Lots of different ones over on youtube, mostly military versions for the different countries they represent.
What if you wanted to make your own MRE kits? What would you include and why?
I know I would include salt and pepper and one of those small hot sauce bottles, plus a cookie, brownie, energy bar etc, but how would I include chilli or even tuna fish?
Perhaps the tuna fish in one of those packets they come in now and some relish or mayo packets and of course something like a powder drink to wash it down with supposing you have clean water that is.
Everything you’ve mentioned, with the exception of probably relish, already comes in MREs; to include Chili (Chili Mac & Chili w/ beans) and Tuna. As you’ve guessed, the tuna comes in those single serving pouches.
Many of the MREs do contain a small packet of generic hot sauce and at least some have a chili-lime sauce that’s pretty good.
I seem to recall that at one time in the past it was SOP to include a large bottle of Tabasco brand sauce withing each case of meals instead of putting a small bottle in some or all of the individual meals. True?
Some of them contain a “First Strike” bar - a dense and chewy energy bar. The cranberry ones were tasty but I’m pretty sure the chocolate ones tasted of pure evil.
Basically canned fruit in a pouch instead of a can.
As far as what needs to be included in MREs, they need to put in a decent flameless heater. Triple the amount of reactants in there.
I also have not heard anything good about the ridiculous beverage bag they have. Do soldiers still carry the old fashioned canteen cup or any other suitable hot beverage container as part of their standard kit?
You know, on paper they don’t sound at all bad. Though likely there are texture shortcomings from being tweaked to be packable, and probably a lot less appealing if you have to eat one cold. (My first impression was that there sounded like a LOT of food to eat, but then I’m not hiking around hauling 60 pound packs and such.)
Do they sell these to the general pubic any where? I’d be curious to give them a try.
I was on a NTC rotation when we first go the MRE heaters. They weren’t even in the MREs yet they were in a separate box. It was like a friggin miracle.
One of my big complaints is there are certain meals that need two but there was only one. The ones where there are separate pouches for rice or other components. So you had to choose if the rice or the chili was going to be cold. If you try to stop to pouches in one heater it didn’t really work.
They’re easy to find both through eBay and Amazon. If you’re looking for genuine US DOD issue meals then you really can’t buy fresh ones. Brand new MREs have a production date printed on the case and an inspection date three years in the future. The military keeps them in one warehouse or another until issued to forces. If they have not been issued to troops in that time, they are sold on the open market in huge lots to resellers. When buying, find out what inspection date is printed on the case and buy the most recent ones available. There will also be a red dot sticker on the case that turns dark if the case has been subjected to high temp abuses
They aren’t as bad as some would have you think. They were certainly better than the first run back in the 80s. Kids today will never know the pleasure of having a dehydrated beef patty.
I know some people who couldn’t be bothered taking the time to heat them up. They are 10 times better when they’re hot.
The problem with the heaters are usually one of three things.
1 . Overfilling. It works best with very little water, filling above the line kills many.
Base temp. If it’s freezing cold out they just don’t get it. Prewarm the heater by pulling it out and placing it close to your body and it will kick off as expected.
Or with a bit more risk , post warm it the same way until it starts kicking off.
Very seldom, but occasionally one won’t work right no matter what.
The cup, technically yes, practically no. It’s part of the ta-50 but carry it … Most people just have their Camelback on.
Unless your out in the field for a month in kansas, during the winter. Then you carry that cup, use it to heat water on the potbelly stove or kerosene furnace in your squad tent. (Do they still use the diesel fueled potbelly stoves or kerosene heaters these days?)
The tuna casserole was one of the better mre menus when I was in. The omelet and the burrito were not.
They have what they call “pizza”. I reminded me of a Dominos pizza that had been left on the kitchen counter for the last three days. It might be tasty if you’ve been in the field for weeks and need a pizza fix but don’t get you’re hopes up.
I looked around and found a video of a guy reviewing/eating a current MRE, pepperoni pizza slice with breadsticks and cherry cobbler and a cookie. He seemed genuinely happy with the taste, mostly with the texture (said the ‘breadstick’ was kind of doughy), and utterly ecstatic that the coffee had gone back to “instant type II.”
Surprised to learn that these MRE are invented in Natick, MA, practically my back yard.
US meals come packed twelve to a case and there will always be an “A” and a “B” case for a total of twenty four menus. If you want to sample them all, that’s what you have to do. If you only want to sample a few, check eBay. The per meal price will be higher but it’s less of an investment for what could be an unpalatable experiment.
There are at least three different companies producing meals under contract for the DOD. There are some minor distinctions in side items between these different manufacturers but I really can’t describe these diferences in specific terms. Also note that these same companies plus a few others produce civilian versions for direct sales to the general public. These meal often contain the exact same main dish as the US MRE but the sides and accessories tend to be much more limited. If freshness is crucial, if you’re actually intending to stick these on a shelf and maybe have to rely on them in an emergency, look at these. They might be a better bet. I’ve never purchased them personally but they might suit your needs.
I’ve tried several different MRE equivalents from the militaries of other nations. The German and Italian ones were outstanding. The British, Canadian (poutine in a retort pouch, shudder) and Norwegian were meh. The French meal was just confusing. I also sampled a few different versions of the Russian 24hour ration packs including one specifically packed for Russian prison guards. They’re scary but robust gut bombs I promise you. If you decide you like the novelty of MREs and you have the funds, go for it.
I’ve been buying a couple cases every year or two on Ebay for a long time – never had a problem. I like to have some around in case of long power outages in my rural area. I strongly recommend buying the real military MREs, not the civilian versions. The military version has much more variety.
What doesn’t get eaten over the winter I use on day hikes, camping trips, or just when I don’t feel like cooking. I’ve also thrown a couple of neighborhood MRE cookouts to give people a chance to try them.
They’re not great food but are certainly edible and some are actually quite tasty.
The beverage bag doesn’t really replace the canteen cup. It has a couple benefits.
The beverage bag allows you to heat up your drink using the flame less ration heater. If you don’t have the luxury (the time or the security) to have a fire, you can still have hot coffee. Just fill the beverage bag and slide it into the ration heater, just like a meal. Hot, instant coffee!
The beverage bag works great for storing your cell phone or other electronics, or even a small notebook, small reference cards, maps, etc. Anything you want to keep dry.
The beverage bag gives you a clean, disposable, drink container. The canteen cup easily gets full of dirt, mud or left overs. Using the beverage bag saves the time (and valuable water) of having to clean out the cup. Plus, when you’re done, you dont have to rinse out the canteen cup to make sure there is no sugary water residue left that might attract ants. You can just throw away the bag.
Except that they don’t necessarily sell them at the three year mark. If the inspection determines that they’ve been stored properly, they will keep them around. I’ve had MREs that were at least 5-6 years old, so they’re not universally discarding them after 3.