The last delightful airline cuisine I consumed? Early '90's, don't remember which airline... the food had no taste at all - so much so that it amazed me that anything could be prepared in such a manner that produces something so bland.Was that in the 1980s? I mean as long as I can remember you got like a tiny bag of peanuts or maybe paid like twenty bucks for a mediocre sandwich and half a 12 ounce can of Coke.
Well MRE's are a lot less bad then say WW2 rations. MRE's I've had a few times and sometimes they're surprisingly not bad. Not good but not that terrible. Though I could see why servicemen who eat them cold for like two weeks straight would despise them. I've heard that in such cases they can also cause tremendous problems with bathroom functions. To the extent that say going three days without doing your business is normal. Which might very well be intentional.
Big fan of SteveMRE1989. Really awesome reviews and such a kick ass way of presenting. Really want to try the French or Italian rations some day. A few of the standard Italian rations still actually contain booze. Namely a couple of the Breakfast ones include a little like two ounce bottle of a Cordial Waters standard. So yeah getting a ration with a free shot of like 30% alch content booze would be a nice treat for someone in the field. A lot of old US and other emergency Medical/suvival kits would contain amphetamine tablets as standard. Which I've seen Steve buy a few such old survival kits complete with Meth tablets on E Bay. The Brazilian Navy rations also contain a really cool little stove. A lot of countries rations have standard semi disposable little folding metal stoves with solid Esbit fuel tablets. But the Brazilian rations have a cool squeeze bottle of semi liquid alcohol fuel (sort of like a hand sanitizer that's fuel).
During the Gulf War there was apparently a semi standard trading system among Coalition Troops. Twenty US MRE's was worth one French Ration or like three of the French Rations were worth a US Cot (which was apparently better then the French bedding). Reminds me of how in Germany for a couple years post WW2 the standard currency wasn't actual money but instead American Cigarettes. Like it was standard for say laborers or farm hands or factory workers to receive wages of packs of US Camels/Marlboro's/Chesterfields and such. French Riot cops for some reason had rations that contained can's of fortified wine into the 1980s. Like giving your Riot cops a bottle of MD 20/20 with their meals. Because nothing helps more in a Riot then slightly drunk Riot Cops.
I really recommend Steve 1989MRE. He's got a really soothing Bob Ross type voice and he reviews the rations like their meals from five star restaurants instead of canned crap that was considered terrible when it was new during the Korean or Vietnam War and have been expired longer then the guy eating them has been alive.
Steve1989MREInfo
MRE & Ration Reviews from 1863-current! This is Steve1989 longtime Ration Nut off MREinfo's forums - I'll eat just about anything! Provided it passes a reaso...www.youtube.com
One of the rations in those videos that he eat's is from fucking 1906. He's eating stuff that expired during WW1.
Another really funny thing is that a lot of old Life boat emergency rations from like the 1940s to late 1960s (for say sailors who's ship sank to survive on till rescue) consisted of like two pounds of hard candy and three cartons of Cigarettes. That would be designed for like 4 sailors to survive three days. Because of course the best thing to give shipwrecked sailors without much water is like a carton of cigarettes a piece.
It wasn't inedible, but probably something I wouldn't have eaten had it not been for the couple of bourbon-and-coke "nerve tonics" I had beforehand
