Yeah, Russian rations seem to be odd to eat, from what I read. ^^
Anyway, here´s my 2nd MRE review, this time about the
No. 3 Beef Ravioli.
I spent the whole weekend in the barracks and needed something to eat on Friday, so I prepared this MRE. I already had the EPA raviolis which were quite good and wanted to see the American counterpart. I first thought the menus are from 2004 but it seems like I was wrong. After comparing the content of the bags I found some differences so I think they´re from 2006, but I´m not totaly sure about that.
Anyway, here´s the bag:
And the content:
Unlike the 2004 meal it contained kippered beef and some sort of fruit salad. But fortunately it contained crackers and Jalapeno cheese spread
At first I tried the kippered beef. I wasn´t sure about the taste since it looks kinda odd, but I gave it a try and was positively suprised. It was a bit salty but I´m a salt lover so it was just fine for me. A nice little snack and definately good against the "little hunger". Also it´s easy to eat on the move. A bigger portion or a second beef bar would´ve been extremely cool.
Next were the crackers and the cheese spread. The crackers were a bit crumbly but softer than German EPA tank sheets. They tasted a bit like commercial crackers they sell in Germany under the label "Tuc". Adding the Jalapeno cheese spread made them even better and it was a delicious snack. It didn´t look like a 5-star meal but it fills your stomach and was also good. The cheese spread was just right. I ate both crackers and used most of my cheese spread on it but kept some spread for the raviolis.
Next was the fruit mix. Once I opened it it looked like something you could buy in your super market, but since I´m not a fruit lover I gave them to my room mate. After he finished the bag in a few minutes his oppinion was: "Pretty sweet, but also pretty good!". I guess I would swap it for something more "unhealthy" like chocolate or meat, but it seemd to be quite good (if you´re a fruit guy).
Now after I finished the appetizer it was time for the main meal, the raviolis. Once again the heater worked quite well and after about 15 minutes I had a warm meal. It wasn´t too hot but also not too cool, just right. Then, I added the rest of the cheese spread and some Tabasco, to spice it up (although it was pretty warm that day ^^). The ravioli themselves were a bit taste-less. They didn´t taste like much, but the sauce with Tabasco and cheese spread made it a tasty meal. IMO the EPA raviolis are a tad better, but then, the MRE wasn´t bad, so I can´t really complain. ^^
Now there was only the dessert left. In my case it was a fudge brownie. It was also a bit crumbly and I made a little mess with it in my room, but I really have to say it was just delicious. It was extremely sweet so I needed some time to eat it compeletly, but I love sweet chocolate, so I really enjoyed it. Perfect little snack that could make a sucky day in the field a bit more enjoyable!
Also in the bag was coffee, whitener and a tropical drink powder, which I didn´t try but will save and use when I´m out in the field again.Also there´s two pieces of chewing gum, "toilet paper" and other small things.
Conclusion
Pretty good menu. I didn´t like the fruit mix, but you can´t make everyone happy.
The ravioli didn´t have much taste, but the sauce was delicious. The side entrees were fine, especially the dessert, again. Having such a sweet piece of candy in your bag really improves morale, so it´s definatelly a great idea.
I have to see when I´ll open up the 3rd MRE (beef patty), but I´ll defiantely write another review about it.
I eventually nuked the rest of the entrees and the became more palatable.... 
