MREs - Mil niggers opine (foreign military MREs are cool too)

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Here's my 100% objective and correct list of the MREs I've tried, best to worst.
  1. Dutch
  2. Polish (slightly biased)
  3. American (chicken chunks suck ass though)
  4. Italian
  5. French
  6. British
 
Blarmed&Dangerous said:
Another consideration is the HDR - the Humanitarian Daily Ration. 2200 calories, 3-year shelf life, but no meat. I've had some and they're surprisingly edible.

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I posted about this elsewhere, but I bought a handful of HDRs out of a mixture of autism, curiosity and enjoyment of MRE Steve.

Disclosure of reviewer bias: I love lentils, and I won the lentil lottery for my entrees. They were really good almost-curry stews, not spicy but not bland, either. Delicate, balanced spice blends, and if I were better at food criticism I'd probably have the skillset to be trying to replicate that in my own Crock-Pot. If you could buy just the entrees from Humanitarian Daily Rations, I'd be into it; they were better than shelf-stable dal pouches (e.g. TastyBite), and those are pretty good.

Other than the crackers and cookies, the desserts/pastries were US individual commercial foods vacuum-sealed in foil. I found actual Pop-Tarts and squished Fig Newtons. Another reason I'd like to just buy the entrees, but OTOH it isn't hard to find someone who wants a Pop-Tart.


There are some aspects of the HDR that might make them appealing for practical reasons, not just novelty.

They're nearly vegan, with the intention of avoiding religious dietary restrictions, but this would also be helpful if you're planning for people with allergies or lactose intolerance.

The HDR entrees are designed to be palatable without heating--it doesn't come with a heater for safety, stability and weight. You can eat anything cold if you're hungry, but there's something to be said for that little bit of comfort. Vegetarian stew or rice mix is also less offputting than congealed mystery meat to someone who's new to rations and not having a great day already because the power's out/they're snowed in/the bomb dropped. (And it's vegetarian in the sense of "time 4 beans," not in the sense of "expensive fake protein patties.")

You do get the sides, which are good to eat walking/spread through the day, and a sturdy spoon, but there aren't any drink mixes. This would be bad if you're counting on the package covering everything for the day, fiending for caffeine, or if you're hoping to cover the taste of decontaminated water. IMO it's better to have the calories in the food and be able to pick your own drinks, since powdered drink mixes are pretty light and stable, and everyone has coffee/energy drink preferences.
 
Wasn't in the military so didn't have to eat these, but people who did sign up and ate them told me its only better than public school cafeteria food, so that's it I guess.
JosephStalin said:
According to the Army Surgeon General, MREs are supposed to be used for 21 days or less as the primary meal in the field. Fresh/Ultra High Temperature packaged milk (supplement), fresh fruits/vegetables, and fresh bread (enhancements) should also be supplied as soon as possible, as often as possible. First Strike Rations (basically snack foods compactly packed) are to be the primary means of feeding for no more than three days.
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So you can't survive on a bunker full of these until the rads go down then?
JosephStalin said:
They can and do open up these rations in the mail and remove the offending item(s).
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I would've guessed they just dump all of it instead of going thru the trouble.
JosephStalin said:
You can't believe how big a business this is.
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I can imagine, given how much a bolt for an F-35 costs.
 
Lord of the Large Pants said:
I just ended up with a bunch of 2008-ish military MREs for free. I know they were stored in a relatively cool basement for most of their lives but I don't know much else.

Should I roll the dice here?
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Considering MRE's are supposed to have, at most, a ten year shelf life, even if they get rotated every few years...I would inspect ALL packaging before opening and eating anything.
 
Aunt Carol said:
I posted about this elsewhere, but I bought a handful of HDRs out of a mixture of autism, curiosity and enjoyment of MRE Steve.
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Speaking of HDRs, good deal on MRE Mountain on them right now. Just need somewhere to put it all.
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Well, I ate it. Part of it. The peanut butter smelled pretty funky and the vanilla dairy shake had some suspicious yellow spots, so those got thrown out. The beef stew and chocolate protein bar were fine, and the crackers were a little stale but okay.

I'm not shitting out my soul, so I think I'm alright. But it was borderline enough that I'm throwing out the rest of them.
 
https://longlifefood.com/ I still have some from these from well over 10 years old now. If shit gets bad, they're 'edible' for 20+ years.

Expensive and low stock now of course, They used to have their own distribution but now goes to amazon it seems. But they're basically the real deal US MRE They used to have this chili and bean one that was amazingly good.

Entrees end up going to: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RZ804E/
 
What's missing between a TOTM and an MRE? Thinking about buying a 12 pack. I've liked every US MRE I've had + a few international ones (JGSDF Sukiyaki, JMSDF Curry, and Lithuanian Barley & Beef Stew).
 
Blarmed&Dangerous said:
Another consideration is the HDR - the Humanitarian Daily Ration. 2200 calories, 3-year shelf life, but no meat. I've had some and they're surprisingly edible.

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Not bad but 3 year shelf life 🥹

1440p Curved Monitor said:
I'm a civilian and was exposed to the idea of MREs rather recently so excuse my ignorance.
Is there such a thing as a "civilian" version of an MRE, or do knockoff MREs exist? A couple years ago, I was talking with a vet friend about what I can eat while hiking and he said to look at MREs. I go to a local mil surplus store and it's utter shit. The heating element doesn't work, the food is trash. He looked upon MREs fondly and I trust his palate as we are foodie friends so I report back to him that it was disgusting. I happen to have an extra and show to him and he was surprised by the quality.
He took me to the local vet commissary and showed me the MREs there. The quality was different for sure, and now when I need to restock I drive him up there so he can get some cheap groceries and I can get some MREs.
To this day I wonder why the ones from the mil surplus was shit.
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There sure are, this one has a 10 year shelf life and they actually say.jts really more like 30 years.... I'd get the canned versions though


Lord of the Large Pants said:
Oh hell yeah. There a TONS of third party MREs. Some are good, and some are shit. The best ones I've tried are XMRE, although they're a bit on the expensive side. Sopako is also decent, they're one of the suppliers of the military ones.
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Mountain House 🏠
 
Best MRE was the Chicken Chunk with Buffalo Sauce, because the main meal was good, you got Cheez Its, and peanut M&Ms. The new Chicken Chunk with BBQ sauce sucks.
I am also a fan of Dutch and Australian 24 hour ration packs, except for the vegimite in the Australian packs. The snacks in those are good, and Australian packs coming with instant soups and ramen noodles is right on.
 
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