[J.C.you]

Anyone into MRE’s?
Best tasting, availability, other preferences?

[Tim john]

Mountain House brand is our preferred choice. We have been using this brand since the very early 80's on hunting, fishing and trapping adventures. Never a disappointment.

Tim

[78w72]

Ive only tried a couple & they werent really any better than the cheap food you can buy at the store like dinty moore stew or ravolis. But in a pinch they have their purpose.

If you want to see all kinds of these MRE's reviewd, even very old ones from the 50s & 60s & other countries, look up "mresteve" on youtube, excellent reviews on these & kinda entertaining to watch him open & eat some scary MRE's.

[GTOLiam]

Pork w/rice in bbq sauce from around 1990.... hmm good

[Cliff R]

They never have really been all that great, but are "engineered" to provide subsistance for troops in the field. I remember my dad bringing them home back in the 1960's and we thought it was pretty cool to go thru all the contents and sample them. They even came with a metal can opener which I still have a stash of to this day. Can't remember if they were P-24, 38's or something like that? I still have one on all my keychains just in case I need to open a can and I'm long ways from the kitchen!........

[The Champ]

The military can opener was a P38.

The meals were nourishing, but weren't very good. There was one I liked, but can't remember what it was.

(Army Vet, 1972 - 78)

[Sun Tuned]

Man glad to know I’m not the only one who doesn’t wanna miss lunch in case someone forgot the can opener…

[OG68]

In the early 70s during a training exercise my ship was at General Quarters for over 12 hours. C-Rats were given out. The cans were dated from the 1940s which was appropriate I guess since the ship was in WWII.
I went hungry.
The MREs of the last 25 years are far and beyond what was available before then. Everything is in a tear open plastic bag. Very high in calories, some included a bag to heat your food in. (Chemical heat). Several flavors.
During Field exercises, (I was a Dirt Sailor by then) the cooks had to place them face down on the table so the line would move faster. You take your chances with whatever you grabbed.
No Lucky Strikes or Baby Ruths that the C-Rats had though. lol.

I still have a couple cases in the garage in case of an earthquake orsomething.

[Cliff R]

Cool!...

[locomotivebreath]

I don’t know anyone that preferred mre’s over C- rats ! Especially the origional dark brown bag mre’s from the 80s . We started getting the heaters in the late 90s and that was great . Before that , we just ate everything cold . They have had some odd balls the last 20 years , like pizza , and a burrito - terrible . I miss the old ham slice and jalapeño cheese is so good , you can use it as currency in the field ! Grape jelly and vegetable crackers - well thought out . Beef frankfurters in oil ( 4 fingers of death ) - spilled some on my on my flak jacket , I’d rather have smelled gear oil for that 2 weeks . Omelette & ham - drown it in hot sauce and eat in the dark . Tuna & noodles - just don’t , that’ll kick up on ya 0900 in 100 degree heat . Pasta & vegetables - stray cats & dogs in alleys wouldn’t touch that . Oh and don’t forget the individual sheets of single ply toilet paper that we called John Wayne paper - cuz it wouldn’t take ***t off anybody ! Now I have a craving to make a Mogadishu milkshake out of powdered coffee creamers , instant coffees , sugars and cocoa mix - guaranteed to keep u awake in your hole but will likely ruin a canteen lol

[J.C.you]

Ha! Thanks for replies, very informative. Been thinking to stock up on a year supply. Never know what the future brings.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by The Champ

The military can opener was a P38.

The meals were nourishing, but weren't very good. There was one I liked, but can't remember what it was.

(Army Vet, 1972 - 78)

The P51 (larger than the P38) as well; I have both that were my dad’s from the Korean War when surplus WW2 “K” and “C” rats were still being issued to troops in combat areas. Dad used to say nothing turns your stomach faster than having to scrap congealed grease off of your rations before eating them. MREs didn’t come along until 1981; you are referring to MCIs, which replaced the “C” rats in 1958.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by J.C.you

Ha! Thanks for replies, very informative. Been thinking to stock up on a year supply. Never know what the future brings.

J.C., you’d be better off purchasing freeze dried foods. They have a shelf life of up to 25 years verses the MREs 5 year shelf life. Just be careful how much you purchase at one time; ALL purchases of “survival foods” over $250 are automatically reported to FEMA. This is why we are seriously considering purchasing a freeze dryer for home use. It also makes the home preservation of food much simpler.

[OG68]

Originally Posted by Cliff R

Cool!...

I still have a half dozen of those floating around. We called them a "John Wayne" back in the day.

[i82much]

had a buddy that used to put the cherry drink mix and tabasco sauce into the chicken and noodles and call it "sweet and sour chicken." it was absolutely nothing like sweet and sour chicken ...

[OG68]

Sitting in the mud in the middle of the night, you don't really care.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by OG68

Sitting in the mud in the middle of the night, you don't really care.

Dad used to talk about how they would heat their “C” rats when the cooks at his battery couldn’t light the field stoves when they were under fire. They (the gun crews) would wait until they received a “cease fire” command, then they would place their rations on the VERY hot barrels of their 105mm howitzers.

[4dblnkldude]

I'm 47 and have a couple of those can openers from back in the day. Alot of people have no idea what that even is or what it does. There was a guy in the army around the block that gave them to us all the time, we had them hidden up and down the railroad tracks for 5 miles. DRIED PEARS! CHICKEN A LA KING!!

[4dblnkldude]

Which one came with the two chiclets? They were always green or white!

[4zpeed]

When the big intestine starts chewin on the little intestine all of em's pretty damn skippy...


Frank