# MRE's **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 5, 2001, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354 "2001-07-05T15:16:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Colin\_Trainer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@Colin\_Trainer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colin_Trainer)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/1 "2001-07-05T15:16:25Z")
I have been pretty facinated by the concept of the army’s meals ready to eat. I know that they have a shelf life of like 10 years or something and I know they don’t taste all that great, but damm it I want to try one, and after searching the net for a little bit I can’t find anywhere to order them. Is there anywhere that I can order them? ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/2 "2001-07-05T15:46:00Z")
Here you go… [IMS PLUS](http://www.imsplus.com/ims48.html) $6.00 each, $65.00 for a case of 12 meals. Seems pretty damn expensive to me. You’re probably better off just going to a local Army/Navy surplus store. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/3 "2001-07-05T17:09:02Z")
God, the pain. You could probably save some money by soaking fiberboard in mud and chewing that down. Of course, the last time I tried the tasty little devils was back in the mid-80’s. Maybe they’ve improved since then? ---
**Author:** ![Ferggie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@Ferggie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferggie)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/4 "2001-07-05T17:46:01Z")
I got hold of one not long after the Gulf War. (I’m sure that’s part of the Military Family Benefits Plan – leftover MREs and surplus plastic sunglasses. But I’m not bitter.) Peach-flavored Styrofoam! What _will_ they think of next??? ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/5 "2001-07-06T02:23:00Z")
I’ve got several of them…ya want one, give me your address and I’ll send it to ya also try a local surplus store…they usually have them ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/6 "2001-07-06T02:57:10Z")
Actually, the newer ones are good. I take them with me when I go camping and/or hiking. The older ones, the ones in the dark-brown plastic bags, aren’t that great, but some stuff, the _Beef Stew, Chicken Stew, BBQ Pork and Rice_ are, IMO, alright. The new ones, in the tan plastic bags, are really pretty comparable to what you might find in a camping store. _Tortillini, Pasta and Vegy’s, Grilled Chicken…_, I’m telling you, they really are alright. I’ve got a case or two, probably two dozen meals, actually plus two _Winter MREs_, which have double the calories, but taste a bit worse. BTW and FTR, they are not an Army thing, they are a military issue food source, we had them in the Marines. ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/7 "2001-07-06T03:39:16Z")
I have always thought they tasted great. **Thinksnow** , you forgot my personal favorite: _Chicken A La King_. It’s funny because your looking down at a loam colored plastic pouch and on the outside in yellow letters it reads: Chicken a la King, like it’s some kind of gourmet meal. But it really tastes good. It’s kind of like cream of mushroom soup with chicken chunks. I liked it so much I got the recipe. ---
**Author:** ![nineiron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e56c9b/32.png) [@nineiron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nineiron)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/8 "2001-07-06T03:45:47Z")
Coincidentally, I just this morning saw an ad for Ocean State Job Lot (a surplus-type junk store in the northeast U.S.) and they had MRE’s at $6.99 a dozen. I don’t know if you have these stores near you–they used to be called East Coast Marketplace. ---
**Author:** ![Phoenix\_Dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Phoenix\_Dragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phoenix_Dragon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/9 "2001-07-06T07:28:49Z")
My friend loves MREs. Of course, my friend also loved Marine boot camp. My friend is weird 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/10 "2001-07-06T08:09:18Z")
As a former Marine, I can say with some degee of certainty (how can I say this, well by talking to former service people when they’re not in the reminsicent hyperbolic overdrive mode, and are willing to be fair) that somehow it has been ingrained in us to disparage military cooking and food such as MREs (I go back to the early 80s when C-Rats were the meal of choice in the field), when the God’s Honest Truth is, although it certainly is not mom’s cooking, it ain’t cardboard or plastic either. As thinksnow rightly pointed out, some of 'em weren’t bad. They were not great, but by God, I recall many a cold, rainy miserable night on some stupid-ass patrol when they hit the spot. I saw a handful of guys over my nine years service who would not eat them or just eat enough to get by. When the subject of MREs comes up, you’d think those two or three guys out of hundreds were the ones pronouncing judgement on them. Would I choose to eat one now? Sure, if it was given to me, but I certainly wouldn’t pay for one. They were okay to good at best, bland at worst. Everything else, it seems to me, is hyperbole and a desire to oneup the next guy in saying how awful they were. No, I wasn’t a cook, either. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/11 "2001-07-06T12:50:09Z")
Last month, I went camping for the first time in years. I had my first taste of MRE. The Beefsteak tasted like Mom’s steak but was easier to chew (Mom was NOT a good cook). Overall good food and lots of it for $6.99 (Especially since my friend footed the bill). But being a good Jewish boy, I’m curious as to whether any US company makes Kosher MRE’s. Alternately, is there a place to pick up Israeli MRE’s? Since the Israeli military is under standing orders to keep kosher, it would simplify things. ---
**Author:** ![waxteeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@waxteeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waxteeth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/12 "2001-07-06T13:31:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Colin Trainer \* > \*\*I know they don’t taste all that great, but damm it I want to try one, \*\* It depends on the one you get. Some are a lot better than others. A case contains a good verity of items and if you could taste them all I bet you would find one you thought was tasty. The problem with MRE’s is the best cake/cookie always seems to come with the worst main course IMO. And IIRC the cheese contains a suspicious ingredient called locust? BTW don’t use all that toilet paper in one place. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/13 "2001-07-06T14:59:49Z")
I HOPE that means locust bean! ---
**Author:** ![torridan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@torridan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torridan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/14 "2001-07-06T17:55:11Z")
OK, MRE’s are not awful, and they are better then they were a few years ago. But, when it is the only thing you have to eat for weeks at a time, they start to suck pretty bad. What makes matters worse is when you draw a case that is full of the same meal because some sneaky person got to it in the warehouse. Thats part of why the military has no great love for them. ---
**Author:** ![Turbo\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/15 "2001-07-06T22:15:21Z")
I had them in the 80’s, just as they replaced C-rations. I actually preferred C-rats to MRE’s, but they weren’t awfully bad, even at the beginning stages with the ham and chicken loaf, beef and pork patties, ham slices, weiners, and the gorilla cookies. I think I was the only one in the USMC that actually enjoyed the pork patty so I usually ate pretty good in the field. Compared to what they have today, they were pretty nasty. The MRE’s they have now are damn near gourmet and have lots of cool stuff in them like the little bottles of tabasco, decent candies and even water activated food heaters. Plus, there isn’t as much dehydrated stuff as there used to be. But when you got the whole squad to throw their entrees into a pot for a strange type of stew, it was delicious. Most any surplus shop will have them, and so will some camping supply stores. You can also find them on Ebay occasionally. (There were a few enterprising geniuses that were selling them for 20 bucks a pop for Y2K emergency chow). ---
**Author:** ![demanton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@demanton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/demanton)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/16 "2001-07-07T00:12:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DocCathode \* > **But being a good Jewish boy, I’m curious as to whether any US company makes Kosher MRE’s.** Yes, apparently the largest MRE contractor, [Ballistica Maximus](http://www.angelfire.com/biz/troopsupport/mre.html), offers Kosher MRE’s, and they can be ordered right from the website. _“Lowest pallet prices in the industry”_ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/17 "2001-07-07T00:47:22Z")
I like MREs a lot! Of course, I’ve never _had_ to eat them. I liked them better when they came with dehydrated fruit instead of the wet fruit they have now. The only part I don’t like is the crackers. I’ve had a couple cases at a time and ate them over a few months. I love them! If anyone wants to get rid of any, e-mail me and I’ll pay for shipping! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/18 "2001-07-07T02:49:34Z")
But I’m confused now. What is the difference between MRE’s and FRR’s? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/19 "2001-07-07T03:17:01Z")
Meals Rejected by Ethiopians Meals Refusing to Exit I personally enjoyed the beef stew one, as well as the chicken a la king. Avoid the eggs. ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354/20 "2001-07-07T04:11:04Z")
Meal, Ready to Eat - Three lies for the price of one! Meals Reviled by Everyone Like Turbo Dog, I actually liked the pork patty, as well as the beef patty. Take the dehydrated meat, crumble it up with the crackers, add the cheese and dehydrated ketchup(pork) or powdered gravy mix(beef), add a little water and Viola! instant Ranger Burger™. Really, it tasted a whole lot better than it looked, serioulsy, I’m not kidding. OK, it looked like a meal someone had already eaten and regurgitated, but it didn’t taste nearly as bad as some of the other entrees, like Chicken a la King, Ham & Chicken Loaf, and Beans and Franks. I could never understand people that liked the Chicken a la King. I found it thouroughly disgusting and I’m someone who will eat just about anything if I’m hungry. I got out in 1990, but I’ve tried some of the newer variants that started to appear before I got out. In my unit (a corps support MP brigade in Germany), we were the last to get everything - we were still carrying M1911A1 pistols in August 1990 and had Jeeps until August of 1988. I remember reading about the improved MRE in the Army Times in 1989, but never saw them until my brother gave me a few he had left over from a FTX in 1991. They are a slight improvement, but still not as good as most mess hall meals. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mres/71354.md?page=2)