. These German 24-hour rations are pretty expensive, so I'd hate for it to go bad sitting in my closet.

This German ration has a date or "model" label of 2013, but most of the components inside were made in 2014 (the canned rye bread has a 2013 date). I guess the outer label is the model or revision date rather than the production date. Does that sound right? Contents: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9513&p=69491#p69491



I had inventoried the ration when I first received it 2 years ago.

For breakfast today, I selected one Kaffee packet (not shown...already in the mug), 1 "whitener", sugar, instant cappuccino, fruit museli, Orifo Apple Cinnamon cereal bar, some crackers, apricot jam and the sour cherry jam. Pictured but not used is a packet of butter/margarine spread.



The Kaffee said to use 300 ml of water, which seemed like too much, but turned out to be a full mug of nice strong coffee! I added one tiny 3 gr "whitener" packet which was a bit clumped and did very little to flavor or lighted the coffee. Along with 1 (of 8 in the ration, iirc), it made for a very enjoyable eye opened. Really good instant coffee and I'll keep the second packet for another day.

The Fruit Muesli was still "good", but not the best I've had. There was a flavor in there that I didn't care for, but it was fine and filling. After starting, I added some sugar which made it better for my tastes.

The crackers were in good shape and I used them with the apricot and sour cherry jams. Very tasty all around. No hint of staleness or rancidity in the crackers and the jams were still very good, though the cherry had a bit of liquid separation. I only ate 3 crackers, leaving the rest for later with the meat spreads.

After finishing the primary breakfast, I made a cup of instant cappuccino and brought it and the cereal bar to the computer to write this review. The Cap required only 150 ml (about 4 oz.) of water which is a pretty small drink. Taste is good, but not a lot of coffee flavor. I've had several of the Orifo cereal bars before and they are pretty good. Much like a chewy granola bar rather than a Nutrigrain-style bar that has a bready exterior and fruity center.



Coming later, probably lunch today and Sunday, the other 2 meals, including 4 cold drinks, 2 foil-tin entrees, meat spreads, canned rye bread and instant hazelnut pudding dessert!

Rob

[Teddydogno1]

Lunch time!



For lunch I selected the "Tortellini in Tomato Sauce" and the small tub of "Beef and Ham Spread", plus crackers, the rye bread and 2 drinks.

The Orange drink was mixed with 400 ml of water as directed. Though orange flavored, it was yellow in color. Tasted find...neither too sweet nor too "orange". At the bottom of the glass, I did find a bit of undissolved powder that was not flavorful. Wasn't really like Kool Aide, or like Gatorade.

The Tortellini was heated in simmering water for about 7 minutes which got it nice and hot. Tasted OK. Not too mushy. Didn't really taste like canned food. It was fine, but not something I would seek out.

The rye bread in a can was sliced in 6 thin slices. Pretty dry and dense and a little bit bitter. It was OK, but I only ended up eating 2 slices with the spread. My wife had a taste and immediately spit it out. She said, "that's NOT bread."

The Beef and Ham spread (hard to get a good translation) was pretty good. Smelled good. A bit of fat on top and a little bit of liquid separated out at the bottom. I thought it was better on the crackers than on the rye. It did have a little bit of bitter taste. I don't know if there was any liver in it. I ate most of it.

After lunch, I mixed up the "Exotic" drink. Turns out "Exotic" is a tropical flavor that is hard to pin down. Maybe a little pineapple and some mango? Dunno, but it was good enough to finish.

And finally, not pictured, I sampled the 50 gr Schokolade bar. It was lightly bloomed on the outside, but still had a great snap. Tasted like a nice semi-sweet chocolate (like eating chocolate chips, but with a more crip bite).



The other items will come tomorrow probably.

Rob

[housil]

Little side note

This German ration has a date or "model" label of 2013, but most of the components inside were made in 2014 (the canned rye bread has a 2013 date).

The number from the sticker "BV I 2013" does not refer to the year, it´s just a random number for packing that accidentally looks like a year.

[Teddydogno1]

Thanks! That's interesting.

[Teddydogno1]

Finally got to the rest of the ration for lunch today.

Today's lunch consisted of the remaining half of the crackers, the beef spread, "natural spread", remaining rye bread, citrus beverage powder and the "beef and pork minced meat rolls with rice and vegetables."

Lets dump this out onto the table...



The beef spread smelled meaty, but really didn't have much flavor. I ate it all spread onto the crackers and skipped the rye bread. I also opened the package of "natural spread", which I thought was a butter/margarine mix based on the ingredients, but it actually seemed more like cream cheese. It was also good on the crackers and I tried to like it on the rye bread, but I think the rye bread is hopeless and won't taste good with anything.

I heated the remaining entree in simmering water for 7 minutes and it got decently hot. The translation called it "beef and port minced rolls" or something like that, so I was expecting sausages. It really is more like little meat logs...closer to a beef patty than to sausage. IT WAS REALLY GOOD! See the pic below for the meat dug out from under the rice and veg (corn, peas, carrot, green bean and a little red bell pepper maybe). I could eat this entree any time.



The citrus beverage was very good and refreshing.

Dessert was a package of Hazelnut Pudding by TravelLunch. It mixed with 100 ml of cold water and yielded a sticky, slightly lumpy pudding with little bits of nuts and toffee maybe. I was really looking forward to it and was somewhat disappointed. Not bad, but not great.

A couple of pieces of spearmint gum finished the meal. They were a little hard to start, but finished fine and with good flavor.

Left over for later use: 1 Koffee, 2 Tea, 6 sugar packets, 2 salt packets, sealed pack of matches, moist towelette, water purification tabs.

SUMMARY:

High points: Beef and Pork rolls w/ rice and vegetables entree #1. Also the chocolate and jam crackers. Koffee.
Low points: Rye bread; Koffee whitener.
Disappointing: Muesli; Hazelnut pudding

I was surprised by the crackers. They were very nice and just a little bit sweet. They were NOT the the tooth-breaking "panzer armor" I expected I guess those are in different rations, not the regular German ones.

Plenty of food in the meal for an active day. Each meal left me stuffed because I was NOT active or needing a lot of calories.

Rob

[housil]

I was surprised by the crackers. They were very nice and just a little bit sweet. They were the the tooth-breaking "panzer armor" I expected I guess those are in different rations, not the regular German ones.

The "panzer platten" ("Hartkeks") got replaced first by some cardboard like tasting ones "Trek ´n eat" crackers

they were awefull

At least they got replaced by the civilian brand "Butterkeks" ("butter crackers")

The good ´ol "Panzerplatten" are gone...
Worst decision ever by German quartermaster

I also opened the package of "natural spread", which I thought was a butter/margarine mix based on the ingredients, but it actually seemed more like cream cheese.

Your first impression was right, "Brotaufstrich naturell" is a margarine, not a cheese.

[Teddydogno1]

Thanks for the info. Obviously you saw through my typo where I said they WERE the hard ones instead of WERE NOT.


Rob

[housil]

Ja, didn´t notice the typo