Why I Love Military Ration Packs. Polish Army MRE - Menu 4 (Goulash). A Tasting Review.
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- Опубліковано 13 чер 2024
- In this video, I will be taste testing a Polish Army MRE ration pack. From opening and showing the contents to heating and eating it, I give my thoughts on this practical, self contained meal pack.
I have always loved a military ration pack, I find them exciting to open and see what’s inside, they are a very convenient food option for trips, they don’t require any special storage conditions, they are highly calorific and they generally have a very long shelf life. And usually, they are surprisingly tasty.
I know there quite a few people out there doing ration pack reviews, but I thought some of you might find it interesting to see my take on them - plus it gives me a genuine reason to try different ones from around the world.
I hope you enjoy the video.
Thanks for watching.
Links
Polish ration pack
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we call these biscuits panzerwafels. because they can pierce the armor of enemy tanks 😉 It was 1/3 of the daily ration. Large daily rations are also available. greetings from a Polish subscriber.
They can also double up as vest armour inserts, making any polish soldier bulletproof. They best use is to dunk them in tea or as soup thickener.
@@donpindol778 That's true dunk them in tee or throw at your enemy :) i love them! When i was a boy scout we got a lot of those from the military :)
Combine those with Tushonka, in the cold winter... and.... wish you had real food.
Nice , great scenery and interesting subject . 👍🇬🇧
NERA
Hi, ex-polish military here :) The landscape and the music reminds me of my summer camps with my parents on Poland. Absolutely lovely!
So,
- you got a fairly good menu,
- you got one vit. C and one coffee candy
- large zipper bag was usually used for water purification, but the tablets were in a larger 24h patrol ration,
- panzerwaffles are kinda legendary around here, You can replace teeth broken by them - with them,
- the lime instant drink is supposed to be drank with the straw while the bag is zipped,
- salt works great added to the flameless heater water,
- spam cans are the best ashtrays,
- the shortest recorded unit of time is the duration of xylithol chewing gums taste,
- the only purpose of the honey is to make everything sticky, also, for some reason it helped with the insect bites, perhaps someone knows why, I always added the honey to the heater pack, liquify it and used it to make the raspberry tea sweeter, sugar can give quite an energy punch during long marches
- the green plastic bag is made from a very thick plastic, which works great as a tinder (SORRY GRETA, DEAL WITH IT),
- I know it will sound a bit disgusting, but the wet wipes used as a toilet paper is the best thing that happened to the army since the beginning of time. No more japanese “itchybutty” syndrom
Honey is a natural antiseptic. It might have anti-inflammatory properties too. Extremely useful substance 😃
Thank you for the interesting information! :)
Ah, yes, Polish panzerwaffles. I have a feeling they changed the recipe recently and they are a bit more crunchy than hard. Despite this, they can still be used as a shuriken, a shovel or a ballistic insert for a vest. When you break them on the edge of the table, you never know for sure whether a cracker, a table or a hand will break
I'm fascinated to see what each country does with their meals. I really enjoyed this.
Growing up in Eastern Canada, my father ran the local scout troop, and we had some kids whose parents were in the military. One of them happened to work in the supply company of the local Infantry battalion, and during some rearranging of the store room came across a pallet of the Canadian equivalent of MREs, which had been wrapped in shipping plastic and mislabeled and forgotten about. Since it wasn't needed and only had a few months left on its best before date, he donated the pallet load to the scout group to feed the kids going to camps and jamborees. As my father was the one storing them for the group, at the end of the summer all the left over packs turned into a twice weekly dinner option for us. I can say with authority that some of the FreddyChefs are a absolutely delicious, and all of them are good quality and tasty, but their reputation for 'backing you up' after eating them for several days straight is well earned.
That was a good score!! 😃
Sounds like an unpleasant way to end the week!
@@simonablokeinthewoods Hey Simon...AWESOME video...THANKS!!
I'd like to see ya' try a ration pack//MRE for the Polish Navy. 🙂
But seriously...I hope you'll do more of these interesting, ration pack vids.
Best regards from Yucatan Mexico,
Ben
My dad was in viet nam and the rats they had was made in 1948. He said the toilet paper they pack in it is more than plenty to use after eating them. I got a case and used them for hunting and camping and yes they do plug you up but man we're they good.
Testing MRE's would make a great series imo. The videos are nice and short but informative and would make a good supplement to your adventure videos. Or even incorporated into them?
I often take a packed meal on a camp out, (Expedition Foods or Wayfayrer etc). But they're bloomin' expensive for a one-off main diish. An MRE on the other hand is a complete meal. So, yes - more please!
The Polish MRE is £18 though and is also mostly a main dish but with just some small extras), so if a Wayfayer is about say £5 or so thats a lot of extra you could spend adding to it a starter and snack. The advantage of the MRE is that it all comes in the one pack of course.
@@tcschenks 👍Thanks Timothy. I'll check that out.
@@robertfreeman6082 I understand that MRE's vary greatly. I suppose I'm a bit lazy, but I like the idea off just throwing a single MRE pack into my bag for convenience. Especially if it's a 2 or 3 day hike. I don't mind occasionally paying a premium for that convenience. Sometimes I do splash out with a small steak and trimmings etc - but the hassle is often not worth it, especially if you're a rubbish cook like me!
The 24hr packs are definitely more cost effective - 3 meals at around £5 per meal plus all the drinks and snacks 👍👍
@@simonablokeinthewoods Yeah this one seemed very light. The Eastern European 24 hour ration packs will also usually have more food per meal.
In Poland, these cookies are called panzerwaffle :)
My family was poor when I was young, my dad was a rating in the RN and mum was a cleaner. Best meals of the week were when dad had pilfered some rat packs. I remember they always had chocolate, spangles and exotic stuff like dried curry. The chicken had the texture of foam though. Loved it then, but can't abide the dried stuff now. When I camp I like to eat well, and that means it doesn't come out of a packet.
Spangles! Showing your age now Jim!
@@derekmcmanus8615 They used to have Aztec bars too.
@@aalexjohna A standard ingredient in all Indian curries.
Simon, as a retired U.S. Tanker, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the old C Rations in the cans. My favorite was Ham and eggs Chopped. Was fantastic cold but, turned nasty evil when heated !.......I even remembered the older U.K. rations with a tin of Brandy in them ! Love your show !
In my high school days, early 1970s, I was in the Civil Air Patrol. At an encampment once we had the old canned C-rats.
Later my military service was first hitch USAF in CONUS, then a hitch in the Navy mostly on shipboard. Never had rations. MREs were just coming out in my Navy days. Didn't eat my first MRE til years later, ordering online. They were good for my out-of-state motorcycle roadtrips!
MRESteve had great success years ago reviewing MREs, building it into camping content might really be neat! Your travels plus a MRE review is a awesome combination you might want to continue! Loved this, here's wishing you all the best in your future videos!
Let’s get this out onto a tray. Nice
@@jezg I was hoping it would summon Steve lol Someone had to say it lol
fact of the matter is, mres taste amazing. they have to be both palatable and nutritious to meet the military's requirements. if mres were pure nutrition but no taste, no one would eat them, soldiers would outsource their food needs to real food companies instead
"Nice hiss!"
@@Tinytraveler Steve as in Camping With Steve - Steve Wallis on UA-cam??
Our biscuits in Poland We call Su-1 Special Biscuits "Panzerwafels". We are used to them and love them. I know that for other people they are mercilessly hard, but they are supposed to survive everything and support digestion, mainly due to the cumin contained in them. You just need to have good teeth, eating technique or soak them :)
I thoroughly enjoy ration packs myself. I'm an American soldier, so I've had plenty of our MRE's. I've often wondered about other countries ration packs. I hope you do a series on these. Great video.
07:39 The biscuits we call "panzer wafle" - kind a german name, means something like "armored wafer", but in fact - they are immortal (after 2 years still good) Greetings from PL ! :)
Seven thousand views after only four hours posted. Simon, you have made yourself an institution.
Show Ideas:
1. There are various types of canoe and kayak paddles. How to select one over the other? How and why do you size a paddle length? What is the difference between an otter tail and a beaver tail? When would you use either one? What other types of paddles are there and when would you use them? Deep water, shallow water? Still or moving water? Wood or plastic resin?
2. More group canoe camping trips with several friends. My favorite was your trip to Scotland for the Alzheimer's Society.
3. More trips to the continent. Or come to America or Canada
4. How about a camping tour about local history? The canoe trip you took to the estuary to explore the U-boats and old gun emplacements was interesting. The British Isles are chock full of historical sites.
Got a canoe trip coming up 😉
Thank you - I’m glad you enjoyed that trip - it was one of my favourites too 😁
Loved this, Simon, and yes, would love to see what other countries provide for their military men. My son spent 5 years in the RAAF as an ADG and all of the Adgies hated the stale, years old ration packs they took on exercise. Beautiful opening sequence, stunning actually. Thank you Simon.
Anyone else just hit like first, then settle in to watch these? Keep them coming Simon.
Nice mix of countries in your stockpile👍 The Polish SR is a great meal. Awesome vid! Careful with those SU teeth breakers.
Great to see you out Simon. Again my heart goes out to you and your family. We will all miss Maggie terribly. Now you have my interest peaked on this packs! Although in Canada I don’t think they are that easy to find.
Hi there you can buy MRE online in Canada, surplus rations RE for sure hard to get. Check out anyone you know who is in the military or at the armoury if you have one where you live. 💂♂️🏴🇨🇦
@@Wardog-rf1tx thank you for the reply.
Thanks Simon, this was an interesting video. Please do continue with the theme!!
Two things you didn't mention, which would've been interesting to know - how much they cost, compared to typical camping meals, and how many calories?
Ah, both of which are in the link, never mind 😀
We enjoyed this video so much! I trust your review on food purely based on how you cook for yourself the rest of the time! Plus, you’re so kind and optimistic with your reviews…even when you clearly don’t enjoy something you always say something positive! Keep it coming!
The Eastern European & Baltic countries all seem to have excellent MRE's 👍
Always check the Honey before you activate the FRH !
The granulated Ice Tea is a commercial product that Aldi used to sell, it's awesome !
That Goulash looked perfect !
These countries simply have solid cuisines
Nice! I would like to see more of these ration pack tests.
I've seen a lot of ration videos on UA-cam and yours is definitely one of the best no messing about, no clickbait and no faffing around and unnecessarily drawn out.
Love the ration packs! Can’t wait for more.
Yes, love hearing your review of the ration pack!
Great video Simon. Really interesting how the water chemical cooker cooks. 👍🏻
I first discovered ration packs as a boy with the New Zealand Air Training Corps. We got given old nzdf issue expired. I loved them. Then I joined the New Zealand Army. Always loved ration packs. Yummy and brings out the boy in me. Like opening a
Christmas present full of yummy food and lollies. And you can make some great meals out of them. The meat in that one with the crackers looked great! 🇵🇱 🇬🇧 🇳🇿
Simon, you hit the nail on the head 😂 love the surprise of a rat pack, even after being in the military I still love em… video made me smile buddy 👍
Love the idea of around the world MRE videos. Sorry to hear of Maggie's passing. Thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family.
Thank you for a wonderful video.
Always so happy to see a post from you! The opening videography was so beautiful! I love that about your videos as much as the rest of the content. The meat looked like Spam and was probably similar. Yes, I think it's interesting to see what comes in those kits. My observation has been that they are often tasty. Thanks for sharing Simon!
Absolutely would be into seeing more of this type of episode!
loved this so much. YES, more of this. I enjoy anything you post. Thank you for all your hard work.
I love MRE reviews. It’s fun to see what the different countries have. Thank you Simon. You have such a great channel.
Back when I served, we would pool the rations and make a Range Stew in one pot and would break up the Biscuits with a bayonet and throw them into the pot. Everybody going into the field brought extra chocolate, tins of stew, tins of beans, tea bags, coffee and so on. The most prized possession in our rations was a tin of peaches or fruit cocktail.
We used to enjoy chucking non-dairy whitener on an open fire, when I was in the cadets at school. It made a big boom! :)
😂
Great video! I would definitely like to see more reviews. What would be good, is, after a number of reviews, take all the best components from the different packs and make a custom ration pack and then use that on an adventure.
Steve1989MREInfo has entered the chat. "Alright, let's get this out onto a tray! Nice!"
This should be a fun series, to see how your perspective compares to Steve's.
Nice hiss 😂
I'm so excited!! I found you and Andy's channels from his MRE eating so this is great!
Enjoy seeing you test the MRE meals. Beautiful beginning with water views and appropriate music. Thank you very much.
Thank you Simon for listening to my comment about more ration pack videos xx love them ❤
Great to see you review a MRE. I know you have these on some of your video but great to see you reviewing and looking forward to more review. Great job
This, by far, my favorite MRE! I have eaten the famous French, the German, the British, the Canadian, the Russian and, of course, US MREs. I spent a whole on a mission surviving o US LRRPs. They were both good and bad at times.
Regarding the Polish MRE, most people complain about the biscuits being too hard, I absolutely love them! The pork pate is fabulous! And the goulash is perfect with real meat. The other stuff, while it is like the other stuff in all MREs.
Hi Simon I love the titles you come up with for your videos, make me laugh. I'd love to see more of you doing reviews on military ration packs, I always find them interesting, great video.
I am really loving your videos Simon
Thank you so much for all that you share with us and I wonder where you find the time
So inspiring and I love your ethics
Thanks again
Stephen
I enjoyed this and would like to see more, I know there are plenty others but I like your natural calm presentation style.
Simon anything you do is well worth watching keep up the awesome work thankyou
Love the way you did this review, looking forward to seeing you try others!
I enjoyed your video very much, the videography, music and your spontaneous laughter is really pleasing. Cheers!
You know it's going to be a good day, when Simon posts a new video.
Really enjoyed the video Simon and please continue with the ration pack reviews! Thanks.
Thanks for the vid Simon, I enjoyed it! Was out for a walk but now I'm salivating and heading home for some food ASAP
Hi Simon ,
I came across your videos just by chance I think a week ago now ...and I'm hooked ! I have subscribed! I find them just so relaxing and I can't thank you enough . I love watching all the cooking ...I loved the look of your beef madras . I will crack on now as I've loads to watch and catch up with . Again my massive thanks , Dean
This was lovely to see Simon! I love your regular videos but this was nice too. Very interesting. I’ve never seen a ration pack before besides on ads.
I love a ration pack too. Because of pur love of your vids my girls love them too. We ordered one the other day and just shared it for lunch. They were so excited. Keep the vids coming.
Greetings from Poland Simon, I hope you have enjoyed the meal. Good video.
Surprisingly good review - enjoyed it - carry on that man!
Hi Simon, wonderful evocative opening sequence.
Always enjoy ration pack reviews. Thanks.
Yes I really enjoy your ration pack segments.
Any of your videos that show the lovely Suffolk/Norfolk countryside is a winner. Even better with a view of water and a good lunch included. Count me in on the ‘yes’ side for more RP videos.
I love this series would be amazing to see all the different pack from around the world
Really enjoyed the video, looking forward to the series. Cheers
Great video, Simon! Really nice to see some ration reviews. Keep it up. Take care
Enjoyed this a lot. Looking forward to seeing more reviews!
I love the ration pack review, it was fun! Would love to see more.
I am very excited about this series!
This was fun! Enjoyed it. Would like to see more.
Great stuff Simon, interesting to see a ration pack up close and I’ve never seen one of those chemical heaters before. Thanks for showing all of that.
Enjoyed it mate, I for one would love to see more of these ration pack reviews 👍
Very interesting. Looking forward to seeing some more of these reviews.
I really enjoy your camping trips so keep them coming please. Ration pack reviews are very cool too👍 combination of both would be most excellent 🤙
Great to see a Brit doing ration reviews well, more please 👍🏻😉
Great video Simon, can tell you really enjoyed making it! Would love to see more. 😊
Brave man, trying these in front of the camera for us.
Anyone stocking up MRE's for emergencies needs to try them before you need them. Some are doable others, not so much.
They're for emergencies, don't wait until it's too late to decide you've been stocking the wrong things.
Good job, Simon. Look forward to your videos.
God bless you and your family, my friend, and hope you have a blessed day.
They are all fine, some people are starving to death so you should be lucky to have any food at all.
I really enjoy these. It would be great to see more!
My old man was in the RAF and when he flew gliders in the Inter Services Gliding competitions they where always supplied with rations, as it was regarded as a detachment. Everybody used to hate the hard tack biscuits -I used to love 'em and usually came home with a few months supply.
Yeah, like the concept of Rat Pack descriptions and briefly reviewing without going into too much depth. Would love to see more 👍🏻
Thanks Simon! Enjoyed that video and would love to see you try more MRE's to share with us.
We call these cookies Pancerwafels. And in my opinion the best set I even sometimes eat at home is S-R set No. 6 S-R-6 1/3DOS. Sausage and cabbage stew. Greetings from Poland :)
I’ve been watching you for about a year and this is a nice change
loved this and mostly all the stuff you decide to put out.. keep on keeping on.
Absolutely I would love to see more of the ration packs from around the world great vid like all your videos
Good video appreciate that you went outside to do your review looking forward to seeing more in the same line
Interesting video. Amazing how the food is heated up. Look forward to the next countries ration pack
Biscuits of this type remain edible for a long time because they contain a minimum amount of water. The prototype for them are ship's biscuits, which were an important element of the diet of 18th-century sailors. Some people eat them dry, but it's best to put them in a sauce. They will soak up the sauce, soften and will be a carbohydrate addition to the main meal (e.g. instead of potatoes). You can also soak them in tea. You have to save your teeth for the enemy ;)
Simon, another great video!!! Can't wait to see more...
Another cracking video Simon thanks for sharing 👍 and always interested in the different packs 👍
Great video Simon. I enjoyed watching this 👍 be good to see more of these 👍
Great vid Simon as per! Missed seeing them! Glad to see you are keeping well, my exams start in 2 weeks, feeling nervous would be an understatement, but again your videos make me realise the important things and life and makes me appreciate nature and the people around me that mean the most. Again thank you and keep on making these amazing, heart warming videos, Ben 😊💛
Thanks Ben and good luck in those exams! 🤞
All the best on your tests. Remember to stay hydrated and try to get a decent amount of sleep.
@@damogranheart5521 thank you 😀
Wish you the best from across the pond.
Cheers
Enjoyed the Ration Pack review! Thanks!
Great vid Simon. Definitely do more ration pack vids, i find it very interesting.
More more please exciting to see what's inside the packs!
Awesome, loved it! Really enjoy ration pack reviews. More please!
I loved it! Seriously. Yes, yes, yes! Would enjoy seeing your opinion on other ration packs.
Great video Simon I'd certainly be interested to see more.
Yes Simon Please do continue the ration pack series. I have used many of the U.S. MRE's and found many to be very good, however I have not even seen the others of the world.
love to see more of the mre collection.....great vid👍
love these types of videos man would love watching more of them especially if you are going on a camp
Keep the MRE reviews coming Simon, great stuff 👍