# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/81 "2024-06-04T13:17:50Z")
The MREs during Desert Storm had a limited variety (still more than previous " selections"). My favorites were the chillimac and the spicy meatballs - they actually had some zip to them. Absolutely vile was the ham and egg omelet; sounded fine but you got a congealed mass that appeared to have already gone through another digestive system, not necessarily human. Apologies to anyone just getting up and looking forward to breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/82 "2024-06-04T13:20:44Z")
I know this will sound weird, but I was actually a fan of the ham and egg omelet. It wasn’t the tastiest and it had that plasticy MRE flavor that all MREs shared, but I thought it was decent on a cracker with the cheese spread. Sort of a shitty Egg McMuffin. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/83 "2024-06-04T14:53:31Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > The MREs during Desert Storm had a limited variety (still more than previous " selections"). My favorites were the chillimac and the spicy meatballs - they actually had some zip to them. Absolutely vile was the ham and egg omelet; sounded fine but you got a congealed mass that appeared to have already gone through another digestive system, not necessarily human. Apologies to anyone just getting up and looking forward to breakfast. The next year after DS I was with the 1st Cav in NTC. We got cases of MRE heater packs before they started putting them in with the meals. It was like a miracle. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/84 "2024-06-04T15:11:44Z")
I found the difference in food while in the Navy to depend on where I was stationed. In boot camp and A school, the food was okay. If you didn’t like what was being served, you either ate it or went hungry. At NAS Whidbey Island, the food was good for the most part. There was 2 or 3 options at each meal. On the USS Sperry, a submarine tender, the mess deck fed the ships crew plus the crews of the subs in port. The sub mess decks were closed in port. The food was always good due to a higher budget per sailor. Everything was made from scratch including breads and pastries from the bake shop. Steak and lobster every other Wednesday. The 20 foot long charcoal grill was fired up 2 or 3 times a week, hamburgers, chicken, ribs, were available. I spent almost 4 months on mess duty and learned a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/85 "2024-06-04T16:01:19Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > my dad called Mres “meals rejected by everyone” I’ve also heard “MRE = Meals Refusing to Exit.” Apparently some MREs contain a lot of carbs & starch, leading to constipation… ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/86 "2024-06-04T16:08:20Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > to serve 50-500 people How to cook for forty humans. It’s a cookbook! > [@beowulff](#): > > the Navy had figured out how to get it right. When I toured the battleship USS Alabama, restored to WWII configuration, I wasn’t as impressed with the 16 in guns as I was with the galley. Cooking for 2500 on a ship is pretty impressive. The coffee was made in caldrons big enough to cook a missionary in. I guess the navy really runs on coffee. Plus the ship had a soda fountain! ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/87 "2024-06-04T16:30:06Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > Everything was made from scratch including breads and pastries from the bake shop. Steak and lobster every other Wednesday. The 20 foot long charcoal grill was fired up 2 or 3 times a week, hamburgers, chicken, ribs, were available. **I spent almost 4 months on mess duty and learned a lot.** (Emphasis mine). Because of the preceding 3 sentences, I initially misread the last sentence as “I spent almost 4 months on mess duty and _ **gained** _ a lot.” 😆 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/88 "2024-06-04T16:51:16Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > How to cook for forty humans. It’s a cookbook! Hope it isn’t used by the Space Force. At least not in dusty environments. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/89 "2024-06-04T19:45:23Z")
If they can’t get these items made the way they were back then, they do use commercially-made products. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/90 "2024-06-05T05:48:54Z")
I’d just like to take this moment to recognize that the food of the US Air Force seems to generally receive high (heh heh) marks. One of my grandfathers was a pastry chef in the USAAF and then in the USAF. He never cooked outside of his military career that I know of, and was generally a son of a bitch to deal with. But he did receive certificates and recognition for how good of a pastry chef he was. Hopefully his cooking allowed him to make someone genuinely happy. 🤡 Full disclosure: I prefer powdered eggs to real scrambled eggs. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/91 "2024-06-05T14:47:44Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Full disclosure: I prefer powdered eggs to real scrambled eggs. I haven’t checked recently; are they still selling for the equivalent of a dollar an egg? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/92 "2024-06-05T14:54:26Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Turned out it was ham and eggs. Back in the bad old days, it was ham and lima beans, better known to all as “ham and motherfuckers”. On field exercises, I always packed a few cans of chili in my gear, as C-rats, while edible, were uniformly tasteless and probably past their shelf life. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/93 "2024-06-05T14:56:27Z")
Green ham and eggs, no doubt. Would you eat them with a goat? ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/94 "2024-06-05T15:08:31Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I haven’t checked recently; are they still selling for the equivalent of a dollar an egg? I have no idea, I’ve only been served them on airplanes and such. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/95 "2024-06-05T15:38:11Z")
While I recognize real egg could be fragile, is powdering the only alternative? Once you throw egg whites or whatever in a container and UHT them, is there a way of avoiding refrigeration? I think powdered egg a poor substitute, but it is not the only substitute. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/96 "2024-08-09T20:42:02Z")
Everyone in the military, for breakfast out in the field, has had green eggs. > [@Smapti](#): > > 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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry5Du60WPGU&ab\_channel=TastingHistorywithMaxMiller](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry5Du60WPGU&ab_channel=TastingHistorywithMaxMiller) Thanks for this. Our annual SOS breakfast is coming up, for the 1st Marine Division Association, Silicon Valley Chapter. The guest speakers are always interesting. In Oct 2016 it was General Mattis and it was nice to meet him. [![](https://i.imgur.com/ggs9Ufn.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/ggs9Ufn.jpeg) It’s interesting that SOS dates to WWI. The earliest recipe and reference dates to 1910. > [@Monty](#): > > I do miss the old C Rations, though. I thought they were more tasty and easier to deal with than the MREs. I miss the old C rats too. They were tasty, but the problem is that they added a lot of weight to your pack. This thread reminded me of the Arctic MREs, or Cold Weather MREs. They came in a white pouch, instead of brown for the regular MREs. The Arctic MREs were huge: 2 MRE pouches taped together. They packed a gazillion calories, and the interesting thing is that you worked so hard trudging through the deep snow that you still lost weight on them. And, why does this not surprise me? You can order MREs on Amazon. > **[Amazon.com: U.S. Military Meals Ready to Eat (12 Packs) - Flameless Heaters,...](https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Military-Surplus-Ready-Meals/dp/B00JFC8VQ4)** > > 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝐒 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞: Our military rations are a powerhouse of nutrition and convenience, composed of 12 Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MREs) to diverse dietary needs and preferences. Our army MRE case features 12 mouthwatering meal varieties.... ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/97 "2024-08-10T17:13:26Z")
I do have fond memories of my mandatory army time in the 90ies … The days the Gulaschkanone was fired up, sure were universally liked … it came with dozens of loaves of dark rye-bread… [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Gulaschkanone_%287061761025%29.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Gulaschkanone_%287061761025%29.jpg) [![](https://schaschlik.schaschlik.ch/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/IMG_5473-2.jpg) ](https://schaschlik.schaschlik.ch/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/IMG_5473-2.jpg) man what a feast … IIRC, worst days was friday, or as we knew it “Deja-vú-day” where you got a dish that contained all the leftovers that were not eaten during the week. (Do my german colleagues know the expression of a “Grenadiermarsch”?) or is that a KuK austrian-thingy? ---
**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:** [August 10, 2024, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/98 "2024-08-10T17:21:29Z")
In cases anyone didn’t catch it, “ Gulaschkanone” is goulash cannon. The original item shows where the name came from [![](https://images.huffingtonpost.com/2011-06-15-images-TheGoulashCannon.jpg) ](https://images.huffingtonpost.com/2011-06-15-images-TheGoulashCannon.jpg) ---
**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:** [August 10, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/99 "2024-08-10T17:49:39Z")
Named after Ceres, the Roman goddess of (among other things) grain crops. [Ceres: The Roman Goddess of Fertility and Agriculture - Symbol Sage](https://symbolsage.com/ceres-roman-goddess-of-agriculture/) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421/100 "2024-08-10T17:59:33Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > That actually looks pretty tasty, although I suppose like many things you could get tired of eating it too often. My mother used to periodically make something like this for dinner - in her case, it was a package of dried beef, cut up and sauteed with butter, then adding a can of cream of mushroom soup (and maybe a can of milk?), then serving it over toast. Despite my dislike of mushrooms, it wasn’t bad - and was extremely easy. It wasn’t until years later that I heard of the SOS moniker. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educate-me-about-military-food/1002421.md?page=6)