View Full Version : Army Rations
I would have stuck this post under luvly grub but it just aint.
Friend of mine sourced about ten boxes of British Army Rations, and I must say they are the foulest substitutes for meals I've ever tasted.
About the best item in them is the hot chocolate :-P
Are the civilian alternatives better tasting before I invest?
I picked up an American version and they weren't too bad!
Do you guys just make up your own?
TheViking
15-01-2005, 19:47
The Norwegian one should be good they say. But very expensive. £15 per ration or so. :shock: You know what they say about the american: MRE - Meals Rejected by Ethiopians.
I don't think they're too bad.
The chocolate pudding is ace! And the hot chocolate is awesome!! (Great comfort food when you're cold and tired! :biggthump)
how old were they.. they are supposed to have improved a lot in the last few years.. the last one i had was totaly acceptable!
I dont know what rations your friend souced but I personally think Brit rations to be the best in the world - far superior to American ones. In fact in every field of operations I have ever been in foriegn troops always want to swap our rations for theirs.
Tomtom
You know I'm not sure,
The chocolate bar is white and the chewing gum seems like its got damp.
Maybe I'm too fussy but I had the Lancashire hotpot and an instant white tea and they didn't do it for me.
Definately not as good as Kath's fresh baked bread :wink:
RAPPLEBY2000
15-01-2005, 21:45
you have to remember, although said to be ther best rations available they do cut corners, they have to because of the massive production costs.
last time i bought a an army ration it was foul, not the way i remember them at all(tinned version).
it's easy to (as i have) buy the "box of delights" almost excited with anticipation of the tasty contents, there is nothing better to have instant food packaged neatly ready to eat, but after many years of trying different ideas.
my conclusion has to be this.
they are not that great.
a ten minute down the super market will get you a far more healthy, filling, and tasty ration with your own preferances!
next problem is how to fit your delicious food it in your bag......but that's another story!
a worthwhile excersize is to use an army ration box as a space template for 24 hours worth of food, the object to have loads of space left over, otherwise you simply won't be able to carry more than a few days food!
i kept a box (new UK foil pack version)it's :
4" x 8" x 7.5".
as i say before spending your money, take a look around for a cheaper, tastier, lighter, and heathier option. :biggthump
Army rations sound really over priced at £10 for a one day supply. If you go to a shop that sells loose dried foods you could get something almost as convenient, but healthier and way cheaper. Zip lock bags of dried onions, mushrooms, nuts and things mixed with cous cous or noodles will make food as instant as a pot noodle, and light to carry!
I dont know what rations your friend souced but I personally think Brit rations to be the best in the world - far superior to American ones. In fact in every field of operations I have ever been in foriegn troops always want to swap our rations for theirs.
As Gary knows the british army ration pack changed in or around the year 1988, the boil in the bag rations that we were using from then through to 1999 were superb, as Kath mentioned they have a reasonable amount of comfort food.
In a normal ration pack there are a number of boil in the bags (which if bought seperately cost about £5 each) so the cost is actually very good when you take into account the sundries pack and buiscuits :-)
ChrisKavanaugh
16-01-2005, 07:12
I have never understood the attraction for MREs and a goodly number of the civilian freeze dried efforts. Bushcrafting should be a sensuous experience rivaling a visit to the L'Hermitage Museum or smelling incense and hearing prayer in some unintelligable, but musical language with light streaming down through stained glass windows or multi coloured prayer flags.If I was scaling Annapurna in a blizzard a MRE makes sense. If I am in my home ( nature) trying to unknot my soul from all the sillyness under a basha with the stars above then food should be equally special. There are to many very grim looking ultralightwieght hikers or people with some SCHEDULE or AGENDA out there. GOOD food can be put together with minimum effort and oftentimes a lot less packaging to deal with. Somebody pass the champagne :chill:
As Gary knows the british army ration pack changed in or around the year 1988, the boil in the bag rations that we were using from then through to 1999 were superb, as Kath mentioned they have a reasonable amount of comfort food.
In a normal ration pack there are a number of boil in the bags (which if bought seperately cost about £5 each) so the cost is actually very good when you take into account the sundries pack and buiscuits :-)
Totally agree Mate!!
£10 for a ration pack is actually quite a good price, IMO, as Leon says you get three biol in a bag meals and a excellent beverage pack (I agree the new instant white tea isnt the most exciting of things but try the German tea substitute and you'll think it ok) - Having said that some of the old tinned compo was lovely, steak and kidney pudding.........words defy me.
allenko,
Not sure which rations you got mate but I've never had white chocolate unless it's got too hot and gone 'funny', I've been eating them for 13 years on and off and they have improved a lot. The beverage pack is pretty good apart from the instant tea which is pretty mingin, my favorite is the meat balls with pasta, an unofficial currency on exercise.
Brian
I agree with Gary, The British 24 hour Rat pack is still regarded as the best in the business, I personally think they are excellant value for money and when I'm out spending a weekend in the mountains they last me more or less the full outing. They are also used by a lot of civilian companies on expeditions and the like all over the world.
Bacon/Beans, Lancashire hot pot and Treacle pud are my favs and I also like the Tea, saying that, theres nothing in them I don't like. :lol:
Chris
MagiKelly
16-01-2005, 11:21
I like them. The hankies, matches etc are handy and the boil in the bag meals as good as the commercial alternatives. I also have to confess that I like the white tea, however, the jury is still out on the biscuits, brown.
I like them. The hankies, matches etc are handy and the boil in the bag meals as good as the commercial alternatives. I also have to confess that I like the white tea, however, the jury is still out on the biscuits, brown.
John, try licking (yes licking) the surface of a biscuit brown and sprinkling it with beef stock - makes a beef flavoured crisp bread type thing - lovely!
MagiKelly
16-01-2005, 12:27
John, try licking (yes licking) the surface of a biscuit brown and sprinkling it with beef stock - makes a beef flavoured crisp bread type thing - lovely!
I see where you are coming from but could the same not be said for the cardboard the box is made of?
Squidders
16-01-2005, 12:31
So, everything comes in individual bags (foil) that you just boil up etc...
Isn't that a little wasteful on the environment, I have used the US ones and thought they were great, very tasty... these were 6 months old so I don't know if they had changed from the grim ones you all mention. but Still, loads of plastic and foil covered bags for everything, I swear, half the weight of the MRE was plastic.
I now stick to the wayfearer foods or fresh foods if i'm out and about, I don't care much for deserts or starters or dodgy coffee/tea/chocolate or biscuts and I get rid of 1 layer of bag before I take them outside.
I see where you are coming from but could the same not be said for the cardboard the box is made of?
Possibly, indeed it might even have the same side effect too - Biscuits AB are also known as Biscuits Anal Blocking by squaddies - still it saves on the loo roll, roll colts foot leaves or whatever .................
Moonraker
16-01-2005, 16:50
Possibly, indeed it might even have the same side effect too - Biscuits AB are also known as Biscuits Anal Blocking by squaddies - still it saves on the loo roll, roll colts foot leaves or whatever .................
You can make your own Biscuits Brown :wink: here is a nice recipe I found on the wonderfully names web site:
www.biscuitsbrown.com
Just to give you nightmares a nice photo of what they actually are. So appetising :o):
http://www.biscuitsbrown.com/images/misc/bicciessm.jpg
And now for a Batch of Biscuits Brown
Prep and cook time:None, just rip the packet open before the next 'Stand To'
Serves:to constipate you for at least four days.
Ingredients
500g bromide
300g cement
250g sand
grated rind of 1 pineapple
1 small pebble, polished
3 x 15ml spoons diazipan
few drops pastey brown colouring
15ml spoon gun powder
5ml spoon 'decomposition' essence
a little airfix glue
125g melted masonry drill bits.
Method
Sift the sand into a bowl and rub in the cement until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the bromide, pineapple rind and airfix glue and mix to a soft dough.
Add the essence of decomposition and the 125g of melted masonry drill bits to the remaining dough and knead lightly until completely inedible.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to a 5mm thickness. Cut out 6 biscuits with a 5cm square fluted cutter.
Colour the dough with the pastey brown colouring until completely un-appetising. Using 3 x 15ml spoonfuls of diazipan, carefully place the drug evenly into the biscuits, so as to not be noticeable to the troops. Finally, carefully position the small polished pebble somewhere in a biscuit in the hope of breaking some poor sods tooth.
Place the biscuits on greased baking sheets and bake in a preheated oven, 190°C, 375°F, Gas Mark 5, for 15-20 minutes. Five minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove from the oven.
Leave the biscuits to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To freeze: Place the biscuits in a green foil wrapper, and then send a load of unwitting individuals out into the countryside with only your biscuits to live on. N.B. To freeze completely, send the same people out again in the bloody winter!
source: http://www.biscuitsbrown.com/biscuitsbrown_recipe/biscuitsbrown_recipe.php
:o): :o):
steven andrews
16-01-2005, 16:55
I thought the boil-in-the-bag rations were great. Much better than the older tinned compo.
If you think the new rations are bad, you should try eating in an Infantry Battalion's cookhouse.... :yuck:
Great Pebble
16-01-2005, 17:25
I miss the old chicken curry and "instant" rice. Apart from that I've always found the retort packed stuff excellent. I even like biscuits, brown.
I note some people mentioned Wayfairer, Westlers, who have the B.A. contract make those too...
I also quite like some of the Yank stuff, but am a tad worried about exactly what they "fortify" some of the items with.
German stuff is crap, with the exception of the pork rolls in rice.
Irish stuff is good (they have a curry and a sweet & sour and little tins of fruit)
Belgian...Don't go there, except for the real Nestle chocolate.
I've had odd items from other nations, usually confined to "sundries" nothing else is particularly outstanding. The only other "prepackaged" thing I've had which was particularly worth of note was the old British Telecom ration. Yes, British Telecom. They were good they were.
AB Brown aint that bad but I would always precede it with copious amounts of water and an AB fruit.
Pilchards were a different matter I hate pilchards and had an exercise were every rat pack we had was pilchards. But, the thing that really got me on some exercises you would get your rat packs and there would be a sticker that said so-and-so was condemned do not eat but you would not get anything to replace it with.
The artic rat pack was great when you had enough water, we did a job in somewhere in Africa and were expected to use artic rat packs
simonsays
16-01-2005, 18:09
I also quite like some of the Yank stuff, but am a tad worried about exactly what they "fortify" some of the items with.
German stuff is crap, with the exception of the pork rolls in rice.
Irish stuff is good (they have a curry and a sweet & sour and little tins of fruit)
Belgian...Don't go there, except for the real Nestle chocolate.
Canadian rations are quite nice, the instructions are in French though.....
simon
Simon what rations do the irish get issued? I was on a course with a Irish soldier last year and he told me they didnt get issued rations. According to him they generally brought food from home as they didnt go 'that far' on peace keeping duties they used British.
Also have the Canadians got new rations? Last time I worked with them they all used US rations and again wanted to swap it for British stuff.
French rations are interesting as they are issued mini bottles of wine in some menus.
arctic hobo
16-01-2005, 21:11
I now stick to the wayfearer foods or fresh foods if i'm out and about, I don't care much for deserts or starters or dodgy coffee/tea/chocolate or biscuts and I get rid of 1 layer of bag before I take them outside.
I'd avoid the wayfarers if I were you... they have loads of fat, cost a blemmin' fortune and have nowhere near enough to sustain you. I was stupid enough to rely on them in the mountains and ended up eating a week's supply in a day and trekking to the nearest town to buy real food. Even at Norwegian prices it was cheaper :nono:
Celtic Dragon
16-01-2005, 21:18
****** me, a website to biscuit browns!!!! :D I used to have a backlog of unopened 1's as I was the only 1 in my deteachmet that would eat them! I loved the packs I got in the mid 90's. I wouldn't like to live off em for more than a couple of days, but they did contain coffee :D
But yes, every non british soldier does try to get their hands on our ratpacks, my mates got an atic stuffed full of gear he's swapped for good old ratpacks.
simonsays
16-01-2005, 21:32
Simon what rations do the irish get issued? I was on a course with a Irish soldier last year and he told me they didnt get issued rations. According to him they generally brought food from home as they didnt go 'that far' on peace keeping duties they used British.
Also have the Canadians got new rations? Last time I worked with them they all used US rations and again wanted to swap it for British stuff.
French rations are interesting as they are issued mini bottles of wine in some menus.
Hi Gary, the first part of my post was a quote from 'Great Pebbles' earlier post so I cant help you with the origin of the Irish rations. The Canadian ones are pretty tasty though. The variety is excellent see http://www.mreinfo.com/imps.html for a full range of menu choices (And lots of other MRE information)
The downside of the canadian packs is the calorific content, ISTR that it is about 1000cals down on the British packs. not really a problem unless you're *really* hungry. Thai chicken and garlic rice..... Lurverly. Not too badly priced either, got them from ebay at £50 for a ten pack including delivery from the States.
Cheers,
simon
Cool, cheers Simon, same MRE's just packed for the Canuks! Well almost, they do look a different, probably better!
Thanks for the biscuits brown/beef stock tip Gary. :super: (I'll give that try that next time I'm stuck out somewhere and the tin of pate smells a bit too suss.)
I've noticed that some of the food items in the British ration packs don't seem to work out doors very well. A lot of people find the treacle pudding unpalatable (or at least they do after a spoonful or two!). Cooking in a crusader over hexy just doesn't seem to do the trick ... so I tend to keep those until I'm at home - they're brilliant done in the microwave!! :o):
Maybe I'm too fussy but I had the Lancashire hotpot and an instant white tea and they didn't do it for me.
Definately not as good as Kath's fresh baked bread :wink: :biggthump
The secret was in kneading the dough on the bonnet of the Landy! :wink:
Your welcome Kath, I have spent many a long stag laying in a Bush munch AB's in such a manor.
One thing to remember with ration packs is that most squaddies i know usually discard half the contents as having to carry them all on your back certainly makes your a good judge of necessity!
Great Pebble
17-01-2005, 08:12
Irish stuff is handled/packed by "Irish Procurement" of Cork.
Meals are in foil trays rather than bags and there are tins of fruit :)
S'about it.
Interesting thread this. A visitor to the mess once won a raffle for 'A meal for two anywhere in Aberdeen' - his girlfriend was not impressed when he collected two ration packs.
I was also told that they were deliberately engineered to be low fibre, so you would only need to open the bowels once every three days. Don't know if this is true.
I remember one very dark night a pal of mine put his tinned chicken curry on the stove to heat, got hungry waiting and decided to eat his tinned fruit salad in the meantime. But when he opened the fruit salad, he found it was ....chicken curry. Hot fruit salad is surprisingly good, by the way.
But best of all, in our rat packs, we got....Spangles!
Great Pebble
17-01-2005, 19:03
One thing I would like to track down is the little bag of rice you used to get...
Like "boil in the bag" rice but about 2 minutes immersion in boiling water (which would also contain your tin of curry or *doh* chicken supreme) and it was done. Would be right handy but never seen anything like it anywhere else.
British Compo has come on a massive amount in the past few years. Now that we all live in a PC inclusive society you can get:- Kosher. Halal, Veggie and about seven different menu's of normal scoff. My favorite has to be the chicken and pasta boil in the bag and corned beef hash.
Used to be funny as hell when one man pax had the little tins in them, and someone let them too hot and all and sundry was covered in boiling babies heads.
I must admit if you can get your hands on a 10 man pack its great, all sorts of fun things in tins.
Johno
Great Pebble
17-01-2005, 19:07
Question... Has anyone actually seen any of the "ethnic" menus?
it was pointed out to me that although the B.A. are absolutely inclusive these days the chances of finding a significant number of Toms requiring a particular diet in one unit are somewhat slim and as they come packaged in cases of ten......You get the picture.
GP I have read the list of whats available but never actually seen one in the flesh as it were.
Make you laugh though, I remember my days of 10 man ration packs were everything went in the BV, the section had a all in stew and if you didnt like it you didnt eat it! Choices were so much simplar then!
I've seen one veggi meal in shops. Is this just one meal or a range though? IIRC it was just a simple pasta dish
I've had a few 'meatless' rat packs, but they were beans with what I assume were mini veggi burgers. They were fine, but apparently not a patch on meaty meals.
So there is more than one meal!
how to make a veggi rat pack
take one tin of baked beans with veggi sosuage at a cost of 50p
remove can and place in cool state of the art foil packet
resell for £3.00
the world hates veggies
i'v got a veggie tikia one..
how to make a veggi rat pack
take one tin of baked beans with veggi sosuage at a cost of 50p
remove can and place in cool state of the art foil packet
resell for £3.00
the world hates veggies
Don't be daft.
There was less than a whole tin of beans in it... :rolleyes:
Maybe thats why they call them rat packs and not meals
Takes a lot of food to feed an active young gent like myself you know
The thing to remember about 24 hour rat packs is that they are made with the starving squaddie in mind , not the inquisitive civvy !
When I first joined the mob ( swing that lamp someone can you ? ) rat packs were dehydrated affairs or tinned stuff . Real pain in the bum to clean afterwards. A mate of mine who toured in Bosnia tells me of the time some yanks came to stay and foolishly left a full case of MRE's unguarded . Needless to say it was empty in the morning
jamesdevine
18-01-2005, 10:09
The Irish ones are good but not that easy to come by as a civi unless you known someone I have found. It was irish stew when I was in the FCA(Irish TA) with one peice of meat if you were lucky. They are better now as are most things are in our defence forces. It was only ten years ago and we still used the Enfield in my company all do the FN came in towards the end of my 3 years.
James
Great Pebble
18-01-2005, 10:45
A lot of the Irish personal kit would be rated amonst the best in the world these days. My favourite outdoor trousers are my Irish DPM combats, unfortunately I wont wear them at the same time as the smock (image problem) 'cos it's great as well. Arkitis designed but manufactured by a Belgian contactor. Great kit. The "Gore-tex" (actually stuff called Cyclone) gear is also extremely good, far superior to the British issue, almost indeed on par with one of the better civvy manufacturers, it's plain green too, bar for a badge on the jacket. The "Norgie" style top is also worthy of mention.
Unfortunately for the most part it's like finding hen's teeth or unless you're into a little bribery and corruption.
jamesdevine
18-01-2005, 11:07
Not much of a good Idea to were down here either you can be arrest as it's like wearing a Garda uniform. But I have heard they are good. I am sure in a while they well sell of surplus at reasonable price but I am not holding my breath.
I believe the issue sleeping bag at least the Rangers ones are made by Nanok but most of the guys I know us snugpak. All off topic sorry.
James
bombadil
18-01-2005, 11:08
What!!!.......did sombody mention biscuits browns!?!?!?! :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao:
Maybe I'm the biggest freak in the bunch but I flippin LOVE 'EM!! Between them and oatmeal blocks you need nothing else.
Where can I get me a life supply?? There must be a tonne of the things in every squaddies garden shed.
Infomation pliz!?! :naughty:
I spent some time in Viet Nam in another lifetime. C-rations were the issue for field rations. There will always be mixed reviews about them. Some I liked, some you couldn't put enough tobasco sauce, or Derry's meat sauce to make them palatable. The Tobacso company come up with a "Charlie Ration Cookbook" using a variety of meal mixing for squad/gun section use.
Chocolate, Peanut butter ,crackers and cheese raated up there. Ham and eggs sure weren't lime Mom's Turkey ala king, boned chicken were tops. Once lubed an M-2 maching gun with the pork patties. Thing never rusted through the monsoons of '69 :shock:
Lucky us to have the Australians close to trade with :super:
What!!!.......did sombody mention biscuits browns!?!?!?! :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao:
Maybe I'm the biggest freak in the bunch but I flippin LOVE 'EM!! Between them and oatmeal blocks you need nothing else.
I like BB too. :biggthump Not so sure about the oatmeal block - do you eat it as a biscuit or make it into some kinda porridge? (I've asked several squaddies but they all said they just chucked it! :o):)
Porridge is always a good bet with those things. I've used the oatmeal block to make an oat stuffing for pheasant... twas ok but nothing to write home about. I think maybe add to some stock, a few foraged fruits/berries would have been alot better.... Stock is a must actually as the oatmeal absorbed all the liquid and left the meat very dry :-(
Ed
Ok, I can't resist it any longer...I've just got to jump in on this thread!!!I used to quite enjoy the old rat paks. The chicken in brown sauce, the tinned apple pudding, the Spangles! God yes! I remember those!!!
But I HATEDthepilchards. I couldn't eat anythign liek that for years after...
Kath, the oatmeal blocks were great if you put apricot jam and a slice of cheddar from the 10 man paks on them.
I can remember many a happy night sitting at some old drafty railway station waiting for the last or first train eating that.
And we used to have fights, and I DO mean fights, over the apple & apricot flakes (still got a pack somewhere).
We did swap occasionally with troops from other countries, and reckon we always got the worst end of the deal.
MREs - Meal Really inEdible. The latest ones aren't too bad. Mind you I was suffering flu at the time so couldn't taste anything.
bambodoggy
18-01-2005, 17:09
And we used to have fights, and I DO mean fights, over the apple & apricot flakes (still got a pack somewhere).
How much to buy them off you then? ? ? They were the ONLY reason to eat rat packs at one point! ! ! :rolmao: mmmmmmmm...yummy yum!!!!
<goes in Golum mode>
Mine! my precious!
Not at ANY cost mate!!!
bambodoggy
18-01-2005, 17:26
Fair enough Matey :o):
Hey...dare you to put them up on Ebay...bet they'd go for over a tenner a packet! ! ! ! lol
Yeah, probably to me! :o):
Haven’t really got any good to say about rat packs.
Six months on rat packs solid killed off any chance of me ever having them by choice again.
For me it always depended on how hungry you were to how nice biscuits brown tasted. :yuck:
Jakunen, I remember having to dispose of tins of pilchards on the instructions of some RAF bigwig, they'd gone a bit iffy apparently
Having said that I know where we buried them after drilling holes in the tins so maybe we could arrange some sort of gathering of the pilchard haters :yikes:
Sounds like a plan to me mate!:lol:
Jakunen, I remember having to dispose of tins of pilchards on the instructions of some RAF bigwig, they'd gone a bit iffy apparently
Having said that I know where we buried them after drilling holes in the tins so maybe we could arrange some sort of gathering of the pilchard haters :yikes:
In Batus we would put old, sweated, tins of Pilchards int he air filtration systems of 432 just before hand over to the next battle group - first NBC attack and ............ :rolmao: Cruel but bloody funny!
bombadil
19-01-2005, 13:02
I like BB too. :biggthump Not so sure about the oatmeal block - do you eat it as a biscuit or make it into some kinda porridge? (I've asked several squaddies but they all said they just chucked it! :o):)
Always ate the oatmeal block as a biscuit. A lot like the way I imagine the elfin bread that the hobbits use in Lord of the rings.....lightweight, tasty and incredibly sustaining... :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao:
Celtic Dragon
19-01-2005, 13:19
In Batus we would put old, sweated, tins of Pilchards int he air filtration systems of 432 just before hand over to the next battle group - first NBC attack and ............ :rolmao: Cruel but bloody funny!
Gary, thats evil :o): better than attaching peoples webbing to a smoke grenade wedged in a tree :D
In Batus we would put old, sweated, tins of Pilchards int he air filtration systems of 432 just before hand over to the next battle group - first NBC attack and ............ :rolmao: Cruel but bloody funny!
Now Gary that wasn't very nice was it?:nono:
Damn, could have sworn I saw a smiley that was laughing hard and slapping the ground...
Walkabout
10-02-2005, 21:39
The oatmeal block used to be put in the ratpacks as a complete porridge meal but the squaddies all complained it was'nt big enough. So they were taken out and replaced with rolled oats, but then the squaddies complained that they had been enjoying eating them straight out of the pack. So the MOD had one of its few clever ideas and put both the rolled oats and oatmeal blocks in.
did 3 months on mre's once, they will keep you alive but thats the only good news, the components can be re assembled into good emergency packs, you will have to be pretty hungry, so that might be what make them good for emergency's.
NickBristol
11-02-2005, 11:23
I think MRE's are great - but if you're going to be on them for any length of time you'll need a significant amount of laxatives and bog roll to deal with the consequences. Have felt softer concrete....
While on this subject, what about the rolos? Does anybody really know why they were printed in arabic and tasted different to shop bought ones?
I heard a rumour it dated back to salvage from suez, but surely not?
Great thread! This has brought back memories of the old BA rations, pull up a sand bag!
1. Rolos - Always had the tin foil stuck to them!
2. Tinned food - Bray it on a rock before cooking as it acts like a pressure cooker and cooks quicker! This has got to be the most dangerous thing ever. I remember suffering a severe scalding from mixed vegetables as the boiling water inside escaped when i opened the tin! (Still got a folding tin opener, and I prefer it to a normal tin opener at home!)
3 - Instant Rice. Add a tad of water, beverage whitener and sugar et voila, rice pudding!
4 - Biscuit Brown. I am sure the old rations had softer BB than the new stuff. Biscuit fruit where like garibaldi aswell. Give the new stuff to the Padre to retile the church roof!
5 - Rolled oats and apricot flakes. Mmmmmmmmmm!
I think the new stuff is ok, as long as you ditch fruit dumplings in custard sauce (or cat sick!), screech has always been minging, but maybe that is just me. I like to stick a bit of duncans choccy on top of oatmeal block, sort of a home made choccy hob nob, although I have never tried the porridge thing. A tip from a Gurkha, heat the unopened tin of meat pate in your water, that grease that is always on top melts and the whole thing tastes much better. Try it, you may be converted! Use the instant tea for model making on your Junior Commanders Course to mark tracks, etc., apart from that it is useless! I had a look on ebay and cannot believe the prices people pay for rations and hexi! Are they mad?
brucemacdonald
18-02-2005, 17:03
Great thread! This has brought back memories of the old BA rations, pull up a sand bag!
<snip>
I had a look on ebay and cannot believe the prices people pay for rations and hexi! Are they mad?
Yes they are totally barking :lol: Some kind of mania grips some people on eBay, they will bid stupid money on all sorts of tat. I can't believe anyone would pay a tenner for a British Army ORP or the high postage to deliver them.
As a kid I remember my brothers bringing back home the leftovers from the old ration packs from TA exercises. The Rolos etc were long gone, but I did have a sachet of the apricot and apple flakes. I thought they were nice.
There is a column in "Soldier" magazine showing what culinary delights can be achieved with ration pack ingredients. I've never been tempted to try, though, as I am not versed in the black magic arts practised by Army chefs. :You_Rock_
Best wishes
Bruce
Spamel - let me say one thing -------
Tinned steak and kidney pudding! :biggthump
I agree Gary, babys heads where the best, although I never got them heated through properly, so it was warm on the outside and cold on the inside!
Somebody said something about boil in the bag rice, I believe Uncle Benn does a boil in the bag range that cooks relatively quickly. Maybe worth a try.
Browsing in Tiso outdoor shop, I had a look at some of the backpacking meals on offer - hermetically sealed in a foil pouch.
It would be cheaper to eat out in a restaurant!
I think even boil in a bag rice takes 10 minutes or so (it's not the time at issue, its the stove fuel consumption - unless you're cooking on the fire, that is). But you can get excellent quick cook pasta from Tescos etc. Cooked in three minutes, tasty, small pack size as its dehydrated, and it really fills you up as its pure carbohydrate.
anyone had any exsperiance with french m.r.e.'s I'm curios about them. which is the best outlet for british rations, I have e-mailed a couple of places in u.k. and never get a responce,[ must think I'm a daft one ]. would like to get some just need to work out how. thanks mates
French rations are pretty good actually. I have had them twice, in Ploce, Croatia in 1995 and The Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003.
I thought they were good, the main meals come in two sardine type tins with a ring pull, they fit nicely into a mess tin with space left over.
A good beverage pack, soup is the best ration soup I've tried, and the coffee is awesome. I still have a few sachets left, I grabbed loads before I left! It also comes with a small Hexi cooker, which comprises a small sheet of metal that you bend to form the pot standoff, and small werthers size fuel tablets that last just as long as a brit hexi block.
There is a big pack of biscuits which look like rich tea, but they are salty, and a few are sweet and are impregnated with chocolate, which are not bad. Obviously, the meals are a bit more continental in their makeup, but they are nice and were a nice change from brit compo.
As to a source, I have no idea. I'll keep an eye out, if you find them give me a shout!
I seem to recall that www.usmcpro.com sell the French rations - never tried them though.
brucemacdonald
19-02-2005, 10:53
Do French rations include a half-bottle of red wine?
Best wishes
Bruce
Where's the list of each menu?
I thought it was in this thread but I couldn't find it.
arctic hobo
19-02-2005, 22:01
Browsing in Tiso outdoor shop, I had a look at some of the backpacking meals on offer - hermetically sealed in a foil pouch.
It would be cheaper to eat out in a restaurant!
I think even boil in a bag rice takes 10 minutes or so (it's not the time at issue, its the stove fuel consumption - unless you're cooking on the fire, that is). But you can get excellent quick cook pasta from Tescos etc. Cooked in three minutes, tasty, small pack size as its dehydrated, and it really fills you up as its pure carbohydrate.
I advise very strongly to keep well away from those backpacking foods... there is nowhere near enough to sustain you, and they cost a blemmin' fortune. Also they aren't terribly good for you and because they are not dehydrated they are very heavy for what you get.
I got a scrambled egg mix for brekkie once. Didn't read the instructions until I was in the middle of the elan valley and found you needed milk, butter and seasonings and needed to fry it up. I thought is was a just add water thingy, instead all it was was raw egg powder!! :roll:
Never again...
I agree AH, army rations with the boil in the bag meals are designed for a complete day, not meals on there own. I use the left over boil in the bags when I go walking but supplement them with other foods. They are heavy and do take about 7 minutes to cook but then again you dont need the water to rehydrate them and the water you cook them in can be used for a brew with the meal. I don't mind the meals but I wouldn't want to buy them, I think they are about £3 a go.
Brian
Haven't posted on here before but had to jump in and add my bit on rat packs.
The boil in the bags I think are tasty but I do miss the old chicken curry, the old squash fly biscuits were better than they are now as were the oatmeal blocks.
When I used to be the operator on a tank it was my job to cook for the rest of the crew so I always made sure I had plenty of different spices as the boil in the bags got a bit boring when its all you have on tour for six months. I used to mix a couple of main meals together or a breakfast and main meal( main meal and pudding doesn't work) with some curry powder,chilli powder and garlic powder. Then I would add some sugar and two of the primlea cheese spreads which would make a tasty creamy curry and I never got any complaints from my crew.
I understand as they are a bit pricey to buy it could be a bit extravagant to make but if you have a few extra bits or your cooking for more than one you can mix up the meals a bit. Anyway if you try it I hope you enjoy and due to the curry and chilli powder make sure you have some comfy-bum with you.
anyone had any exsperiance with french m.r.e.'s I'm curios about them. which is the best outlet for british rations, I have e-mailed a couple of places in u.k. and never get a responce,[ must think I'm a daft one ]. would like to get some just need to work out how. thanks mates
This place lists French ration packs:
http://www.armyrations.co.uk/shop/item.asp?itemid=36&catid=22
Sounds a lot better than the British "baked beans with everything" sort.
They also sell the "Biscuits Brown" on their own. (I think someone was wanting some of them, although that might have been another thread)
Just found http://17thdivision.tripod.com/id22.html via http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/45321. Can't believe someone is actually selling ration pack biscuits from 1939. ;)
hey jared : i think you have it wrong on the ration pack biscuits buddy....those ww2 british reenactors sell REPO ww2 rations to fellow reenactors....everything is new and good they sell, nothing REAL from back in the day(1939)...i do think that the biscuits are aussie made arnott's plain biscuits in celo packs...good and filling just like the ww2 issue hard biscuits i guess....just wanted to clear that up partner :) ...vince g. 11b inf...
hey jared : i think you have it wrong on the ration pack biscuits buddy....those ww2 british reenactors sell REPO ww2 rations to fellow reenactors....everything is new and good they sell, nothing REAL from back in the day(1939)...i do think that the biscuits are aussie made arnott's plain biscuits in celo packs...good and filling just like the ww2 issue hard biscuits i guess....just wanted to clear that up partner :) ...vince g. 11b inf...
Yes, I kinda realised that :) Just posted for humor. ;)
Hey if anybody's service days go back far enough to remember bacon grill in tins (im talking 70's & 80's ) well you can get them in sainsburys. Yes the real deal. Took some to WG this year along with sausage n beans and my daughter (10) LOVED them. couldnt clean the bloody frying pan after so they had to be real. Picked up some MRE from the states on ebay and tried them out, Thought they were OK for what they are. Seriously though ready meals IMHO are emergency rations or for situations where you havent time or ability to light a fire and cook - nothing more. I like the heater in MRE's for emergency situations - stranded on the hillside overnight - that sort of thing, i now carry two in the car just in case (and hey! I only live in Kent yuk)
kits peak
24-09-2005, 13:27
depends where you set the bar. Army rations fit a purpose, for field work on the move, high in fat and sugar. Sometimes anything hot is welcome.
The taste depends how hungry you are. The a few simple herbs and some imagination you'll be surprised.
I never had a problem with ratpacks apart from the arctic ones which always tasted of cardboard after a short while and as one of the others mentioned add some spices and herbs to it and you wouldn't know yourself.
Not a fan of MRE's, but as Nick mentioned the little heaters are great as emergency peices of kit.
Yes Nick I remeber the old rations with a certain fondness, chicken curry and rice, bacon grill, bacon burgers and babies heads. I saw the bacon burgers in Sainsbury's and thought "No, They can't be":)
Hey I remeber this thread!! I went to Canada earlier this year, Duncans chocolate is no longer in the ration pack, you get two Yorkie bars instead, and I'm not kidding!!
I can't believe you get bacon grill in Sainsburys! What was the difference between bacon grill and bacon burgers? I never did get that one!!!
BlueTrain
25-09-2005, 11:55
This place lists French ration packs:
http://www.armyrations.co.uk/shop/item.asp?itemid=36&catid=22
Sounds a lot better than the British "baked beans with everything" sort.
They also sell the "Biscuits Brown" on their own. (I think someone was wanting some of them, although that might have been another thread)
BlueTrain(Rover) here. I had been making inquiries about a commercial substitute for "Biscuits Brown" in another thread. So far I have not put my hands on any although I have discovered a source. There is something called Pilot Bread, which are biscuits (crackers) and produced by a company which makes packaged camping food for backpackers. My local outdoor store didn't have any, and in fact had very little backpacking food, so I'll have to order some if I want it badly enough. I am still thinking that dinner rolls or even bagels might make better trail bread.
Understand that I am not thinking of this as a survival type ration that is to be stored for a long period, just something to fill the bread portion of a meal when out in the woods.
Do no British rations include fruit cocktail? It might be canned but it is a real treat and they always disappeared first.
I have in the past taken ordinary supermarket baps. Cut the tops off two 2litre pop bottles, a slit down one so it fits inside the other, makes a pretty good solid bap transportation device, prevents them from being crushed :)
Even lost my rucksack in a pretty fast flowing stream, and the baps were still dry.
Most enjoyable for soup dunking etc.
Just a tip from someone who has never had to buy Army rations. ( I got them issued for the 24 years I did) Check the box. a while ago the MOD introduced TRAINING RATIONS. Same box less calories reduced menus etc. they stink and are generally made up the the near to end of shelf life items.
if anyone thinks COMPO is bad try Aircrew survival rations MK 9. Bars of compressed sawdust, and a beverage pack. They ARE bad.
Canadian Guy
10-10-2005, 18:10
I've not tried too many different countries rations (American and older British) but I'll state ours are the best, US troops will gladly trade theirs for any of ours on joint exercises although some stuff in their MRE's is not bad. There just doesn't seem to be near enoough food in the US MRE's to fill you up. Ours have alot more "food" to eat in them and alot more of the extras, ongoing quality improvement through feedback from troops has them getting better all the time. To get the extra calories you are issued one extra dinner meal in winter (standard SOP) and you may get a daily supplemental pack that has alot of goodies to snack on through the day. I really don't mind eating them in the field and some of the menus are quite good mind you more then a week on an IMP diet and you may need dynamite to clear your bowels!
<looks all cheery>
Ive got a packet of that apricot and apple stuff....(no idea how old it is but IMHO dried food is immortal)
Now what do you want to trade for it?