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Main Page Grub, chow, mystery meat -- combat food 2.0
(Click here to view the original thread on the MassCops Message Board)

Posted by: kwflatbed

By Peggy Mihelich
CNN

(CNN) -- Loathed by most, loved by virtually none, battlefield cuisine has left an indelible mark on the taste buds of American troops -- and it's not a good one.

"Meals Rejected by Everyone" is a popular nickname for MREs, which stands for Meals Ready to Eat, those brownish polymer pouches filled with precooked food and snacks.
While MREs provide food when there's no way to make it to the mess hall, they are no substitutes for what troops crave.

"They really want pizza and beer," says Judith Aylward, senior food technologist at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts.

She and a team of food technicians are working hard to improve the quality and the taste of combat food. And while they haven't been able to give servicemen and women everything they desire, troops are eating a variety of foods far more appetizing than the canned C-rations of World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

Soldiers now dine on penne pasta with vegetarian sausage in spicy tomato sauce, chicken breast fillet and boneless pork rib.

"I like to eat the chicken breast when on the move because it does not have any gravy, so it will not spill all over and make a mess, and it fills you up," said Army Staff Sgt. Joel Klein, of St. Petersburg, Florida, who served in Iraq. Klein is currently stationed at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia.

The beef patty is also a favorite, Aylward says. "It comes with two slices of wheat snack bread, and we include a package of cheese and BBQ sauce so they can feel like they are eating at McDonald's."

While perennial favorites like spaghetti and beef stew please most palates, old classics have fallen out of favor -- like Chicken a-la-King, affectionately called by some Chicken a-la-Death. Other entrees just never catch on. "We had a tuna noodle casserole ... the troops really didn't like it," she says.

"My least favorite is the cheese omelet with vegetables," says Fort Benning Pvt. Antonio Kinslow, from Macon, Georgia.

Klein's least favorite is also the omelet.

Full Story: http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/09/13/c...=ib_technology

Posted by: justanotherparatrooper

No more green eggs and ham?John wayne bars? Soda bisquits to start fires with? Anyone know if they still warn you about not eating beans and franks before a jump?

Posted by: Delta784

The first version of MRE's were just awful, especially the dehydrated beef and pork patties. However, the later versions (at least the ones I had before 1993) weren't that bad. My favorites were meatballs in BBQ sauce, chicken & rice, and (contrary to the article) tuna casserole.

I still think C-rations were better as far as taste, but carrying those heavy metal cans in a rucksack for a 5-day mission sucked.

Posted by: SOT

The best MRe's EVER were the Meatballs and BBQ sauce, beef strips and BBQ sauce, and that Chicken ala King wasn't so bad.

Posted by: Barbrady

I have to say from the old school brown bag I like the chili mac. I also liked the ham slice. The worst by far was the omelet w/ham. Remember the dehydrated fruit? Horrible. Pound cakes were good too.

The tan bags of today are all pretty decent. They have got dairy shakes, cookies, and real fruit!! The new ones coming out soon are supposed to be da bom.

Posted by: SOT

I will say the BIG drawback from the MRE was the MRE shit you took after a week on FTX or in the field just eating MRE's.

Posted by: Barbrady

Yeah a weeks worth is not pleasant.

Posted by: oldman

I was in the Marine reserves when they first introduced MRE's to "weekend warriors." They had a big meeting to discuss what might happen if we were so stupid as to eat several dehydrated beef patties and then drink a full canteen of water. I guess they thought we might blow up!

Another name for MRE's was... Meals refused by Ethiopians! They were so bad at first that they had to add a bottle of tobasco sauce to every package just to be able to cover up the taste.

You have never seen anything until you have seen a bag of MRE's swell up from bad food inside. Went through that twice.

Posted by: screamineagle

I used to like the oatmeal bar too. It looked like particle board but was pretty tasty. My fav meal was the beef bits in bbq sauce. I friggin hated the omelet with ham, and the very first one I ate I will never forget, dehydrated pork patty.

Posted by: Delta784

Quote:

Originally Posted by SOT

I will say the BIG drawback from the MRE was the MRE shit you took after a week on FTX or in the field just eating MRE's.

Try living on them for 6 months.

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