True. An MRE is just that, a single meal. They should have had three of those for one 24 hour ration pack. I've eaten the US MREs and my issue is that everything tastes so fake and fortified that it's actually off putting. Now the French RCIR is a quality ration.
A US millitary MRE is suppose to have 3000 calories. Combat related millitary occupations burn a lot of calories. I’m a culinary specialist in the US army. National guard solider. The DOD limits MRES to two meals a day in the field. One meal is suppose to a hot served meal. I try not to eat them when possible. I also don’t eat everything in them. Also available in the USA is cold weather MREs where you add hot boiling water to the dried main course.
@@joshuakelly6765 , that DOD limit doesn't really pan out a lot of times. I've been on plenty of exercises where we wind up having nothing but MREs for every meal for weeks. Not many of us will eat three MREs a day, though, because after a solid week of that, you'd almost rather starve than eat another MRE.
Pro tips from a British army soldier: - Always bring your own seasoning, salt is the bare minimum - Mix hot chocolate powder into the muesli, it SLAPS - Nobody has time to make the energy drinks, just eat the powder straight - Biscuit browns are genuinely designed to prevent you from needing to use a toilet, so tread carefully Harry
And in the US we mix the hot cocoa, coffee creamer and coffee and the sugars and add some water and make a pudding to keep you awake on night ops. We called it Ranger Paste. The whole meal binds you up pretty good and the gum was rumored to be a laxative.
Going back a long way, UK rations used to have a tube of sweetened condensed milk, which everyone consumed straight from the tube. It was the closest thing to crack that it's possible to legally consume and left you with a twitchy sugar-high for days.
Don't think I've ever actually seen anyone use the powdered drinks, too much a faff to use and usally get binned before deploying. Good tip to your first point, you can snag a few salt/pepper sachets form the mess hall (if wanting to go gourmet lol). Also forgot the Moral-ibo ;)
@@caolkyle Only exemption to the drink packs is behind the walls for a bit of "light hearted" entertainment, 5 packs of screech in an old bottle and JUST enough water to suspend it all, leave it out in the blazing Cypriate sun for 4 hours then you've got a game. Provided you've mixed up enough for two, dish half out to a mate, chuck your ressie on and get the straw out, first one to pass out or spew looses and taking your ressie off is an instant disqual 😂 Learned that trick off a guy we had on protection during a construction project in Afghanistan. He called it the Battery Acid Challenge 😂
I work for the company that makes some of the cheese spreads for the US MREs. I’m kind of bummed they didn’t try any. The Jalapeño spread is very popular among our service people from what I understand.
@@megansr.e.d.library9651my friend who served alongside with US troops was confident that the jalapeño spread was an inside joke or a meme, but when he saw someone trade an entire entree for one he decided that it had to be a cult of some kind.
I wish they had talked to active or former soldiers to find out which menus were the most well liked and which were last resorts. I can also tell you from watching videos of soldiers talking about MREs and hearing from family in the military, the jalapeño cheese is very popular with a lot of the troops.
@@techpriest5452 That is because its pretty regular for someone to be issued 2 or 3 mres per day which adds up to roughly 3k calories, most people who get 3 completely trade off everything in the 3rd mre for snacks and other stuff that you want. Even if you are issued only 2 you can trade off 1 entree and still get roughly 2k calories a day especially if the entree is one of the less popular ones.
YEEEESSSSS!!! DUDE! I just finished writing a comment about the JalChz (among other things). Thank you for bringing such an excellent product to the frontlines (and chow hall deficient platoons) for decades! Thank you for your service! (no sarc-mark)
im retired British Army and im glad the ration packs have evolved over the years. when i joined up at 16 the rations came in a box ether 24 hour or ten man rations where everything came in a tin and it all had to be cooked, we had weird usually green cheese and milk chocolate bar that was usually white in places. biscuit brown which would bung you up for a day and biscuit fruits. now the guys and girls get a much wider choice.
Ha yes I remember those; and you had a hexamine stove to heat them up which you couldn't use under cover. To be fair anything canned (rations or from the shop) is already cooked and can be eaten unheated.
When I was in the Marine Corps I did an exchange program with the British army in the early 90’s and at the time enjoyed their rations more than ours. A really big difference was they also tended to get hot meals from a field kitchen far more often than we did, which was darn near never. Getting eggs to order once in a while was way more enjoyable than the occasional green powdered eggs in a vat can they’d shuttle out to us Marines in the field once in a blue moon. Fresh food is a real morale booster.
The British have actually made this a bit of a tradition since WW2. During stuff like the 7 years War -> Victorian periods, guy would have stuff cooked for them to put in their knapsacks and eat out of on the march however when at an actual camp they’d be given a full on meal by the women. When it came to WW1 they mostly eat rations which the army found caused lots of men to become ill due to lack of sustenance and a lot to come home more malnourished than was healthy. However, troops did get a proper meal when relieved from the lines and brought to rear lines/areas. However what really changed it was in WW2 during the desert campaigns in Northern Africa. Since alot of units would be expected to operate across the deserts and the chance for them to get back for a proper meals they created actual vans that would go about the deserts and supply troops with hot meals and drinks on the go. It became so popular with the troops that it’s actually continued to even this day. What became even more interesting was the stories these guys would get sometimes. Several would be chased by planes, be caught in surprise battles where they’d dart around between actual action and fighting. I do believe one even became apart of a LRDG patrol and I even think Rommel made his headquarters one after capturing one. And like I said to this day the mobile kitchens are still a thing in the army and are still extremely popular especially as they are quite a standard tradition here in general (namely known as breakfast vans or burger vans) that you’ll see about the sides of roads or bus stations you can nip in and grab a nice warm breakfast and coffee from alongside a simple chat and conversation with the chefs and local patronage.
As a British vet, I worked many opps alongside all departments of US military over my career from the 80s until mid 2000s. We would trade all sorts of shit with each other, but the most sort out item was US MREs. They were sooo much better than our “rat packs” , which were canned in most cases, but were OK. The US food was so easy to prepare and saved so much time, was easy to store and tasted better especially after a dash of Tabasco sauce which came in every pack. On base, we were very lucky to have a unit called MCSU, (Mobile Catering Support Unit), who could turn our bland “rat packs” into something that you would pay money for in a restaurant. 😊 The US guys were getting hit up for MREs by the Brits, which the US were living off, while we also went to the mess and scoffed up some good nosh. Not cool, but that’s what it was.
Without a field kitchen and soldering behind lines or defending / attacking, etc, I can guarentee soldiers will wolf this stuff down like it was the finest ambrosia money could buy. When I was young my Nan had a great nephew over for Christmas family get-together and he was in the Paratroopers (UK) and have gave me and my brother one of their ratio packs. Everything tasted like shite but as he said, "Its meant to keep you going, give energy...keep you alive. It's not meant to be tea at the Ritz". True words! Is that true seeing as a few military people have commented?
@freebeerfordworkers - Lol, I do remember there being a Mars bar or some other sub-par chocolate in the pack. He said that was the treat they all wanted.
I'm retired US Army, retired in 2013. I've been waiting for this video. It's always strange seeing the menu changes. Like there was a Sloppy Joe MRE I used to love. It came with off brand Cheese Its. I also loved the tuna and there was a chicken fajitas I was found of. Also there used to be a beef patty, pork patty and veggie patty. Everyone preferred the veggie patty. The beef and pork did not taste like real meat. There used to be an "omelet" MRE which guys would basically fight to not get. As you can imagine it was godawful. And you'd end up only eating the side items. As others have stated there's general no breakfast specific MRE. Generally during field exercises or training we'd be giving two to three MRE's and it was up to us to decide what to eat. That said there are some "breakfast" MRE's but they seem to be exclusive to the cold weather MRE's, they come in a white bag. I was stationed in north Alaska and only ever saw them there. They include a few omelet options and oatmeal and etc. Google "cold weather MRE" to get an ideal. The fruit and applesauce options are more so a desert then for breakfast. An MRE generally included either either cake, cookie, or fruit. When I was in for our MRE's the coffee was Folgers or just no brand. The candy generally didn't come in the on shelf brand packaging. It was just in the brown basic packaging. But it was definitely skittles or M&M's or Resees pieces and etc. Oh on the high sodium levels. As a soldier you sweat a lot. I'm talking cloths always stained from the salt sweats as I called them. So the Army purposely makes the MRE's with enough sodium to replace what you're loosing. On the shelf life. I remember around 2006 getting a MRE from like 1991. It was edible. Not great but when you're tired and hungry 🤷🏾♂️. All that said I'm one of those weirdos who actually kinda enjoys MRE's. I buy a case from the Army surplus store like once a year. Take them camping and hiking. Every year on my enlistment anniversary I'll "treat" myself to a MRE. I also love making my kids and nieces and nephews and etc eat them. 😂
Well said and congrats on retiring. I am a one tour and done Army Medic from 90s and MREs fascinated me. I have a crazy collection of international and US Mil MREs. My wife thinks I am insane. She is correct.
Not sure if you’re familiar with Steve who reviews MRE’s, but if not I bet you’d like watching his stuff. Great quality content and he definitely reviewed the vomlet!
A couple of points-the flak jackets had a pouch on inside that would fit a mre pouch. Put the pouch in and it would be warm by the time to eat. The heating bags were also useful for putting in a sleeping bag to heat it up. The “gatorade” mix is due to a change of training. Vietnam veterans have told me that they would go on training marches and would have to have half-full canteen at the end. This taught water discipline. Now water is less restricted but electrolytes need to be replaced. Hence the extra sugar and sodium in the rations.
Yeah as honestly what other brands do the UK and US even share anymore? But, hey through research the team were able to find Popeye's, Wing Stop and Denny's so something will surely be found
As a US Army Joe, these are single meal rations. You're supposed to get at minimum 2 a day but my unit issues 3. There is no designated breakfast except for like a few menus but I can't even remember the last time I saw one. I make friends with our supply guys to get Menus I like and then on the resupply days I make sure I'm the first to the box so I can take what sounds good. Also, I've kind of remembered what comes in each MRE per what year production it is bc they usually changed sides and snacks every once and a while. All the texmex options are super solid, love beef stew, Chicken with vegetables in sauce is good when heated, and pizza is a terrible option bc the main is mid but it is has terrible snacks n sides.
maple sausage and hashbrowns are the best "breakfast" mres hands down. tbh though people complain too much about mres they don't taste amazing but as long as you don't get creamy spinach fettucini or the vegetarian one it's chill
They have a "Cheese Pizza Slice" now.. that's apparently better. It's Menu #11.. replacement the "Vegetable Crumbles With Pasta in Taco Sauce". It's in MRE's Manufactured in '21 and up. Still have the Pepperoni Pizza Slice though.
My husband is retired US Air Force. Back in the 90s he had like a 5 day drill. He ate MREs they whole time. He stunk to high heaven from all of the preservatives. He did bring home freeze dried ice cream, fruit and other stuff for the kids to try. He has the advantage that he worked on generators and other equipment. They would heat their meals up on the engines. I still have tiny bottles of Tabasco sauce and little salt and peppers from MRE's. Not sure if after almost 30 years of they would still be good.
We in the British Army in Germany, in the early 70´s, got composite rations, 0ne box filled with almost all cans was enough for 10 men for one day or vice versa. Some included chocolate and sweets but they all contained the famous "Cheese Processed", that came with an imprint of the lid on the cheese,commonly called " Cheese Possessed" for good reason. The ones we were issued in 1970 - 73 typically were made in 1955 -57.
Sorry for asking, but in 70s thefe was no war in Germany so your duty was more like peace mission. I would assume that under those conditions you would have a canteen with proper cooking. I am sorry you did not.
Youre supposed to eat the entire MRE as 1 meal. Ypu eat 2 a day and it gives you about 5000 calories which is about what you burn doing military operations. You also generally don't eat the whole thing at once it's taken in over a few hours because you only get a few minute breaks here and there you don't have 20 minutes usually to sit there and eat it's like a 5-10 minute break then right back at it. We dint do full day rations. If I'm going on a 3 day patrol I take 5 or 6 MREs and fill up my belly on hot chow before going out.
you mentioned a lot of sodium in the USA MRE's. that makes sense to me, because a soldier in the field is probably sweating a LOT and legitimately needs more sodium in their diet than a regular civilian in day to day life. i could be wrong but it made sense to me. i also want to point out that 'daily recommended intake' is going to wildly different for an active soldier in the field vs an average civilian
@@r.b.rozier9692 sadly i have to dispute this. you are correct that salt CAN be used as a preservative, but for it to actually function in that manner actually requires substantially more salt, to the point where it becomes nearly inedible or more. consider the prime example or salt pork: it could be preserved for months due tot eh salt, but to actually make it edible once they decided to consume it they had to wash off the salt, and usually tried to soak it in water for an extended period of time to further draw out the salt, before cooking it. the amount of salt in the MRE's is definitely not to this level for preservation.
The UK packs seem to be 24hrs worth of food but the US MREs are single meals so the apple sauces or other fruity things are supposed to be eaten as a dessert. You would get separate MREs for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. I've also tried a bunch of them because my stepdad was in the army and they are all better hot, he said they would only eat them cold if absolutely necessary 😅
Gutted to see the Brit rations no longer contain the chocolate sponge and custard. It was lush hot or cold. Most guys also supplemented their rations with a bottle of tabasco sauce. Another thing...a squad would make a brew up of builders tea (strong, sweet and dosed with lots of milk powder) and it had to contain cigarette ash, an army tradition.
I think it was a 'hardman' thing and a bit of a fun tradition. The tea was nicknamed 'gunshot'. Builders tea is still a regular for me, 2 teabags brewed for 5 minutes, 3 spoons of sugar and a ton of milk in a big mug. Lush. @@dMi_mi
The little sachet of hot sauce is comparatively new. They did used to have the mini tabasco bottles, both red or green tabasco. The sachet is a lot hotter sauce though than tabasco.
This guy NOT putting the Cheese Spread on the Toco's and Complaining about the lack of cheese is mindboggling "BRO They GIVE You Cheese in these TO put on the Toco's!!!!"
The Food Wars video I didn’t know I needed. I LOVE MRE reviews! Excited to see what y’all think. My money’s on Joe getting nauseous and Harry refusing to eat at least one item on principle.
I'm really glad Joe liked the vanilla cappucino mix. My friend was in the National Guard and gave me some MREs to try. I thought that mix was honestly better than the average Starbucks sweetened beverage.
What channels do you watch MRE reviews on? I watch SteveMRE, and a channel where the host is called Emme, and there's a third channel which I cant think of right now.
As a kid of the 60's, my father was a Sargent in the army reserves. When he came home from the once a month training weekend, he would bekng home extra C-rations (shows how far back these were from!) As kids, my favorites was the peanut butter/jelly & crackers and the chocolate bars! 😋😋 We even had one year saved up enough C-rations, so that while daddy was out on his annual 2 week training, my brother & I were able to eat the same foods that daddy had! As a 6-7 yr old, this was fun.
In the field ounces are pounds and pounds are pain. Also, the US "breakfasts" he keeps mentioning are just sides for the actual MRE. Each MRE are for one meal with a couple MRE's being more designed as a "breakfast" MRE menu item. when in the field you'll just get however many MREs you need and its up to you to eat them for whatever meal. Personally, I've been in the field for two days and of the four MRE's I got, two ended up being spinach fettuccini, chili, and the taco bowl. ate the taco bowl for breakfast on day two. Just need to go with it lol
The best British ration that sometimes appears is spicy sausage with potato wedges, but it's definitely one that's best eaten hot. The apricot oat biscuits are pretty nice as are the cheese biscuits.
Okay I NEVER would've thought this would be a thing. Yet it is. And I'm very happy. My assumption for the high sodium is to replenish the sodium a soldier would lose from sweating doing various physical activities throughout the day. Fun fact about the U.S MRE spoon. It actually has a confirmed kill when a soldier was ambushed and couldn't get his knife so he just used the spoon from his MRE.
The pro/squaddie move is to mix and match, boys. You don't eat the meal as a course per se but chuck other things in as you see fit. As well as swapping out stuff within your section/platoon per preference.
Took a couple of the british packs for a camping trip this summer, and honestly for the price, it's impossible to beat. We selected a pack each, had it over a few days as a suppliment to eating out, etc, and against the £10 each boil in bag camping meals, it kicked them to the curb. Only problem is weight. If someone did these packs dehydrated as good as these were warmed up for campers / hikers, for the same price, you'd be splashing around cash like scrooge mc duck
There are companies in the US and Canada that make things like you described for people who go on extended camping trips in the north american wilderness. Problem is they are often anything but cheap and the milsurp ones aren't cheap either, at least not where I've found 'em
Those heat pads are really popular with hikers in Japan, they wear them under their clothes or put them in mittens. But not surprising, they are paranoid about getting their head wet and have brollies out at the slightest drop of rain when in Britain we wouldnt even consider drizzle as actual rain.
usually the applesauce is a dessert not a breakfast and the grape jelly, peanut butter, or cheese spread comes with crackers but you can also put the cheese spread in the main course like the Mexican foods and the things in a tomato sauce. Just like the previous person said they are just one meal per USA MRE and since lunch and dinner are usually eaten when not in camp they are non breakfast, usually breakfast is eaten while in camp so you get large containers for breakfast that are cooked by the cooks
To answer a few questions ref the UK rat packs, yes some of the menus are intentionally vegetarian, most of the meals are made sweeter than you would normally expect so that you get more energy from them and a lot of the bad meals can be made wayyyy better by mixing things together. A few examples that I think work very well: tuna mayo and tobacco sauce, porridge with raspberry jam, biscuits brown with peanut butter.
You were supposed to use the buffalo/hot sauce that came with the chicken chunks MRE, that's what makes it one of the most sought MRE whenever I'm in the field. It's kind of weird you guys went through the main meal + desert of each one and not MREs by the entire pack. Yeah, those raspberry purees and fruit stuff were deserts. This was ok albeit misguided.
Army guys I knew in UK told me the best meals were the ones the Gurkha’s got, proper hot curry apparently. I think there used to be boiled sweets in them too, because they told me there was much swapping of sweets to get the flavour you wanted.
Quite often the UK ration packs will have packs of boiled sweets like 15 or so individually wrapped sweets. Good pocket munchers but anyone in, going to field will be smart enough to prepack some Harribo. (Dubbed as Moral-ibo)
I was an Australian Army reservist as a teenager and was pretty surprised by the quality of the RAT packs we got given when doing our field work. they were pretty diverse, most were totally fine hot or cold(though hot was preffered generally) compared to the american ones, ours were like 5 star meals lmao you yanks get some Rough grub aha
I remember the old tinned British 'compo' rations. Babies heads, cheese possessed (if you know, you know), compo sausages and bacon grill, with a tin marked 'sundries' that contained Beechnut chewing gum and boiled sweets.
So I was curious about these for so many years. Well I finally bought a couple earlier this year. As just a meal goes better then gas station food. But if you need something Portable and and easy to prepare while you're occupied then these are amazing. I work on a farm and sometimes I just don't have time to go get something to eat. I've bought more and I always keep one in my truck.
my dad was in the us army in vietnam, and we took some mres when we went camping when i was a kid. he was SUPER impressed compared to what the army fed him in the field. It was a HUGE improvement according to him, and I believe it!
Tips from a current Active Duty Army Chaplain: 1. ALWAYS heat it up if at all possible 2. Use the crackers or bread to add texture to stew sryle dishes 3. Use the hot sauce or pepper flake
Back in the late 70s/early 80s, I used the old 24 hour ration packs with the cans in them. Sausage and beans, Oatmeal block, Chicken curry and rice, hard biscuits, and (my favourite) a toothpaste style tube of condensed milk. 😎
i spent 8 years in the US Army, the only MRE that everyone collectively hated was the Veggie Omelet. It all taste better warm but when your hungry and haven't ate all day it taste pretty good.
I saw an American soldier do a comparison between UK & USA ration packs a few years ago and the soldier was amazed that the UK ration pack came with a small tabasco sauce and the USA one didn't. The USA must have seen it and added it and the UK also must have seen it and removed it seeing as it wasn't mentioned on the UK one. Love these comparison vids. Keep it up chaps.
I remember being on exercise and swapping rations to try them ( this was years ago btw ). I liked our Brit stuff mostly, the Italian stuff was lovely, the French stuff sensational and the American rations depended on whether you had a sweet tooth; I don't, and everything even the savoury parts were sugary.
US MRE's were called "Meals Rejected by Ethiopians" by UK forces during the Eighties. For you young people. There was a famine in Ethiopia during the Eighties.
When my brother got the ration packs from being in the British Army he only picked a couple things out of it that he would use and threw the rest away. I have tried the sesame bar and very very sweet. Everything is basically packed with weather for being outside. He would just get his own food that he would prefer and bring it with him
My father was supply Sgt. in the local NATIONAL GUARD Battery,served 1949-1989. After their annual 2 wk. summer drill we (my 5 bros. and I) would get all the leftover C-Rations. We had a 150' white pine in the yard that was treehouse on every level possible where we enjoyed them or in our fully outfitted backyard of several pup-tents.The poundcake, cigarette pks. w/ 5 cigs in each and the p-38's were my favorite,but there was nothing I didn't like. It was all better than my moms cooking,and I got to sleep in the tree.
2:40 - 2:52 convinced me this video was insufficiently researched and the hosts have no idea what they're talking about. Thanks for showing us that early and saving me the remaining half hour of my life!
This is a beautiful thing to watch at midnight when I can't go to sleep. I learned things, and I was entertained. (Now I can send this to my brother and pester him >:) he wanted to be in the military so badly)
It’s survival food. It’s not trying be gourmet. It’s sole purpose it to be efficient , non-perishable nutrition. And if I were stranded in the wilderness it starving, I would eat this food happily!
I mean, it can achieve its purpose without tasting like garbage. MREs have largely improved on that aspect over the years without affecting the "sole purpose". There were some vomit-inducing MREs they used to give us that I would 100% rather starve than eat.
its not "survival" food. it *is* meant to taste nice as best as possible. food that tastes nice is more readily eaten, getting that nutrition into the body
You want your soldiers in the field to be as happy as possible given the situation they're in, and a big part of that is having a tasty hot meal available. You have no idea how much soldiers can look forwards to just stopping for a while, gathering around a heating bag or a stove and getting a hot meal inside of them which tastes decent. And a "happy" soldier fights better and has better morale so they can withstand more hardships. Example the Russians who get mainly tinned rations and have to sort their own heating out, their morale is awful.
You really don’t know unless you’ve experienced it. In preparation for weight loss surgery I did the two week starvation diet (600 calories a day) and it’s so miserable. While I did have a small variety available to me between soups, puddings, and shakes, (they were all powdered mixes to be blended with water) it became a struggle to get even that down because it just didn’t taste good. Having food that tastes good is really important as a morale boost and in getting enough nutrition.
@lloydcollins6337 I respect that. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a soldier and I definitely want the ones on our side to be happy and well fed! I was referring more to emergency and temporary situations, but I get it
I actually had more experience with MRE's prior to enlisting in the Army (U.S.) than I did while serving (never deployed). They serve a singular purpose, sustenance, and do their best to provide comfort via taste, but their ultimate goal is to keep you alive. I used them on long hikes/hunts because I knew if I couldn't find food, then I always had a go-to "save me" option. Even with the U.S. options intending for more than one meal a day, you really only need one every day or two to feel satiated. They have everything you need for multiple days without other sources of food. Having said that, I'm very jealous of some of the options that the British have in this episode. You will never complain about tuna if you haven't eaten for a day or two, and even the most basic "necessities" like toilet paper or the world's tiniest bottle of Tobasco seem like luxuries when you're knee deep in snow. Similarly, you might not want coffee when it's blazing out, but those knock-off Gatorade electrolyte additives will save your life when you're miles into a hike that you thought you were prepared for. Buy a handful of these and carry them regardless of where you go. They're intended to keep people alive, and you never know when you might need that when you're hiking and hit an obstacle you didn't account for.
I remember eating MREs as a kid when I stayed at my sisters (she and her husband were military - he was post deployment and she was testing ar the time so basically no income and they had snagged some MREs so they could eat and ended up most of what we ate too due to timing) The ratatouille is bomb I remember that. And you get Skittles
The cheese spread is destined to be eaten with the tacos, crackers, or bread/sandwiches. Heinous crime to forego the cheese. You would also be stuffing everything you can in your FRH (or stove) if you have the time, but eating periods vary heavily from unit to unit.
Used to love those cardboard tasting thins my dad and brothers would get in their packs in Czechia, mom cooked for them all so they always brought most of the packs home, we used to take them on fishing and camping trips 😂 great old days 🫶 the food really isn't bad at all, gave me tons of ideas for camping in my adult years, thanks dad ❤
BRUH THE CHLLI MAC IS THE BEST ONE YOU DID NOT HEAT IT CRACK THE CRACKERS AND MELT THE CHEESE TO PUT IT AL IN ONE WITH A BIT OF HOTSAUCE YOU HAVE LET ME DOWN LOVE THE VID DOE
You can definitely see the Indian occupation impact on the British military, as well as the fact many British culinary staples are stews or hashes. Meanwhile, the US meals seem to heavily rely upon Italian and Mexican influences on our foods. Some of the more stereotypical foods (hamburgers, deli sandwiches, fried chicken) would just be awful as a shelf-stable MRE and I think the vaguely New York styl pizza is proof of that. That said, the snacks give the US MRE the win in my book.
Yeah we Brits love curry also we have very diverse military especially because anyone from commonwealth countries can join British military and again we also have the special Treaty with Nepal to have Gurkhas Regiments in BA
It’s not a military thing, Curry is eaten routinely in the UK so the ration pack reflects British tastes. Gotta please the squaddies with a taste of home. It is directly related to India though, Britain had an influx of Indian immigrants from India and Uganda, they set up a lot of restaurants and hey presto, we’re all addicted to curry.
@@devensega That, and the fact most British food sucks, LOL. I wish Indian food was more popular in the US; a lot of these British fast food chains have some kind of Indian inspired exclusive that sounds really good.
@@nahor88it really doesn't. I moved to the UK in my late teens. I was expecting terrible food. Going round the supermarket the first time I was amazed at the variety of food and quality of produce. Then the British dishes, when cooked well, are amazing. A lot is earthy traditional stuff but it really suits the climate. It's been raining all day and cold and wet you can bet I'll want a shepards pie or... Well any pie. They do amazing pies. Also, I've never been to a country that does sweets and desert better. Cheese is a secret British weapon too.
@@devensega The traditional British food is what I'm referring to, and it tends to be really bland is the problem. Compare that to most Indian food which is bursting with flavor.
Biscuits brown are an absolute classic. You eat those and you won't poop for 3 days. I used to get hold of those to take to festivals and they worked a treat 😂
Suggestion: would love to see a comparison of how the US vs UK differ in how "trendy" meals are offered. They won't be a 1 to 1 comparison, but the differences between different "standards" across cultures would be interesting. Poke Bowls come to mind: one of those trendy dishes in the US which has continued to kick around with steadily losing popularity. How do UK restaurants eat poke bowls? Do they use the same fish? What toppings are common? Etc.
When I read heading of this video, i told myself British army ration ought to have Indian food in it but pindi chana aloo and rajma masala came to me as a surprise. Anyways it is a hearty and comfort food so it will fill your breakfast, lunch and dinner. As a vegetarian veg biryani is deal for me.
i think there is a huge misconception about MREs, it isn't a 24 hour meal. A female solider in the field should eat at least two per a day, while male solider should eat three per day.
I think the only thing that genuinely surprised me is the lack of water purifying tablets in the American MRE, they sound like something that should absolutely be included.
The British MRE's there are testing are 24 hours versions which means they come with 3 meal break breakfast lunch and dinner, while the US version are single meal options mainly lunch or dinner, the applesauce's are not breakfast the mostly like energy bars, the whole point of the MRE is to give you the recommended daily calorie count, which why the come with multiply side opinions to make the calories, there is breakfast versions for the US MRE as well as 24 hour ones they could have tested or the coul have used the civilian versions
Britain also has Halal and Vegetarian only MRE packs as well as the Enhanced ration which comes with 500 more calories and is formulated for Jungle use.
22:30 I distinctly remember getting beef jerky/sticks in British rations pretty much 10 years ago made by Jack Links. They even disappeared commercially. Also, no Biscuits Brown anymore!?
MRE stands for Meal Ready to Eat. The US rations is a single meal. A 24-hr British "ration pack" seems to be the whole day's allowance of meals. MRE's are more versatile in the sense that sometimes a unit can manage to get to a hot-food canteen for some meals (especially breakfast), not others. But it's all pretty up in the air. Each case contains 12 meals, and *some* of them are based on a "breakfast menu". It is generally held in Western culture that there are 3 meals in a single day. Ergo, it's supposed to get a single troop through 4 days. But if your unit always has access to "hot, prepared breakfast" of some sort (which I generally skipped, when optional - cuz my body had trouble keeping food down at ass-o'clock in the morning) Less popular entrees would often include more popular add-ons to make them acceptable - which had the side-benefit of encouraging trade amongst the troops to get their favorite items. I especially always loved the jalapeno cheese-spread (vitamin fortified). I didn't need the crackers. I'd trade up to two packs of M&Ms for a single Jal-cheese... I even traded my entreé when the opportunity arose. The famously bad items from my time were any of the entreés labeled "omelet" (most of the "breakfast options"). But to me, since I ate all my MRE's cold, its horrible taste wasn't brought out by cooking - so I usually traded "down" an entree for an omelet, on the condition that I'd be immediately be given any fortified cheese, or whatever else I desired. Plus, not taking time to slave over a bag of chemically boiled water to make my food hot meant that I had extra time to clean my weapons or fold my socks, or take a nap. Anyway... Joe. Get good at MRE's, eh?
I remember being on exercise in the mid sixties on the Yorkshire moors in mid winter and getting Mars bars and boiled sweets in our ration packs😊😊 , it was almost imposable to open the tins of food with the tiny tin openers with frozen hands and trying to light your mini stove to heat your food on the windy moors was problematic 😢😢😢😢
Biscuits Brown... oh man what a hit in the nostalgias They used to be rectangular and rock hard, (almost like dog biscuits), but when you had them with some pate/meat spread, you felt like a lord
I like how they couldnt even watch one video or do 2 seconds of research to see the difference bewteeen a meal and a 24hr ration 😂 this is a ducking joke
The biggest thing is they are comparing a 24 hour (British) ration to a single meal ration (US). So weight and calorie counts will be different.
True. An MRE is just that, a single meal. They should have had three of those for one 24 hour ration pack. I've eaten the US MREs and my issue is that everything tastes so fake and fortified that it's actually off putting. Now the French RCIR is a quality ration.
And some of those 'breakfast' items are actually dessert
@@offender0 Spanish and Italian Rations also tend to be very good.
A US millitary MRE is suppose to have 3000 calories. Combat related millitary occupations burn a lot of calories. I’m a culinary specialist in the US army. National guard solider. The DOD limits MRES to two meals a day in the field. One meal is suppose to a hot served meal. I try not to eat them when possible. I also don’t eat everything in them. Also available in the USA is cold weather MREs where you add hot boiling water to the dried main course.
@@joshuakelly6765 , that DOD limit doesn't really pan out a lot of times. I've been on plenty of exercises where we wind up having nothing but MREs for every meal for weeks. Not many of us will eat three MREs a day, though, because after a solid week of that, you'd almost rather starve than eat another MRE.
Pro tips from a British army soldier:
- Always bring your own seasoning, salt is the bare minimum
- Mix hot chocolate powder into the muesli, it SLAPS
- Nobody has time to make the energy drinks, just eat the powder straight
- Biscuit browns are genuinely designed to prevent you from needing to use a toilet, so tread carefully Harry
And in the US we mix the hot cocoa, coffee creamer and coffee and the sugars and add some water and make a pudding to keep you awake on night ops. We called it Ranger Paste.
The whole meal binds you up pretty good and the gum was rumored to be a laxative.
Never not have your hot chocolatewhen the tea runs out...im not drinking coffee and having a claggy mouth for hours.
Going back a long way, UK rations used to have a tube of sweetened condensed milk, which everyone consumed straight from the tube. It was the closest thing to crack that it's possible to legally consume and left you with a twitchy sugar-high for days.
Don't think I've ever actually seen anyone use the powdered drinks, too much a faff to use and usally get binned before deploying.
Good tip to your first point, you can snag a few salt/pepper sachets form the mess hall (if wanting to go gourmet lol).
Also forgot the Moral-ibo ;)
@@caolkyle Only exemption to the drink packs is behind the walls for a bit of "light hearted" entertainment,
5 packs of screech in an old bottle and JUST enough water to suspend it all, leave it out in the blazing Cypriate sun for 4 hours then you've got a game.
Provided you've mixed up enough for two, dish half out to a mate, chuck your ressie on and get the straw out, first one to pass out or spew looses and taking your ressie off is an instant disqual 😂
Learned that trick off a guy we had on protection during a construction project in Afghanistan. He called it the Battery Acid Challenge 😂
Disappointed at the lack of "Alright, lets get this out on to a tray..... NICE!" MRE Steve needs to give you a tutorial on how to eat MREs
Nice hiss
Yeah, Steve and his reviews are much better :D
@@SochiTsuzuki They're almost like a religious ceremony with the audience joining in with the catch-phrases 😆
😂😂
I came here for a casual SteveMRE reference and was disappointed all the way around
I work for the company that makes some of the cheese spreads for the US MREs. I’m kind of bummed they didn’t try any. The Jalapeño spread is very popular among our service people from what I understand.
I personally hated the jalapeño spread but by god would I use that as a bargaining chip to get what I wanted from someone else's MRE
@@megansr.e.d.library9651my friend who served alongside with US troops was confident that the jalapeño spread was an inside joke or a meme, but when he saw someone trade an entire entree for one he decided that it had to be a cult of some kind.
I wish they had talked to active or former soldiers to find out which menus were the most well liked and which were last resorts. I can also tell you from watching videos of soldiers talking about MREs and hearing from family in the military, the jalapeño cheese is very popular with a lot of the troops.
@@techpriest5452 That is because its pretty regular for someone to be issued 2 or 3 mres per day which adds up to roughly 3k calories, most people who get 3 completely trade off everything in the 3rd mre for snacks and other stuff that you want. Even if you are issued only 2 you can trade off 1 entree and still get roughly 2k calories a day especially if the entree is one of the less popular ones.
YEEEESSSSS!!! DUDE! I just finished writing a comment about the JalChz (among other things). Thank you for bringing such an excellent product to the frontlines (and chow hall deficient platoons) for decades! Thank you for your service! (no sarc-mark)
im retired British Army and im glad the ration packs have evolved over the years. when i joined up at 16 the rations came in a box ether 24 hour or ten man rations where everything came in a tin and it all had to be cooked, we had weird usually green cheese and milk chocolate bar that was usually white in places. biscuit brown which would bung you up for a day and biscuit fruits. now the guys and girls get a much wider choice.
the white stuff on the chocolate bar is totally harmless it's called bloom and it's just cocoa butter in the chocolate bar.
I like biscuits brown and fruit.
yess before exercise you eat the brown ones then when then get back you have the fruit one!!
Ha yes I remember those; and you had a hexamine stove to heat them up which you couldn't use under cover. To be fair anything canned (rations or from the shop) is already cooked and can be eaten unheated.
I remember corn beef gash lovely stuff haha
When I was in the Marine Corps I did an exchange program with the British army in the early 90’s and at the time enjoyed their rations more than ours. A really big difference was they also tended to get hot meals from a field kitchen far more often than we did, which was darn near never. Getting eggs to order once in a while was way more enjoyable than the occasional green powdered eggs in a vat can they’d shuttle out to us Marines in the field once in a blue moon. Fresh food is a real morale booster.
The British have actually made this a bit of a tradition since WW2.
During stuff like the 7 years War -> Victorian periods, guy would have stuff cooked for them to put in their knapsacks and eat out of on the march however when at an actual camp they’d be given a full on meal by the women.
When it came to WW1 they mostly eat rations which the army found caused lots of men to become ill due to lack of sustenance and a lot to come home more malnourished than was healthy.
However, troops did get a proper meal when relieved from the lines and brought to rear lines/areas.
However what really changed it was in WW2 during the desert campaigns in Northern Africa.
Since alot of units would be expected to operate across the deserts and the chance for them to get back for a proper meals they created actual vans that would go about the deserts and supply troops with hot meals and drinks on the go.
It became so popular with the troops that it’s actually continued to even this day.
What became even more interesting was the stories these guys would get sometimes. Several would be chased by planes, be caught in surprise battles where they’d dart around between actual action and fighting.
I do believe one even became apart of a LRDG patrol and I even think Rommel made his headquarters one after capturing one.
And like I said to this day the mobile kitchens are still a thing in the army and are still extremely popular especially as they are quite a standard tradition here in general (namely known as breakfast vans or burger vans) that you’ll see about the sides of roads or bus stations you can nip in and grab a nice warm breakfast and coffee from alongside a simple chat and conversation with the chefs and local patronage.
As a British vet, I worked many opps alongside all departments of US military over my career from the 80s until mid 2000s.
We would trade all sorts of shit with each other, but the most sort out item was US MREs.
They were sooo much better than our “rat packs” , which were canned in most cases, but were OK.
The US food was so easy to prepare and saved so much time, was easy to store and tasted better especially after a dash of Tabasco sauce which came in every pack.
On base, we were very lucky to have a unit called MCSU, (Mobile Catering Support Unit), who could turn our bland “rat packs” into something that you would pay money for in a restaurant. 😊
The US guys were getting hit up for MREs by the Brits, which the US were living off, while we also went to the mess and scoffed up some good nosh.
Not cool, but that’s what it was.
@@level1804I’m sad to say that the tobasco is now mostly gone. Also from what I’ve seen, old Britannia has stepped up her rat packs a bit.
Without a field kitchen and soldering behind lines or defending / attacking, etc, I can guarentee soldiers will wolf this stuff down like it was the finest ambrosia money could buy. When I was young my Nan had a great nephew over for Christmas family get-together and he was in the Paratroopers (UK) and have gave me and my brother one of their ratio packs. Everything tasted like shite but as he said, "Its meant to keep you going, give energy...keep you alive. It's not meant to be tea at the Ritz". True words! Is that true seeing as a few military people have commented?
@freebeerfordworkers - Lol, I do remember there being a Mars bar or some other sub-par chocolate in the pack. He said that was the treat they all wanted.
Steve1989 would have been a great guest host.
yess like a comparison between old and new MREs!
That’s exactly what I thought 🤓
Video needs more trays
nice
No hisses >:(
I'm retired US Army, retired in 2013. I've been waiting for this video. It's always strange seeing the menu changes. Like there was a Sloppy Joe MRE I used to love. It came with off brand Cheese Its. I also loved the tuna and there was a chicken fajitas I was found of. Also there used to be a beef patty, pork patty and veggie patty. Everyone preferred the veggie patty. The beef and pork did not taste like real meat. There used to be an "omelet" MRE which guys would basically fight to not get. As you can imagine it was godawful. And you'd end up only eating the side items.
As others have stated there's general no breakfast specific MRE. Generally during field exercises or training we'd be giving two to three MRE's and it was up to us to decide what to eat. That said there are some "breakfast" MRE's but they seem to be exclusive to the cold weather MRE's, they come in a white bag. I was stationed in north Alaska and only ever saw them there. They include a few omelet options and oatmeal and etc. Google "cold weather MRE" to get an ideal. The fruit and applesauce options are more so a desert then for breakfast. An MRE generally included either either cake, cookie, or fruit.
When I was in for our MRE's the coffee was Folgers or just no brand. The candy generally didn't come in the on shelf brand packaging. It was just in the brown basic packaging. But it was definitely skittles or M&M's or Resees pieces and etc.
Oh on the high sodium levels. As a soldier you sweat a lot. I'm talking cloths always stained from the salt sweats as I called them. So the Army purposely makes the MRE's with enough sodium to replace what you're loosing.
On the shelf life. I remember around 2006 getting a MRE from like 1991. It was edible. Not great but when you're tired and hungry 🤷🏾♂️.
All that said I'm one of those weirdos who actually kinda enjoys MRE's. I buy a case from the Army surplus store like once a year. Take them camping and hiking. Every year on my enlistment anniversary I'll "treat" myself to a MRE. I also love making my kids and nieces and nephews and etc eat them. 😂
Ive heard some pretty nasty things about the "vomlet"
And I'm surprised that it was even accepted in the first place.
Well said and congrats on retiring. I am a one tour and done Army Medic from 90s and MREs fascinated me. I have a crazy collection of international and US Mil MREs. My wife thinks I am insane. She is correct.
Not sure if you’re familiar with Steve who reviews MRE’s, but if not I bet you’d like watching his stuff. Great quality content and he definitely reviewed the vomlet!
@jooj3699 absolutely do. I am friends with a few OGs from MRE Info. We have traded for prob 20 yrs by now.
@@Brownie0906 yea the vomlet was the worst mre. the main completly unedible
A couple of points-the flak jackets had a pouch on inside that would fit a mre pouch. Put the pouch in and it would be warm by the time to eat.
The heating bags were also useful for putting in a sleeping bag to heat it up.
The “gatorade” mix is due to a change of training. Vietnam veterans have told me that they would go on training marches and would have to have half-full canteen at the end. This taught water discipline. Now water is less restricted but electrolytes need to be replaced. Hence the extra sugar and sodium in the rations.
Oh dang you can tell they really running out of brands to do 😭😭
fr
Yeah as honestly what other brands do the UK and US even share anymore? But, hey through research the team were able to find Popeye's, Wing Stop and Denny's so something will surely be found
Good for them, the series have been crap since the US vs India
@dragoner3211 yet ur still here 😂
@@johncoinas to only check what kind of crap is this now
As a US Army Joe, these are single meal rations. You're supposed to get at minimum 2 a day but my unit issues 3. There is no designated breakfast except for like a few menus but I can't even remember the last time I saw one. I make friends with our supply guys to get Menus I like and then on the resupply days I make sure I'm the first to the box so I can take what sounds good. Also, I've kind of remembered what comes in each MRE per what year production it is bc they usually changed sides and snacks every once and a while. All the texmex options are super solid, love beef stew, Chicken with vegetables in sauce is good when heated, and pizza is a terrible option bc the main is mid but it is has terrible snacks n sides.
Whoever came up with the veggie omelet was an evil bastard.
God bless you and thank u for ur service
maple sausage and hashbrowns are the best "breakfast" mres hands down. tbh though people complain too much about mres they don't taste amazing but as long as you don't get creamy spinach fettucini or the vegetarian one it's chill
They have a "Cheese Pizza Slice" now.. that's apparently better. It's Menu #11.. replacement the "Vegetable Crumbles With Pasta in Taco Sauce". It's in MRE's Manufactured in '21 and up. Still have the Pepperoni Pizza Slice though.
I guess the third one was for trading with the locals. ;)
My husband is retired US Air Force. Back in the 90s he had like a 5 day drill. He ate MREs they whole time. He stunk to high heaven from all of the preservatives. He did bring home freeze dried ice cream, fruit and other stuff for the kids to try. He has the advantage that he worked on generators and other equipment. They would heat their meals up on the engines. I still have tiny bottles of Tabasco sauce and little salt and peppers from MRE's. Not sure if after almost 30 years of they would still be good.
Without Steve, I don’t know if we can even trust this comparison.
Yep, they need to get these out onto a tray
Nice!@@projiuk
"Alright, see ya!"
We in the British Army in Germany, in the early 70´s, got composite rations, 0ne box filled with almost all cans was enough for 10 men for one day or vice versa. Some included chocolate and sweets but they all contained the famous "Cheese Processed", that came with an imprint of the lid on the cheese,commonly called " Cheese Possessed" for good reason. The ones we were issued in 1970 - 73 typically were made in 1955 -57.
"Cheese Possessed" 🤣(sorry you had to eat that!).
Sorry for asking, but in 70s thefe was no war in Germany so your duty was more like peace mission. I would assume that under those conditions you would have a canteen with proper cooking. I am sorry you did not.
But occasionally you'd get a can of baby's heads 😊 superb
My ex Army dad (WW2 veteran) called them 'compo rations' and I never understood what that meant. Thank you for enlightening me!
I like the menu offerings of the British rations and the fact that there are distinct breakfast options that aren’t just side suggestions
The guy reviewing the US MREs doesn't know what he's talking about. Those aren't breakfast options they're sides to the meal. One MRE = one meal.
Youre supposed to eat the entire MRE as 1 meal. Ypu eat 2 a day and it gives you about 5000 calories which is about what you burn doing military operations. You also generally don't eat the whole thing at once it's taken in over a few hours because you only get a few minute breaks here and there you don't have 20 minutes usually to sit there and eat it's like a 5-10 minute break then right back at it. We dint do full day rations. If I'm going on a 3 day patrol I take 5 or 6 MREs and fill up my belly on hot chow before going out.
you mentioned a lot of sodium in the USA MRE's. that makes sense to me, because a soldier in the field is probably sweating a LOT and legitimately needs more sodium in their diet than a regular civilian in day to day life. i could be wrong but it made sense to me.
i also want to point out that 'daily recommended intake' is going to wildly different for an active soldier in the field vs an average civilian
That's 100% the reason.
Actually it’s because they have to last a long time and sodium is a preservative.
@@r.b.rozier9692 sadly i have to dispute this. you are correct that salt CAN be used as a preservative, but for it to actually function in that manner actually requires substantially more salt, to the point where it becomes nearly inedible or more. consider the prime example or salt pork: it could be preserved for months due tot eh salt, but to actually make it edible once they decided to consume it they had to wash off the salt, and usually tried to soak it in water for an extended period of time to further draw out the salt, before cooking it.
the amount of salt in the MRE's is definitely not to this level for preservation.
I remember in Marine basic training. We had salt tablets to take.
@@r.b.rozier9692 no it is because we sweat profusely on missions. We also need wayyyy more calories a day, close to 5000
Let's get this out onto a tray... Nice!
I see you’re a cultured individual
The UK packs seem to be 24hrs worth of food but the US MREs are single meals so the apple sauces or other fruity things are supposed to be eaten as a dessert. You would get separate MREs for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. I've also tried a bunch of them because my stepdad was in the army and they are all better hot, he said they would only eat them cold if absolutely necessary 😅
Breakfast dinner and tea
Gutted to see the Brit rations no longer contain the chocolate sponge and custard. It was lush hot or cold. Most guys also supplemented their rations with a bottle of tabasco sauce. Another thing...a squad would make a brew up of builders tea (strong, sweet and dosed with lots of milk powder) and it had to contain cigarette ash, an army tradition.
omg why d cigarette ash though ? 🤭
I think it was a 'hardman' thing and a bit of a fun tradition. The tea was nicknamed 'gunshot'. Builders tea is still a regular for me, 2 teabags brewed for 5 minutes, 3 spoons of sugar and a ton of milk in a big mug. Lush. @@dMi_mi
The little sachet of hot sauce is comparatively new. They did used to have the mini tabasco bottles, both red or green tabasco. The sachet is a lot hotter sauce though than tabasco.
We all breathed a sigh of relief when the did away with the treacle track pads though.
@@dMi_mi
Smoking at the same time.
Literally these guys make my day! Harry and Joe I hope you never run out of foods to compare you guys are awesome!!
i know they are my favorite people of food wars to compare food
@@audiazarate2143sameeee they’re great
This guy NOT putting the Cheese Spread on the Toco's and Complaining about the lack of cheese is mindboggling "BRO They GIVE You Cheese in these TO put on the Toco's!!!!"
The Food Wars video I didn’t know I needed. I LOVE MRE reviews! Excited to see what y’all think. My money’s on Joe getting nauseous and Harry refusing to eat at least one item on principle.
Joe is definitely going to be stopped up for a while.
I'm really glad Joe liked the vanilla cappucino mix. My friend was in the National Guard and gave me some MREs to try. I thought that mix was honestly better than the average Starbucks sweetened beverage.
What channels do you watch MRE reviews on? I watch SteveMRE, and a channel where the host is called Emme, and there's a third channel which I cant think of right now.
As a kid of the 60's, my father was a Sargent in the army reserves. When he came home from the once a month training weekend, he would bekng home extra C-rations (shows how far back these were from!)
As kids, my favorites was the peanut butter/jelly & crackers and the chocolate bars! 😋😋
We even had one year saved up enough C-rations, so that while daddy was out on his annual 2 week training, my brother & I were able to eat the same foods that daddy had! As a 6-7 yr old, this was fun.
I'm glad both countries are at least trying to make them taste good, serving folks have enough to deal with without depressing food! 😊
In the field ounces are pounds and pounds are pain. Also, the US "breakfasts" he keeps mentioning are just sides for the actual MRE. Each MRE are for one meal with a couple MRE's being more designed as a "breakfast" MRE menu item. when in the field you'll just get however many MREs you need and its up to you to eat them for whatever meal. Personally, I've been in the field for two days and of the four MRE's I got, two ended up being spinach fettuccini, chili, and the taco bowl. ate the taco bowl for breakfast on day two. Just need to go with it lol
I was going to say this
Plus, who doesn't want tacos for breakfast?
@@christinebenson518 cold ground beef from an mre is the best lmao
2 days is the longest you've been in the field? We did 2 weeks and I was just an MP lmao
But yeah, the dude clearly didn't even do the slightest bit of research this was such a low quality video
The best British ration that sometimes appears is spicy sausage with potato wedges, but it's definitely one that's best eaten hot. The apricot oat biscuits are pretty nice as are the cheese biscuits.
Okay I NEVER would've thought this would be a thing. Yet it is. And I'm very happy. My assumption for the high sodium is to replenish the sodium a soldier would lose from sweating doing various physical activities throughout the day. Fun fact about the U.S MRE spoon. It actually has a confirmed kill when a soldier was ambushed and couldn't get his knife so he just used the spoon from his MRE.
I think I heard something about that sodium thing but not mre related pretty sure it helps retain water
The pro/squaddie move is to mix and match, boys. You don't eat the meal as a course per se but chuck other things in as you see fit. As well as swapping out stuff within your section/platoon per preference.
The amount of bartering when MREs came out was crazy. Plus how can you talk down chili mac? That was the most wanted of all the MREs when I was in.
or just rob a crow
Took a couple of the british packs for a camping trip this summer, and honestly for the price, it's impossible to beat. We selected a pack each, had it over a few days as a suppliment to eating out, etc, and against the £10 each boil in bag camping meals, it kicked them to the curb. Only problem is weight. If someone did these packs dehydrated as good as these were warmed up for campers / hikers, for the same price, you'd be splashing around cash like scrooge mc duck
There are companies in the US and Canada that make things like you described for people who go on extended camping trips in the north american wilderness. Problem is they are often anything but cheap and the milsurp ones aren't cheap either, at least not where I've found 'em
You can get dehydrated but the cold weather menu. Apparently they pack around 5000k or so for 24 hours due to purpose but good to reduce weight
Those heat pads are really popular with hikers in Japan, they wear them under their clothes or put them in mittens. But not surprising, they are paranoid about getting their head wet and have brollies out at the slightest drop of rain when in Britain we wouldnt even consider drizzle as actual rain.
usually the applesauce is a dessert not a breakfast and the grape jelly, peanut butter, or cheese spread comes with crackers but you can also put the cheese spread in the main course like the Mexican foods and the things in a tomato sauce. Just like the previous person said they are just one meal per USA MRE and since lunch and dinner are usually eaten when not in camp they are non breakfast, usually breakfast is eaten while in camp so you get large containers for breakfast that are cooked by the cooks
To answer a few questions ref the UK rat packs, yes some of the menus are intentionally vegetarian, most of the meals are made sweeter than you would normally expect so that you get more energy from them and a lot of the bad meals can be made wayyyy better by mixing things together.
A few examples that I think work very well: tuna mayo and tobacco sauce, porridge with raspberry jam, biscuits brown with peanut butter.
Always add tobasco!! Now I eat out and use tobasco as a habit 😂
Someone's trying to become a hockey puck press 😅 pack of browns and shit grade peanut butter is a recipe for arse disasters unseen by mankind 😂
The tuna with lime was like crack.
Also you need to mix a hot chocolate powder into the muesli
You were supposed to use the buffalo/hot sauce that came with the chicken chunks MRE, that's what makes it one of the most sought MRE whenever I'm in the field. It's kind of weird you guys went through the main meal + desert of each one and not MREs by the entire pack. Yeah, those raspberry purees and fruit stuff were deserts. This was ok albeit misguided.
I'm guessing someone from the staff bought the MREs and nobody looked in to the way they are meant to be used because he seemed pretty clueless.
I love food wars. This is very educational. Understanding what MREs are consisting of. Thank you, Joe and Harry.
this is actually such an interesting concept i'm glad to see the evolution of this channel
Steve1989Mre could’ve done both segments
I remember eating MREs after Hurricane Katrina. Sometimes they came with M&M's inside. I think my favorite one was the burrito meal
Alright, let's get this out on a tray. Nice!
Army guys I knew in UK told me the best meals were the ones the Gurkha’s got, proper hot curry apparently. I think there used to be boiled sweets in them too, because they told me there was much swapping of sweets to get the flavour you wanted.
Quite often the UK ration packs will have packs of boiled sweets like 15 or so individually wrapped sweets. Good pocket munchers but anyone in, going to field will be smart enough to prepack some Harribo. (Dubbed as Moral-ibo)
Getting all these MREs/Ration Packs laid out was NICE! If you’re in the know you know.
Nice.
Nice hiss
They totally needed a tray!
@@jedisam7they are eating them, the way military personal eats them, you get them when fighting in wars.
Nice.
This brought back lots of memories. When hadn't eaten all day they all tasted amazing.
I was an Australian Army reservist as a teenager and was pretty surprised by the quality of the RAT packs we got given when doing our field work. they were pretty diverse, most were totally fine hot or cold(though hot was preffered generally) compared to the american ones, ours were like 5 star meals lmao you yanks get some Rough grub aha
I remember the old tinned British 'compo' rations. Babies heads, cheese possessed (if you know, you know), compo sausages and bacon grill, with a tin marked 'sundries' that contained Beechnut chewing gum and boiled sweets.
So I was curious about these for so many years. Well I finally bought a couple earlier this year. As just a meal goes better then gas station food. But if you need something Portable and and easy to prepare while you're occupied then these are amazing. I work on a farm and sometimes I just don't have time to go get something to eat. I've bought more and I always keep one in my truck.
my dad was in the us army in vietnam, and we took some mres when we went camping when i was a kid. he was SUPER impressed compared to what the army fed him in the field. It was a HUGE improvement according to him, and I believe it!
Tips from a current Active Duty Army Chaplain:
1. ALWAYS heat it up if at all possible
2. Use the crackers or bread to add texture to stew sryle dishes
3. Use the hot sauce or pepper flake
Let's get this out on a tray. Nice!
Totaly unexpected, but a pretty cool Idea. Would love to see a comperison between other countries with the local host 🤩
You need to get those out onto a tray!
Nice.
Not heating the food up is the biggest crime here.
Huge moral boost out in the field
Back in the late 70s/early 80s, I used the old 24 hour ration packs with the cans in them.
Sausage and beans, Oatmeal block, Chicken curry and rice, hard biscuits, and (my favourite) a toothpaste style tube of condensed milk. 😎
i spent 8 years in the US Army, the only MRE that everyone collectively hated was the Veggie Omelet. It all taste better warm but when your hungry and haven't ate all day it taste pretty good.
You mean the vomlet
Beef frankfurter (4 fingers of death) and Bean Burrito were horrid.
4FD is the OG MRE, if I am not mistaken@@armynurseboy
@@WalterOtterly 😝😝😝
We had canned eggs and ham. K ration
I saw an American soldier do a comparison between UK & USA ration packs a few years ago and the soldier was amazed that the UK ration pack came with a small tabasco sauce and the USA one didn't. The USA must have seen it and added it and the UK also must have seen it and removed it seeing as it wasn't mentioned on the UK one. Love these comparison vids. Keep it up chaps.
I remember being on exercise and swapping rations to try them ( this was years ago btw ). I liked our Brit stuff mostly, the Italian stuff was lovely, the French stuff sensational and the American rations depended on whether you had a sweet tooth; I don't, and everything even the savoury parts were sugary.
US MRE's were called "Meals Rejected by Ethiopians" by UK forces during the Eighties. For you young people. There was a famine in Ethiopia during the Eighties.
When my brother got the ration packs from being in the British Army he only picked a couple things out of it that he would use and threw the rest away. I have tried the sesame bar and very very sweet. Everything is basically packed with weather for being outside. He would just get his own food that he would prefer and bring it with him
My father was supply Sgt. in the local NATIONAL GUARD Battery,served 1949-1989.
After their annual 2 wk. summer drill we (my 5 bros. and I) would get all the leftover C-Rations.
We had a 150' white pine in the yard that was treehouse on every level possible where we enjoyed them or in our fully outfitted backyard of several pup-tents.The poundcake, cigarette pks. w/ 5 cigs in each and the p-38's were my favorite,but there was nothing I didn't like. It was all better than my moms cooking,and I got to sleep in the tree.
2:40 - 2:52 convinced me this video was insufficiently researched and the hosts have no idea what they're talking about. Thanks for showing us that early and saving me the remaining half hour of my life!
This is a beautiful thing to watch at midnight when I can't go to sleep.
I learned things, and I was entertained.
(Now I can send this to my brother and pester him >:) he wanted to be in the military so badly)
This takes “Food Wars” to a whole new level
It’s survival food. It’s not trying be gourmet. It’s sole purpose it to be efficient , non-perishable nutrition. And if I were stranded in the wilderness it starving, I would eat this food happily!
I mean, it can achieve its purpose without tasting like garbage. MREs have largely improved on that aspect over the years without affecting the "sole purpose". There were some vomit-inducing MREs they used to give us that I would 100% rather starve than eat.
its not "survival" food. it *is* meant to taste nice as best as possible. food that tastes nice is more readily eaten, getting that nutrition into the body
You want your soldiers in the field to be as happy as possible given the situation they're in, and a big part of that is having a tasty hot meal available. You have no idea how much soldiers can look forwards to just stopping for a while, gathering around a heating bag or a stove and getting a hot meal inside of them which tastes decent.
And a "happy" soldier fights better and has better morale so they can withstand more hardships. Example the Russians who get mainly tinned rations and have to sort their own heating out, their morale is awful.
You really don’t know unless you’ve experienced it. In preparation for weight loss surgery I did the two week starvation diet (600 calories a day) and it’s so miserable. While I did have a small variety available to me between soups, puddings, and shakes, (they were all powdered mixes to be blended with water) it became a struggle to get even that down because it just didn’t taste good. Having food that tastes good is really important as a morale boost and in getting enough nutrition.
@lloydcollins6337 I respect that. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a soldier and I definitely want the ones on our side to be happy and well fed! I was referring more to emergency and temporary situations, but I get it
I actually had more experience with MRE's prior to enlisting in the Army (U.S.) than I did while serving (never deployed). They serve a singular purpose, sustenance, and do their best to provide comfort via taste, but their ultimate goal is to keep you alive. I used them on long hikes/hunts because I knew if I couldn't find food, then I always had a go-to "save me" option. Even with the U.S. options intending for more than one meal a day, you really only need one every day or two to feel satiated. They have everything you need for multiple days without other sources of food. Having said that, I'm very jealous of some of the options that the British have in this episode. You will never complain about tuna if you haven't eaten for a day or two, and even the most basic "necessities" like toilet paper or the world's tiniest bottle of Tobasco seem like luxuries when you're knee deep in snow. Similarly, you might not want coffee when it's blazing out, but those knock-off Gatorade electrolyte additives will save your life when you're miles into a hike that you thought you were prepared for. Buy a handful of these and carry them regardless of where you go. They're intended to keep people alive, and you never know when you might need that when you're hiking and hit an obstacle you didn't account for.
I remember eating MREs as a kid when I stayed at my sisters (she and her husband were military - he was post deployment and she was testing ar the time so basically no income and they had snagged some MREs so they could eat and ended up most of what we ate too due to timing)
The ratatouille is bomb I remember that. And you get Skittles
The UK rice pudding is absolutely amazing
The cheese spread is destined to be eaten with the tacos, crackers, or bread/sandwiches. Heinous crime to forego the cheese. You would also be stuffing everything you can in your FRH (or stove) if you have the time, but eating periods vary heavily from unit to unit.
Used to love those cardboard tasting thins my dad and brothers would get in their packs in Czechia, mom cooked for them all so they always brought most of the packs home, we used to take them on fishing and camping trips 😂 great old days 🫶 the food really isn't bad at all, gave me tons of ideas for camping in my adult years, thanks dad ❤
When "Food Wars" becomes "War Foods"
The British MREs jam and fruit squeesies are so goooood, also beyond the beaten track energy bars were real good
BRUH THE CHLLI MAC IS THE BEST ONE YOU DID NOT HEAT IT CRACK THE CRACKERS AND MELT THE CHEESE TO PUT IT AL IN ONE WITH A BIT OF HOTSAUCE YOU HAVE LET ME DOWN LOVE THE VID DOE
Didn't they kick you out the military
Cant lie would listen to this guy who is ex military
didn't you eat deer shit
As an American Infantry man who's trained with y'all in Estonia, I 100% prefer the UK MRE's, so much better than our MRE's
You can definitely see the Indian occupation impact on the British military, as well as the fact many British culinary staples are stews or hashes. Meanwhile, the US meals seem to heavily rely upon Italian and Mexican influences on our foods. Some of the more stereotypical foods (hamburgers, deli sandwiches, fried chicken) would just be awful as a shelf-stable MRE and I think the vaguely New York styl pizza is proof of that.
That said, the snacks give the US MRE the win in my book.
Yeah we Brits love curry also we have very diverse military especially because anyone from commonwealth countries can join British military and again we also have the special Treaty with Nepal to have Gurkhas Regiments in BA
It’s not a military thing, Curry is eaten routinely in the UK so the ration pack reflects British tastes. Gotta please the squaddies with a taste of home. It is directly related to India though, Britain had an influx of Indian immigrants from India and Uganda, they set up a lot of restaurants and hey presto, we’re all addicted to curry.
@@devensega That, and the fact most British food sucks, LOL. I wish Indian food was more popular in the US; a lot of these British fast food chains have some kind of Indian inspired exclusive that sounds really good.
@@nahor88it really doesn't. I moved to the UK in my late teens. I was expecting terrible food. Going round the supermarket the first time I was amazed at the variety of food and quality of produce. Then the British dishes, when cooked well, are amazing. A lot is earthy traditional stuff but it really suits the climate. It's been raining all day and cold and wet you can bet I'll want a shepards pie or... Well any pie. They do amazing pies. Also, I've never been to a country that does sweets and desert better. Cheese is a secret British weapon too.
@@devensega The traditional British food is what I'm referring to, and it tends to be really bland is the problem. Compare that to most Indian food which is bursting with flavor.
American MREs are amazing! My uncle gave me once the chili con carne MRE. Tasted great!
Biscuits brown are an absolute classic. You eat those and you won't poop for 3 days.
I used to get hold of those to take to festivals and they worked a treat 😂
Ofcourse they didn't cover that the hot chocolate is the "antidote" to the biscuits brown
Suggestion: would love to see a comparison of how the US vs UK differ in how "trendy" meals are offered. They won't be a 1 to 1 comparison, but the differences between different "standards" across cultures would be interesting. Poke Bowls come to mind: one of those trendy dishes in the US which has continued to kick around with steadily losing popularity. How do UK restaurants eat poke bowls? Do they use the same fish? What toppings are common? Etc.
Poke Bowls? Not a thing in the UK.
@@dellzincht
There's a couple different poke bowl places in Newcastle. I'd imagine you could find them in other cities too.
Lets get this out onto a tray
When I read heading of this video, i told myself British army ration ought to have Indian food in it but pindi chana aloo and rajma masala came to me as a surprise. Anyways it is a hearty and comfort food so it will fill your breakfast, lunch and dinner. As a vegetarian veg biryani is deal for me.
i think there is a huge misconception about MREs, it isn't a 24 hour meal. A female solider in the field should eat at least two per a day, while male solider should eat three per day.
I think the only thing that genuinely surprised me is the lack of water purifying tablets in the American MRE, they sound like something that should absolutely be included.
Let's get this onto a tray. Nice. Ok.
The British MRE's there are testing are 24 hours versions which means they come with 3 meal break breakfast lunch and dinner, while the US version are single meal options mainly lunch or dinner, the applesauce's are not breakfast the mostly like energy bars, the whole point of the MRE is to give you the recommended daily calorie count, which why the come with multiply side opinions to make the calories, there is breakfast versions for the US MRE as well as 24 hour ones they could have tested or the coul have used the civilian versions
Britain also has Halal and Vegetarian only MRE packs as well as the Enhanced ration which comes with 500 more calories and is formulated for Jungle use.
22:30 I distinctly remember getting beef jerky/sticks in British rations pretty much 10 years ago made by Jack Links. They even disappeared commercially. Also, no Biscuits Brown anymore!?
He did says he only got mre 1-10, so maybe those items are in the other mre he couldn't get.
Biscuit browns are defo still a thing
what about the sticky toffee puddings!! 🤣 or the tabasco sauce
They did go away for a while I believe but came back again @@lukasgray9027
STP is gone sadly IIRC @@TerriThorns
MRE stands for Meal Ready to Eat. The US rations is a single meal.
A 24-hr British "ration pack" seems to be the whole day's allowance of meals.
MRE's are more versatile in the sense that sometimes a unit can manage to get to a hot-food canteen for some meals (especially breakfast), not others. But it's all pretty up in the air. Each case contains 12 meals, and *some* of them are based on a "breakfast menu". It is generally held in Western culture that there are 3 meals in a single day. Ergo, it's supposed to get a single troop through 4 days. But if your unit always has access to "hot, prepared breakfast" of some sort (which I generally skipped, when optional - cuz my body had trouble keeping food down at ass-o'clock in the morning)
Less popular entrees would often include more popular add-ons to make them acceptable - which had the side-benefit of encouraging trade amongst the troops to get their favorite items.
I especially always loved the jalapeno cheese-spread (vitamin fortified). I didn't need the crackers. I'd trade up to two packs of M&Ms for a single Jal-cheese... I even traded my entreé when the opportunity arose.
The famously bad items from my time were any of the entreés labeled "omelet" (most of the "breakfast options"). But to me, since I ate all my MRE's cold, its horrible taste wasn't brought out by cooking - so I usually traded "down" an entree for an omelet, on the condition that I'd be immediately be given any fortified cheese, or whatever else I desired. Plus, not taking time to slave over a bag of chemically boiled water to make my food hot meant that I had extra time to clean my weapons or fold my socks, or take a nap.
Anyway... Joe. Get good at MRE's, eh?
almost forgot - fortified pound cake was also a banger
Really wish you had former active duty military personnel alongside the civilians. They would show how to mix or "cook" a MRE.
Anyone remember the compo rations with chocolate bars and the boiled sweets. Also the biscuits fruit.
Yes!
Just started the video and I'm going to be mad if they don't say "nice hiss" when opening vacuum sealed packages
That beef stew on the British side is actually so good warmed up though
Man I used to get in fights about that chili and macaroni MRE.
All made much better with the use of a Jetboil (other brands are available). All ration packs are 1000x better hot. Even the rough ones.
you need to heat most of that , you can eat cold, but better when hot
I remember being on exercise in the mid sixties on the Yorkshire moors in mid winter and getting Mars bars and boiled sweets in our ration packs😊😊 , it was almost imposable to open the tins of food with the tiny tin openers with frozen hands and trying to light your mini stove to heat your food on the windy moors was problematic 😢😢😢😢
To big companies, to military MREs. hillarious.
Biscuits Brown... oh man what a hit in the nostalgias
They used to be rectangular and rock hard, (almost like dog biscuits), but when you had them with some pate/meat spread, you felt like a lord
And yet you wouldn't sit on a throne until you ate the biscuits fruit...
They should try the French rations and see what they're missing.
Alright, let's get this out on to a tray. Nice!
Didn't get this out onto a tray?
Not nice
Can’t believe they don’t have tuna mayo in the British ones anymore, that was awesome
So many bad MRE memories. The smell of the heater packs working is seared in my brain
For the hot drinks in the US MRE, the idea is you pour the water to the line on the bag, it turns into a kind of bottle you can chug from.
like chef andre rush said, the MRE was design for nutrients not for the good taste.
That tiny bottle of tabasco is the most adorable thing I've ever seen.
I want it. I need it.
I like how they couldnt even watch one video or do 2 seconds of research to see the difference bewteeen a meal and a 24hr ration 😂 this is a ducking joke