I have actually worked at Drytech who produces these in Tromsø/Norway. Chicken curry is one of the oldest versions, and one of the most popular. You need more water than you used, there are set levels on the bag for how much water. Also, you dont need a knife, you can tear the bag open. You will see two slots on the side of the bag, top one for opening and inserting water, and the bottom one you tear when you are going to eat. To bad they dont have the chocolate anymore for the arctic ration.
thing is, he, just like most of us around the world, are used to that if you add the exact amount of water indicated on the package of freeze dried food, it turns out very very watery and inedible.
@@SwanseaTitanFan All rations are by deafult made with norwegian and english writing. When I worked there, they also had contracts with many other countries, where we made rations with other languages on.
@@rick5078 I know, I also did that in the beginning, but with this ration, it gets better if you use the correct amount of water. Also, it helps keep the soldier hydrated.
Do you realize the forces you’re toying with? Comments like this may start a Rocky IX situation. I never want to repeat the Dolf Lungren years- super witty though
The Norwegian field rations are just the same stuff we use for hiking, its actually on the pricy side when it comes to freeze dried hiking food. The reason the best before date is like that is Norwegian food safety laws, they will last longer, but the law states that they have a date that is X ammount of years after production max, no matter if it will last 10 years longer.
Not sure how it's done in the US, but "best before XYZ-Date" literally means best before but not bad after. Food that can be dangerous to consume if it is too old will be marked with a "Use by XYZ-Date" marking instead. This stuff is strictly regulated by the norwegian food authority.
Awww man...da!!! I was looking forward to all the witty banter. Love the videos. Been a lurker for a couple of years. This is the only MRE review channel I have ever seen and care to watch. Thanks Natan and team.
This Ration, was the one i liked the most, chicken curry, when i was in the Norwegian army, back in 2010-2011 in the cold North 🇧🇻💖👍🏻 Thank you for the review, proud Norwegian, keep it up and stay safe everyone 👍🏻💖
They look alot better and lighter to carry than the ones I got while in the US army, I always wondered why our MREs aren't freeze dried because any hiker will tell you that's the lightest option (my only complaint would be no hot sauce lol)
I remember the old military rations in Norway. Basically dog biscuits and a can with some stuff named RSP (Reserve battle portion). Usually called "dead man in a can", or "Remains of exploded personel". I have tasted the new rations. They are certainly more tasty.
The reason they put the Best Buy date is because that is the last day the manufacturer gaurentees that the food will be the quality they intended for their product. Example being flavor, color, texture consistency, smell, and edibility. It is also put on their so that people think it’s an expiration date (which is what you called it) and throw it out to buy more. However the Best Buy date has absolutely nothing to do with the expiration date. Freeze dried no vacuumed sealed like that means that it “should” never go bad as long as the vacuum seal is uncompromised
Always enjoy your videos. The last military ration I had was a Vietnam war era C ration can of beefsteak, gravy, & potatoes. It was actually pretty good.,
Arctic rations even the old ones were good because they packed up small and light, but the main down side was you need a crap load of water. Not an issue in the Arctic or wilderness areas like Norway with plenty of clean water.
Worked in the norwegian army for several years. Still have this stuff at home. Had it with this summer when on a trail trip. the Dry tech is form year 2000, still as good as when it was new.
This main looked amazing I really like the set up on these ration. High quality items. Hard decison between french and this like you said depends on menu. Awesome review!
The Norwegina Artic also do Gluten free, lactose free options which is good for food sensitivities, so paid a bit extra. Agreed that the US and UK MRE's need a big taste upgrade
I can't lie that first little yellow chunk had me worried it was gonna be a clump of straight curry powder gonna blow your mind out spicey lol your a braver man than I Nathan, that was pucker factor ¹¹½
Did you find that adding much more water is needed to freeze dried rations to avoid dehydration or ... constipation due to expansion in the intestines?
For international climbers going for Mt Everest, Real is the preferred brand. And they know, they have tried every brand there is! You need every arrow pointing your way at 8000 meters
I see the drink said add 3DL of water. I am assuming that meant 3 deco litres which is 300 ml. Is that a common way of measuring liquid where the mre came from. I would not enjoy trying to open these packages with frozen fingers and crazy thick gloves.
There's a European limitation on expiration dates. Even if you buy a pack of pure salt, it will have an expiration date even though it was here before the dinosaurs.
One thing you should know is that just by sitting in the cold at your post, you will burn at least 2500 calories per day. So everything we eat has rice, potato, starch in some form. It is much more important than protein. Marching in the cold quickly brings you up to 10000 calories.
was about to say the same thing lol, I didn't want to be an ass but I literally just watched the old one a couple days ago, thought I was going crazy as this video went on haha
notice most countries do it all different, in Canada we have Best before which is the peak freshness, expiry(self explanatory), sell by and packaged on which are useless.
I hope that was ration meal pack was for one meal and not 24 hours. As an ex soldier in my country just about everyone took a bottle of tabasco sauce out bush with them to add flavour (or kill flavour if required).
The dates on European rations are due to high standards in food laws. In the US these would be allowed way after the date we usually keep them six months to a year after the beat before date. It was one of the reasons for the UK to leave the EU.
Main reason for UK leaving was so the rich oligarch donors did not have to report their assets so they could keep on avoiding taxes. This was also the main reason for the BREXIT date. Less than a month before these EU rules were introduced. Many of the other reasons were lies. 90% of the EU rules were endorsed or introduced by the UK. Almost all of the rules the brexiteers agitated against were rules UK was endorsing or even worse: uk only rules (like fish packing rules for smoked fish which Boris spoke out against which was a local UK rule)
Unfortunately, their "high standards" don't include washing eggs. I'm glad this is law in the U.S. I've worked on an egg farm and know exactly how nasty chicken eggs can be. I don't want to open a carton from the market and find chicken and rat feces .
How do you get this stuff through customs? I ordered three British 24 Hr ORP's from an online retailer out of Britain and they were confiscated by US customs. 130 bucks down the drain.
You keep saying that it is “freeze dried”. it’s not. It is dehydrated. Freeze dried doesn’t take hot water. You just eat it dry. Other than that, Interesting video.
Don't care about the date, because the food control government say they need to do that. This food can stay for really many years. We did have food from Nato made 50 years ago, it was still food that you can eat. Maybe the taste was poor, but it still was food for your body.
I hate this Field Ration purely because in basic training my squad leader made me eat it with way to much water because i was constapated. It was the most miserable eating expierence in my life, even cod in creamed curry sauce was better.
The reason it have "short" shelf life is because of EU regulations. They have way shorter dates on stuff than what the actual time it goes bad for some reason.
@@jimihendrix991 no, but we have a buisness deal with the EUS, wich basicly means we gotta follow most of their rules anyway🙄 except for the nice things line big quotas on alcohol between borders etc.
Nice meal except im not a fan of curry anything - but if i was hungry and it was all i could get id eat everything except the main and trade it for something else later of lol
Uh, give credit where credit is due dude ....... The Norwegian army or whoever had SFA to do with it. The guys who made it deserve all the credit for the taste and the quality of the meal. All the govt did was buy the stuff, whoopee shit ....... and its not like they used their money either. Besides drytech who makes the REAL product line aren't exactly cheap it's right up there with mountain house ..... tasty but costly !!
Is that a meal? For someone addicted to trash food, it's good. The energy drink isn't food. The best and real ration for a soldier was the WW2 ration, both the American GI's ration and the German field ration were excellent because it included real proteins and calories from real animal source: beef/pork (canned corned beef/ham/bacon), fish (canned sardines/tuna), cheese, even crackling, and chocolate. Saturated fat and protein are better sources of calories than the all the carbs contained in the Norwegian trash!
Seal the main meal and give it a good squeezing, turn it up side down and squeeze some more, much easier than stirring for as long as you did. No way in hell I have the patience for all that stirring If I'm in battle and just want to eat quickly
I have actually worked at Drytech who produces these in Tromsø/Norway. Chicken curry is one of the oldest versions, and one of the most popular. You need more water than you used, there are set levels on the bag for how much water. Also, you dont need a knife, you can tear the bag open. You will see two slots on the side of the bag, top one for opening and inserting water, and the bottom one you tear when you are going to eat. To bad they dont have the chocolate anymore for the arctic ration.
thing is, he, just like most of us around the world, are used to that if you add the exact amount of water indicated on the package of freeze dried food, it turns out very very watery and inedible.
If it’s Norwegian then why the English writing on the package?
@@SwanseaTitanFan NATO requirements
@@SwanseaTitanFan All rations are by deafult made with norwegian and english writing. When I worked there, they also had contracts with many other countries, where we made rations with other languages on.
@@rick5078 I know, I also did that in the beginning, but with this ration, it gets better if you use the correct amount of water. Also, it helps keep the soldier hydrated.
"Hear the vacuum seal"?? Nah bro we say: Nice hiss.
Mkay, nice ;)
Nice....
Do you realize the forces you’re toying with? Comments like this may start a Rocky IX situation. I never want to repeat the Dolf Lungren years- super witty though
@@ralphrutherford2583 What abacadabra is this ??
He he hasn't put out a video in 9 months :(
The Norwegian field rations are just the same stuff we use for hiking, its actually on the pricy side when it comes to freeze dried hiking food. The reason the best before date is like that is Norwegian food safety laws, they will last longer, but the law states that they have a date that is X ammount of years after production max, no matter if it will last 10 years longer.
Not sure how it's done in the US, but "best before XYZ-Date" literally means best before but not bad after. Food that can be dangerous to consume if it is too old will be marked with a "Use by XYZ-Date" marking instead. This stuff is strictly regulated by the norwegian food authority.
Freeze dried stuff will go rancid or lose flavor and such but with the lack of moisture it will still be safe to eat long long after the BB date.
Awww man...da!!! I was looking forward to all the witty banter. Love the videos. Been a lurker for a couple of years. This is the only MRE review channel I have ever seen and care to watch. Thanks Natan and team.
Well thank you i appreciate that
This Ration, was the one i liked the most, chicken curry, when i was in the Norwegian army, back in 2010-2011 in the cold North 🇧🇻💖👍🏻 Thank you for the review, proud Norwegian, keep it up and stay safe everyone 👍🏻💖
Viltgryte
They look alot better and lighter to carry than the ones I got while in the US army, I always wondered why our MREs aren't freeze dried because any hiker will tell you that's the lightest option (my only complaint would be no hot sauce lol)
I remember the old military rations in Norway. Basically dog biscuits and a can with some stuff named RSP (Reserve battle portion). Usually called "dead man in a can", or "Remains of exploded personel". I have tasted the new rations. They are certainly more tasty.
The reason they put the Best Buy date is because that is the last day the manufacturer gaurentees that the food will be the quality they intended for their product. Example being flavor, color, texture consistency, smell, and edibility. It is also put on their so that people think it’s an expiration date (which is what you called it) and throw it out to buy more. However the Best Buy date has absolutely nothing to do with the expiration date. Freeze dried no vacuumed sealed like that means that it “should” never go bad as long as the vacuum seal is uncompromised
Always enjoy your videos. The last military ration I had was a Vietnam war era C ration can of beefsteak, gravy, & potatoes. It was actually pretty good.,
Arctic rations even the old ones were good because they packed up small and light, but the main down side was you need a crap load of water. Not an issue in the Arctic or wilderness areas like Norway with plenty of clean water.
Worked in the norwegian army for several years. Still have this stuff at home. Had it with this summer when on a trail trip. the Dry tech is form year 2000, still as good as when it was new.
All ration's goodness depends on the availability of fresh water, good hot water, and some place dry to eat it. Not being shot at helps .
No meal is good while being shot at lol
@@ralan350 Timing is everything!
This main looked amazing I really like the set up on these ration. High quality items. Hard decison between french and this like you said depends on menu. Awesome review!
Hello from across the river in West Frankfort, IL. I love your videos!
The Norwegina Artic also do Gluten free, lactose free options which is good for food sensitivities, so paid a bit extra. Agreed that the US and UK MRE's need a big taste upgrade
Good review but always wondered why you use your Gerber to open a packet when it has a tear notch which does the job safely……🤔
It’s cool and tough guy to use a knife, apparently.
Has to justify, to his wife, the money spent on the knife.
Just what i was gonna say
And you risk puncturing something inside too
About time the public has seen a proper Nathan reviewing
I can't lie that first little yellow chunk had me worried it was gonna be a clump of straight curry powder gonna blow your mind out spicey lol your a braver man than I Nathan, that was pucker factor ¹¹½
I thought it might be ginger or corn
I don't know about other countries, but in Australia by law, best before date is mandatory on all food and beverage packaging.
Did you find that adding much more water is needed to freeze dried rations to avoid dehydration or ... constipation due to expansion in the intestines?
I suspect the yellow will be turmeric used universally in most curry's. Good review by the way!
So yes, you get xnow but is in Indiana do not have snow yet!
So are MRE's one meal?
Do you get a box of 3 of these per day in the army? or do you go and get them at set times?
a use-by date - relating to food safety
a best before date - relating to food quality
A sell by date - related to stock control
Thank you team. That curry looks like the curry I just made. Mm good.
"Not salty, not weird... hmmm..." Very helpful.
The reason there's a use by date is because bureaucracy says there has to be a use by date.
When im in the mountains fishing I always have some chicken curry in my backpack.
That main looked tasty. It would make a nice hot meal on a cold day. Looking forward to the big German ration .
For international climbers going for Mt Everest, Real is the preferred brand. And they know, they have tried every brand there is! You need every arrow pointing your way at 8000 meters
I see the drink said add 3DL of water. I am assuming that meant 3 deco litres which is 300 ml. Is that a common way of measuring liquid where the mre came from.
I would not enjoy trying to open these packages with frozen fingers and crazy thick gloves.
Deciliter*
It's very common.
Daily reminder that Americans are the only ones that use Imperial exclusively.
Freeze dried or vacuum packed? Makes a difference on shelf life.
I’ve had a simmilar food from the same brand. And i’m quite sure it’s both.
There's a European limitation on expiration dates. Even if you buy a pack of pure salt, it will have an expiration date even though it was here before the dinosaurs.
Is there a top 10 MRE list?
I go deer hunting in the winter time. Something like that would be so awesome for lunch, and so handy. USA MRE not so much…. 🇳🇿
No Amanda ? Well , poopy , no getting to hear her getting picked on by her big brother 🤣 . Great review , by the way . The meal looked really good
Im the little brother
From Norway. Place the hot meal on the side and place the cinnamon bun on top to get it warm from the hot meal
I want to try this so bad! I work twelve hour shifts, with a thirty minute break. I'm looking for a quality MRE I can rely on for energy on the clock.
These are the best you can get next to french
Where in the world do you find these things!?
It's better than the Tikka masala, but it doesn't stand a chance against the old reindeer/wilderness stew.
You killed Rudolph?!
@@TE5LA-GAMING Every year.
its saying best before, not bad after. meaning yeah u can eat it 20 years later , but it was better before the date on the package (tastewise).
Fun stuff. The Real factory is in my town. They are some of the best in the world when it comes to freeze drying
One thing you should know is that just by sitting in the cold at your post, you will burn at least 2500 calories per day. So everything we eat has rice, potato, starch in some form. It is much more important than protein. Marching in the cold quickly brings you up to 10000 calories.
I miss Amanda, Nathan starts cracking jokes and Phil loosens up. She brings the best out of you two. Great ration.
hi i'm a new subscriber to your channel,and i ewant to try,and review the mre ready to eat meals,and become a reviewer.!
Well done , nice video .
Nathan you did the chicken curry a year ago and said the same thing xD love it!
It came free with the others i bought , thought it was worth a second look , plus phillip never has tried it
was about to say the same thing lol, I didn't want to be an ass but I literally just watched the old one a couple days ago, thought I was going crazy as this video went on haha
@@NathansMRE Deffinitely worth it! Is it fun to go back and try them again? To see if you still enjoy them?
I’m actually cooking this for dinner tonight
Where's Amanda?
Listen what Nathan said at the start of the video.
Yes Real Turmat or Real Field Meal symply the best dryrations!!thx😉
I am not a fan of curry, but this meal looks real good to me. This curry almost looks like a gumbo/soup mixture from cajun country......
Im Norwegian... These are Hiking Foods that are sold in sport and hiking shops
They are used by the army as well.
It requires the use of valuable water in a combat field environment.
Mre's are interesting , haven't tried once since I was about 12..
You should really try the kebab ration version Norway has aswell, that is really really good :-)
Where to buy? Great channel.
notice most countries do it all different, in Canada we have Best before which is the peak freshness, expiry(self explanatory), sell by and packaged on which are useless.
I keep hearing good things about artic rations
Great looking MRE, the only down side is you likely need some propane tank water boiler thing to make it. meh
anything freeze dried will be good for countless years
That's really really NICCEE!
I hope that was ration meal pack was for one meal and not 24 hours. As an ex soldier in my country just about everyone took a bottle of tabasco sauce out bush with them to add flavour (or kill flavour if required).
No way would I pass up a US Beef Stew Mre. Crumbled up crackers jalapeno cheese packet and tobasco. Shit was the bomb.
The dates on European rations are due to high standards in food laws. In the US these would be allowed way after the date we usually keep them six months to a year after the beat before date. It was one of the reasons for the UK to leave the EU.
It's mainly the components, the actual meals have like 7 years shelf life on them, obviously a lot longer if stored correctly.
Main reason for UK leaving was so the rich oligarch donors did not have to report their assets so they could keep on avoiding taxes. This was also the main reason for the BREXIT date. Less than a month before these EU rules were introduced. Many of the other reasons were lies. 90% of the EU rules were endorsed or introduced by the UK. Almost all of the rules the brexiteers agitated against were rules UK was endorsing or even worse: uk only rules (like fish packing rules for smoked fish which Boris spoke out against which was a local UK rule)
That was a really bad reason to leave the EU, then.
@Christiaan Nooteboom taxation is theft so probably a good move
Unfortunately, their "high standards" don't include washing eggs. I'm glad this is law in the U.S. I've worked on an egg farm and know exactly how nasty chicken eggs can be. I don't want to open a carton from the market and find chicken and rat feces .
If you eat the silica dryer you might sound like an FRH. LOL.
Hi folks .. little bits of yellow. Hmm sounds like something i would cook. I wonder if the Norwegian army get angry when they are fed this
GOOD ONE AND IT'S EXPLAINED IN ENGLISH...LOL...
I'd rather have these afr's than mountain house, lol
Sorry Amanda couldn't be there. I think she would have liked this one.
How do you get this stuff through customs? I ordered three British 24 Hr ORP's from an online retailer out of Britain and they were confiscated by US customs. 130 bucks down the drain.
the yellow could be egg
Got a long way to go before you can fill Steve’s boots , those food descriptions were LACKING my guy.
You keep saying that it is “freeze dried”. it’s not. It is dehydrated. Freeze dried doesn’t take hot water. You just eat it dry. Other than that, Interesting video.
Fantastico Signor ;-)
They are not expiration dates, they are inspection dates
Yeah it’s freezing ass cold let me just heat up this bag I have with cold water makes a lot of sense
What company did you get these through? Cost per unit?
Yeah single back to the original! Solo, YOLO, #LoneWolf all the way!
Don't care about the date, because the food control government say they need to do that. This food can stay for really many years. We did have food from Nato made 50 years ago, it was still food that you can eat. Maybe the taste was poor, but it still was food for your body.
Where is the best place to get a French ration?
France
'A rock or something'
Lets get it on a tray..nice
I hate this Field Ration purely because in basic training my squad leader made me eat it with way to much water because i was constapated. It was the most miserable eating expierence in my life, even cod in creamed curry sauce was better.
Also the water was lukewarm
The reason it have "short" shelf life is because of EU regulations. They have way shorter dates on stuff than what the actual time it goes bad for some reason.
Norway isn't in the EU.........................
@@jimihendrix991 no, but we have a buisness deal with the EUS, wich basicly means we gotta follow most of their rules anyway🙄 except for the nice things line big quotas on alcohol between borders etc.
Nice meal except im not a fan of curry anything - but if i was hungry and it was all i could get id eat everything except the main and trade it for something else later of lol
At £19.67 per meal (ebay 19-04-2023) this is not a cost effective way of feeding yourself especially for multi day trips
"fill it up til it looks right" buddy thats a constipation lol.
- Norwegian Medic
Carful with coco n choc bars , they are made n designed to make you sh*t twice a day, used to avoid those or trade with new recrutes😂😂
Uh, give credit where credit is due dude .......
The Norwegian army or whoever had SFA to do with it. The guys who made it deserve all the credit for the taste and the quality of the meal.
All the govt did was buy the stuff, whoopee shit ....... and its not like they used their money either. Besides drytech who makes the REAL product line aren't exactly cheap it's right up there with mountain house ..... tasty but costly !!
Lapskaus is the best flavor 😃
btw its still good like 10 years past expiration date for most all military rations, however, you lose taste
Ordered 2 Russian MRE’s. The Customs agents confiscated all the meat and cheese out of them. Sucked big time.
This is what i call REAL Ration.
Is that a meal? For someone addicted to trash food, it's good. The energy drink isn't food. The best and real ration for a soldier was the WW2 ration, both the American GI's ration and the German field ration were excellent because it included real proteins and calories from real animal source: beef/pork (canned corned beef/ham/bacon), fish (canned sardines/tuna), cheese, even crackling, and chocolate. Saturated fat and protein are better sources of calories than the all the carbs contained in the Norwegian trash!
Just bloody eat it 8:43
For an lrp that looks about as good as it can get
Seal the main meal and give it a good squeezing, turn it up side down and squeeze some more, much easier than stirring for as long as you did. No way in hell I have the patience for all that stirring If I'm in battle and just want to eat quickly
If you are in a battle its a very bad idea to be eating an MRE son..
Nice 1!
Watching another MRE channel makes me feel like I’m cheating on Steve. Sorry Steve.
You really dont need a knife to open it 😅