# Educate me about military food **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [June 2, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421 "2024-06-02T22:12:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/21 "2024-06-03T03:34:48Z")
Our missing poster @aruvqan (armed forces veteran and very experienced cook) once linked to an actual recipe book for (I think) the army. It was massive. If I can find the link when I’m not on my phone, I’ll post it. Or maybe someone else can find it in the meantime. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/22 "2024-06-03T03:35:26Z")
In _ **Up Front** _, Bill also tells of how the Germans sent their _best_ food to the front while the Americans were living on C and (Yeccch!) K rations. A GI would happily trade his rations to a Frenchman for a bowl of potato soup or a bucket of fresh milk. The starving French would in turn wolf down the horrible K rations with gusto. Link to _ **Up Front** _: [Up front : Bill Mauldin : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/upfront00maul_0/mode/2up) The relevant pages are toward the end of the book. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/23 "2024-06-03T03:40:14Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Our missing poster @aruvqan (armed forces veteran and very experienced cook) once linked to an actual recipe book for (I think) the army. It was massive. Max Miller has featured a couple of vintage Army cookbooks on Tasting History. Here’s a video of him making the Army’s WWII recipe for creamed chipped beef on toast. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ry5Du60WPGU/maxresdefault.jpg "What did WWII Soldiers Eat?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry5Du60WPGU) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/24 "2024-06-03T03:46:13Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Our missing poster @aruvqan (armed forces veteran and very experienced cook) once linked to an actual recipe book for (I think) the army. It was massive. > > If I can find the link when I’m not on my phone, I’ll post it. Or maybe someone else can find it in the meantime Found it (thanks to AI search engine PerplexityAI): > **[full\_index.pdf](https://quartermaster.army.mil/jccoe/publications/recipes/index/full_index.pdf)** > > 678.89 KB ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/25 "2024-06-03T03:48:07Z")
That appears to just be the table of contents. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/26 "2024-06-03T03:50:35Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > That appears to just be the table of contents You are absolutely correct. I’ll keep trying. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/27 "2024-06-03T03:57:32Z")
I’m not finding the exact post from @aruvqan, but here’s one I found online with the recipes, from 2003. > **[MCO%20P10110.42B.pdf](https://www.marines.mil/portals/1/Publications/MCO%20P10110.42B.pdf)** > > 10.11 MB ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/28 "2024-06-03T04:27:35Z")
When I was in grade school, my best friend’s dad was a supply captain in the Navy. He once gave my mother a box full of file cards with recipes that were scaled to serve 50-500 people or more. At the time my mother was very active in the synagogue’s sisterhood, and she was very happy to receive this gift. Even though it would seem that one could just take a “feeds four” recipe and multiply by 50 to feed 200, things don’t quite work out that way, and the Navy had figured out how to get it right. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/29 "2024-06-03T04:31:46Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > …the Navy had figured out how to get it right. Anyone who has ever been subjected to shipboard food for an extended period of time at sea is likely to dispute that. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/30 "2024-06-03T04:37:05Z")
Several times I was detailed to Edwards, teaching stuff, like VITA taxes. The NCOs and Officers would always invited me to the clubs for lunch. I found that the food at the NCO club was better, but the service and table setting in the officers club was better. I never ate a bad meal. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/31 "2024-06-03T04:47:22Z")
The aviators started to wear t-shirts with “Death from Above,” soon followed by submariners with “Death from Below.” So eventually this had to appear: [![](https://militaryhumorstores.com/cdn/shop/products/justteeblack_f5aa2f4e-1ee7-4cdf-990d-46cf622764b1_720x.jpg?v=1623788323) ](https://militaryhumorstores.com/cdn/shop/products/justteeblack_f5aa2f4e-1ee7-4cdf-990d-46cf622764b1_720x.jpg?v=1623788323) ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/32 "2024-06-03T04:48:38Z")
I quite liked the food I got in both the Army and the Navy. I liked the Navy food more. I do miss the old C Rations, though. I thought they were more tasty and easier to deal with than the MREs. And I really hated those squad rations (T-Rations?); IIRC, the cooks hated them also for a number of reasons, not all related to taste. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/33 "2024-06-03T05:33:17Z")
I see that aruvqan is indeed missing. They haven’t posted since October 2023. I have a bad feeling about this, because I know they had a lot of health issues. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/34 "2024-06-03T05:37:43Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I see that aruvqan is indeed missing. They haven’t posted since October 2023. > > I have a bad feeling about this, because I know they had a lot of health issues.   She’s been mentioned in the missing posters thread. No reason to use the pronoun “they”, as she was very upfront and proud about her gender and her many achievements in male-dominated fields. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/35 "2024-06-03T06:39:24Z")
In _ **A Farewell to Arms** _, the protagonist and his buddies are chowing down on pasta and grated cheese when an artillery/mortar round hits their dugout. This was largely autobiographical, since Hemingway served as a volunteer ambulance driver in Italy during WWI. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/36 "2024-06-03T07:30:24Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > That appears to just be the table of contents. But it is full of links that lead to the actual recipes. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/37 "2024-06-03T11:00:04Z")
I would’ve thought it would be fairly easy to make something palatable out of bacon, cheese and corn. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/38 "2024-06-03T11:07:11Z")
I wonder if in this case “corn” means maize or some other grain. It kills me that the only one who likes the food is British! 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/39 "2024-06-03T11:37:33Z")
I was in the USMC from 1971-1975. I had a fair amount of Navy food (never on a ship) and sampled Air Force food occasionally. USMC food was so-so, Navy food was good and Air Force food was the best. Air Force food was so good that if I had it to do over again I’d join the Air Force. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/40 "2024-06-03T11:56:21Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I wonder if in this case “corn” means maize or some other grain. Asterix being a historically accurate depiction of the Gauls and the Roman Empire I would suspect that it cannot be maize, which was unkown in Europe before we conquered America. But to make sure I consulted the original text which reads: > Du blé, du lard et du fromage. That is: wheat, [fatback](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatback) and cheese. As I suspected the translator was being merciful. > [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I would’ve thought it would be fairly easy to make something palatable out of bacon, cheese and corn. That ~~comic~~ historical document was written by none other than [René Goscinny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Goscinny), who included numerous culinary references in his works. While it is possible to prepare something palatable out of wheat, fatback and cheese what he is describing is wheat gruel with boiled pig’s fat and curdled milk, and of course only the Brit likes it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421.md?page=3)