Russian MRE examined and eaten

[John Kettler]

Many of us are familiar with US MREs, but very few of us know about, still less have eaten, Russian MREs. Believe you'll find it of interest and possibly evoke a Pavlovian response. Sure did for me. Call this a different kind of flavor object. Ha! Am only half joking, for it would be a great thing to be able to strew on the map as desired. As an aside, I've now watched two MRE assessment videos in a row. Feel a kind of compulsion developing to watch more, since I find them engrossing in all sorts of ways, not least because what's provided reflects the culture it comes from. Found it hilarious he didn't know tushonka was pork. There's a thread in which I talk about how critical SPAM® and also produced by the US tushonka were to the Red Army. You can make your own, for the recipe is available online.

Regards,

John Kettler

Edited July 15, 2017 by John Kettler

[John Kettler]

The OIP was apparently an earlier generation Russian MRE. This is the latest. By latest, I mean 2017!  Maybe there's something wrong with me, but I found the OP far more interesting.

Regards,

John Kettler

 

[Bufo]

8 hours ago, John Kettler said:

The OIP was apparently an earlier generation Russian MRE. This is the latest. By latest, I mean 2017!  Maybe there's something wrong with me, but I found the OP far more interesting.

Regards,

John Kettler

 

Packaging is nicer but the content seems to be more or less the same.

[John Kettler]

FSB Mountain Ration (the real deal)

According to one comment to the video, this ration is only supposed to be eaten three days running. 

Iron Drapes6 hours ago

Russian soldiers do not eat these rations often, even when deployed abroad like in Syria. They mostly eat from field kitchens and mobile bakeries, so they are fed fresh pea soup, bread, potatoes, porridge, stews and so on. Plus, the rations are not supposed to be eaten for more than 3 days straight, even though it is definitely quite nutritious and it comes with a multi-vitamin supplement.

 

As you'll see, and this isn't Taras/Crazy Russian Hacker, but one RC Gusto, who's seldom seen, not terribly dynamic, but takes a much more nuanced approach and offers a kind of low level foodie take on flavors, aromas, and textures of the various foods. The Russians aren't messing around on feeding these men, with each ration containing 5000 calories, most of it from hearty fare, too.  On the other hand, when one of my brothers was at the USAF Academy in Colorado Springs for a time before getting a medical discharge, they were being fed 5000 calories a day, and he was losing weight like crazy. Guarantee you he wasn't doing mountaineering with full combat load, either, never mind combat. My point? It looks like a lot of high calorie food, but as hard as FSB guys go, they're probably still hungry.

 

Regards,

John Kettler

P.S.

Can't believe how many channels there are specifically about MREs!  Anyone know of a recovery program for people who binge watch this stuff? May need treatment very soon, but it's so much fun in the meantime!

 

Edited July 17, 2017 by John Kettler

[IMHO]

5K Kcal is not that much. Half-marathon at descent tempo with no vertical gradient is 2K Kcal. Add this to baseline 2K Kcal and you're already at 4K Kcal. And that disregards low temperature / high humidity, mountainous terrain, additional gear weight and higher stress / faster metabolism / higher calorie consumption.

[John Kettler]

For comparison of standard (as opposed to SOF) field rations, take a look at what the Israelis provide as a 24-hour ration for four soldiers. Not only do I feel sorry for them because they have to eat so much tuna, but  I have to believe it makes them easy to detect by smell at tactically useful distance. This is a very strange ration which to me fairly reeks of insider connections. No other nation's combat ration remotely resembles this one. Be sure to notice the opening pictures.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Michael Emrys]

I notice the complete absence of any kind of bread in the Israeli ration, which seems unusual. I wonder if it is expected that the soldiers would have it available from a separate source. I agree that there is something fishy (hohoho) about that much tuna. A lot of olives too. Eating this ration every day would get really old really fast even if it is nutritious enough.

Michael

[John Kettler]

Michael Emrys,

The marked absence of bread blew me away, but I didn't want to say anything, but instead, let the vid tell the bizarre tale. "Oy! Not one lousy matzoh they could spare?" The remark to the effect that bread would be supplied separately shows to me roseate logic over in the Quartermaster's Department of the IDF. For when, in history, has there ever been a case of a defending force running into supply difficulties, to the point men , en masse, even starved? Could never happen, right?

Regards,

John Kettler

 

[Wicky]

10 hours ago, Michael Emrys said:

I notice the complete absence of any kind of bread in the Israeli ration, which seems unusual. I wonder if it is expected that the soldiers would have it available from a separate source. I agree that there is something fishy (hohoho) about that much tuna. A lot of olives too. Eating this ration every day would get really old really fast even if it is nutritious enough.

Michael

Crackers http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4941753,00.html

[Michael Emrys]

1 hour ago, Wicky said:

Crackers http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4941753,00.html

Interesting. I guess those hadn't made it into the ration box at the time our reporter was taste testing. I wonder if and when US soldiers will start getting them.

Michael

[Michael Emrys]

BTW, the Army should start talking to NASA about rations. That agency has sunk a lot of resources into researching rations for the Mars flight as well as other long duration missions. I watched a tv program on the subject a few months back.

Michael

[panzersaurkrautwerfer]

1. Tuna is a godsend.  You know what tastes fine at room temperature?  Tuna.  You now what tastes good when you had the pouch in your cargo pocket on a ruck?  Tuna.  What's all right even when it's stupid cold?  Tuna.  Deployed, even with access to dining halls a lot of folks still stashed away those starkist tuna pouches because they were an awesome baseline nutritional item (if you worked on a FOB that had limited food options, it was a great fallback choice, or you just worked 36 hours, you need food before you go to bed sort of deal). I usually ate it straight from the pouch using a spoon, I often had other meal items squirreled away I used as sides (there were these little shelf stable cornbread squares that were amazing, also just saltines or sometimes tortilla chips), but I'll eat tuna for a week before I go straight MRE.

2. Which isn't to say MREs are bad, there's just the following basic math:

MREs are actually pretty good if you sit down, heat them up and eat at a human pace.  However if you have long enought to do those things, generally you will be given hot food.  

So as a result you're always eating an MRE at suboptimal conditions, either shoveling it down in 10 minutes before you move out, or as was often the case, eating it in little bits over the course of the next six hours of operations.  This adjusts what you prioritize in terms of value/desireability.  Example:

The Spaghetti and meat chucks is actually pretty all right, it's on par with pretty much any canned pasta.  However when it's air temperature you have zero time to cook it, and it's Twin Bridges Training Area ROK, circa January at 0345, it isn't appealing at all.  The cobbler that comes with it though, that's totally fine because fruit goop with some sort of crustish stuff tastes fine cold, and goes down okay in a hurry.  

Stuff that can be eaten quickly, or nibbled on and stuffed away without making a mess is highly valued.  Like you might get a bite out of the enchilada before you have to roll out, and there is zero way to keep that from becoming a mess in the turret if you've open the bag already, so you chuck it.  Any of the crackers, spreads, cookies, or similar snacky items are awesome though because again, you can eat those off and on all mission, and they're not going to be a problem (the cheese spreads have an almost religious following, but a lot of people will just suck those straight from the tube because they're small, taste reasonable, and are some obscene amount of calories).

If I had to name something I always ate, it was usually the crackers and spread, and I hardly touched the entrees just because I didn't have time, and there were enough calories in the rest of the meal to get by on our less than half marathon workload  
 

[Apocal]

53 minutes ago, panzersaurkrautwerfer said:

Stuff that can be eaten quickly, or nibbled on and stuffed away without making a mess is highly valued.  Like you might get a bite out of the enchilada before you have to roll out, and there is zero way to keep that from becoming a mess in the turret if you've open the bag already, so you chuck it. 

I did the adult thing and just stuffed it all in my mouth and swished until I could swallow portions v0v

 

[LukeFF]

Pop Tarts. There was nothing like having an MRE with a Pop Tart inside. ?

[John Kettler]

panzersaurkrautwerfer,

Have nothing against canned tuna, and it clearly is excellent for military use under all sorts of conditions. What blew me away was how it so utterly dominated the ration. A few days of that, an I wouldn't want to see tuna again for quite some time. If nothing else, there are other types of canned seafood available. Would be interested in knowing the shelf life of well packaged dried figs. What about straight up dates in strong packaging? 

Appreciate your take on the short course on food for soldiers in the field, what they eat, when and why. What are your thoughts on Clif Bars and such? No idea what their shelf life is, but have you ever taken any into the field yourself?  I see one of their primary virtues, for someone in AFVs, as being, notably in the case of the Chocoiate Brownie,  they don't crumble much. They take up little space, require no heating and are compact high energy sources. 

Regards,

John Kettler

[Michael Emrys]

3 hours ago, John Kettler said:

Would be interested in knowing the shelf life of well packaged dried figs. What about straight up dates in strong packaging? 

Those sound like good ideas to me. I should think a dried prune or two every day might be appreciated as well.

Michael

[LUCASWILLEN05]

On 8/5/2017 at 11:43 PM, John Kettler said:

panzersaurkrautwerfer,

Have nothing against canned tuna, and it clearly is excellent for military use under all sorts of conditions. What blew me away was how it so utterly dominated the ration. A few days of that, an I wouldn't want to see tuna again for quite some time. If nothing else, there are other types of canned seafood available. Would be interested in knowing the shelf life of well packaged dried figs. What about straight up dates in strong packaging? 

Appreciate your take on the short course on food for soldiers in the field, what they eat, when and why. What are your thoughts on Clif Bars and such? No idea what their shelf life is, but have you ever taken any into the field yourself?  I see one of their primary virtues, for someone in AFVs, as being, notably in the case of the Chocoiate Brownie,  they don't crumble much. They take up little space, require no heating and are compact high energy sources. 

Regards,

John Kettler

My cat would greatly appreciate the canned tuna

[LUCASWILLEN05]

By the way do Russian MREs come with a Vodka ration?