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No battle was ever won on an empty stomach. According to historians, one Roman legion had to consume 120 sheep a day for their meat ration, crusaders would recharge on dry meat and grain, while Napoleon’s soldiers spent most of their time desperately hungry.
But fast forward to the modern day and we see a whole different story. Neatly packaged and super-compact, military food rations are an easy way to provide that much-needed nutrition. But it turns out, every country has its own take on front-line dining. Thanks to one Youtuber named David Hong, who tried a variety of MREs from different countries, we now know what exactly army troops’ taste buds can expect when they open one. And surprisingly, some look better than my dinner ever has.
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#1
Russia
Apple sauce; Pea stew; Meatball; Bacon in fat; Crackers; Rice with peas and meat; Cheese spread; Carrot and potato substance
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#2
United Kingdom
Muesli oats with milk; Sports drink, coffee and tea; Candy; Cranberry cereal bar; Fruit cake; Vegetarian pasta; Oatmeal cookie and hazelnut spread; Tomato pasta salad; Salted nuts
#3
Italy
Breakfast: Biscuits; Chocolate; Jelly; Spoon; Coffee; Sugar; Salt. Lunch: Tortellini; Beef; Fruit salad; Biscuits; Coffee. Supper: Crackers; An entry bar; Tuna; Soup
Bored Panda reached out to David Hong, a Youtuber behind the series of videos that revealed what’s inside these military food rations. It turns out, David is also an artist in the furry fandom and Warhammer Horus Heresy project, which recently became his main focus.
The thirty-year-old Youtuber started out back in 2011 and his channel was mainly about blogging and gaming. ”I never have thought it would be an MRE Review Channel since I first opened a US MRE ration that I bought from an expat living in my country,” he recounted.
#4
France
Terrine forestiere; Crackers; Chocolate, nougat and candy; Muesli, oats and fruits; Instant tomato soup; Braised ham; Crozets et diots
Bardhi's Dad 5 years ago
I would gladly serve in french army. Especially if you compare it with than Yugoslavian army where I served more than 30 years ago
#5
Germany
Hazelnut pudding; Rindfleischlyoner grob; Pea stew with mettwurstchen; Hackfleischrollchen with rice; Muesli, oats milk and fruits; Roggenschrotbrot; Cranberry cereal bar; Roggenschrotbrot; Dark chocolate; Crackers
chi-wei shen 5 years ago (edited)
A few translations: Rindfleischlyoner grob: rough Bologna style sausage made of beef; Mettwürstchen: small strongly flavoured sausage made from raw minced pork; Hackfleischröllchen: small minced meat rolls; Roggenschrotbrot: coarse-grained rye bread;
#6
Canada
Hot chocolate; Orange drink; Coffee; Coffee creamer; Banana flavoured oatmeal cereal; Bread; Sliced apples; Baked beans; Ketchup; Peanut butter; Strawberry jam
But it turns out, David isn’t connected to any military himself. “This question comes up due to the fact that MREs can only be had if provided by the army, or bought from a commissary in a base.” He explained that this isn’t the case anymore because military rations are now available publicly.
It’s hard to say which food ration was David’s fave since “every ration is unique to the taste and culture of their corresponding nation.” Having said that, he loved “the Russian IRP because it offers the most protein of all the MREs I had. The pork fat or sowbelly is probably the oddest choice in it; it tastes like bacon when you mix it with the rice included.”
Other nice treats included meatballs that “feel and taste realer than manufactured ones that are soggy and bland” and crackers that “are great to snack on, dunking it in the sauces of the entrees is heavenly.”
#7
Croatia
Biscuits with pepper; Salt crackers; Chocolate; Pineapple; Papaya; Turkey pate; Liver spread; Sardines Beans; Coffee taffy's; Orange drink; Tea; Beef soup
#8
U.S.
Marble pound cake; Skittles; Grape flavor energy drink; Crackers; Chili; Macaroni
#9
Poland
Tea; Coffee; Chicken casserole; Hardtack; Hard candies; Stick of gum; Honey; Condensed milk ; Pepper; Salt; Raisins
Moreover, David believes that “the entrees in the Russia IRP are the best seasoned,” which means you don’t need to add salt or pepper. “The mini stove is also very cute when warming the entrees within their containers, as a civilian, I feel like camping when using it,” he added.
The Youtuber, who is originally from the Philippines, also told us about the time he tried living on “twenty-four colon-blocking [army ration] flavors to choose from.” It may sound fun, but in reality, “It is quite a fattening and a constipating endeavor as a civilian with moderate exercise, the amount of calories in each pack is designed for soldiers.”
#10
Lithuania
Drink; Chicken soup; Hazelnuts; Crackers; Chocolate; Chicken and rice
ebony1k124 touch 5 years ago
This looks decent but i would pour some of the soup over the chicken and rice to rescue it a bit.
#11
Kazakhstan
Biscuits; Tea bag; Jam; Pate; Squash; Rice; Corned beef with soup
#12
Ukraine
Breakfast: Iced tea; Biscuits; Rice with beef; Wipes.
Lunch: Spoon and tissue paper; Pate; Pork; Drink; Sugar.
Supper:Biscuits;Tuna;Pate;Iced tea;Sugar
Linda Roy 5 years ago (edited)
The stuff to the left of the spoon looks kinda brownish grey, tbh. Nope
Load More Replies...
Edwin Quantrall 5 years ago
"Breakfast: Iced tea; Biscuits; Rice with beef; *Wipes.*" For when said "breakfast" makes it's break for freedom...
JessG 5 years ago
Why are they mentioning the wipes and toilet paper? Technically, those would come with all of these "meals"
Ashla Delana 5 years ago
You make it sound like that would be a good thing.
Load More Replies...Not only can the MREs truly be fattening since they’re packed with calories, they can also get dull easily. “Once you already cycled through the menus as they can have the same desserts or spreads in consecutive packs.”
All in all, David wouldn’t recommend relying on MREs as a quick meal even for an athlete because “they can really throw off your diet and bowels.”
#13
Spain
Tuna; Mix fruits; Beef and peas; Instant vege soup; Pate
#14
China
Cake; Fruit; Rice; Sausage; Hot Sauce
ebony1k124 touch 5 years ago
Rice and sausage looks like it may be a lil hard to swollow. It fell victim to the "evaporation fairy" that is known to suck all moisture and flavor out of MRE's or Equivalents.
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What do you think ?
Foxxy (The Original) 5 years ago (edited)
I wish these ration packs were easily accessible and cheap. Would be great to give out to the homeless.
mph seti 5 years ago
I would try any of these once. The closest stuff I've eaten is freeze-dried camping/backpacking food you add boiling water to. Not terrible, 100% reliant on spices/seasoning.
Alex Boyd 5 years ago
I bought a few of these (American ones) at a surplus store a while back, for camping/emergency purposes. I'm sure anyone would get tired of them pretty fast, but I found it kind of fun opening them and seeing what different items I got. (The packaging had the name of the entree on it, but the other components were a surprise.) Some of them have a processed cheese-type substance with jalapenos in it, that is probably objectively terrible, but really hits the spot if you've been hiking all day.
Load More Replies...
Darius Ryliškis 5 years ago
Why did you not write the duration of the ration pack? example, one United Kingdom ration pack are for 24h survival , and Lithuanian one ration pack for 8h survival, Lithuanian soldiers for 24h get 3 mentioned packs, in post can be assumed that all ration packs are for the same duration of survival, what is wrong ;/
B 5 years ago
Pff, kids today don't know they're born. South African army, 1987 - for a three day hike, full kit and rifle over rocky dry terrain, we were each given one piece of raw steak, but no fires were allowed. And to share between three, one box of dry rusks (hard biscuits that can't be eaten unless sucked for an hour before or dipped in a hot drink... again, no fire allowed, so that was a no-go). By the end of the march we would have killed each other for one of the packs above.
Jessica Cifelli 5 years ago
All the ones with pate just seem like they are giving their soldiers cat food to eat. Also they almost all have some form of cracker/ biscuits. However the main entrees in the MREs dont look particularly enticing. I get that they are to serve as a quick thing to eat during combat, but you'd think that the military that is defending your country would get way better looking food than this.
Meyer Weinstock 5 years ago
I noticed that the nations with colder climates had some of the most caloric and compacted foods, save for Poland. Kazakh summers can be very hot, but the winters are tough.
John L 5 years ago (edited)
They certainly are different from my days as an Army dependent(WWII Baby), and active duty tanker. My guess is that they are quite tasty and nutritious. 'Course, the favorite pastime is complaining and Bitching about anything and everything, just to Be one of the gang. When my scout troop went into the boondocks, we always carried a good supply of "Cs". And we burned up a lot of calories too.
Yvonne Boots-Faubert 5 years ago
There is actually a whole web community (mre info I believe is one of the main websites) - my husband & son are active in it. Youtubers review different rations from different countries & eras (yes, you can actually get some from earlier decades and wars) and let people know what is good/bad & ugly, lol. One of the most awesome of these guys (Steve) will try almost anything (sometimes twice) and has the best reviews.
Shinduvi Zitha 5 years ago
Wow! Thank you- to the women and men who go out of their way to put their lives in danger so our countries can be protected. Cheers to you.
Jaybird3939 5 years ago
Biscuits as Americans know them are not the same as biscuits in the rest of the world. For us, they're a flaky, risen dough type of savory treat (often covered with gravy). To the rest of the world, they're cookies. Americans. We always gotta be a little different.
Veronica Sjöberg 5 years ago
I was in the swedish army for a year (lumpen) in 2008. It was actually pretty good food.
Fixin'Ta 5 years ago
There's a YouTuber whose channel is called Emmymadeinjapan who tests out MREs to see if they're any good (she does a lot of other awesome things foodwise, mostly making interesting/odd recipes and tasting them -- you should check out her channel, it's fanastic). The Scandinavian ones seem to be the best. They're more like Actual Real Food.
Blackheart 5 years ago
If you like this post watch Steve1989 on his YouTube channel. He does great MRE reviews of MREs from all over the world, and from various time periods. Even the Civil War, and WWII. He eats them too as many are good for decades.
Melissa Nunya 5 years ago
Anyone interested in MRE's should look up Steve1989 on YouTube. You're welcome ;)
Kristen Medina 5 years ago (edited)
I remember getting into my dad’s MREs from when he served in the Gulf and Bosnian Wars (USAF)....I’m 36 now and can *still* taste them 😂
Marcellus the Third 5 years ago
I'm shocked the legendary Scottish winter[/extreme environment] army ration isn't included: For an extended review, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ry4QBQejFU
CaptainDinosaur 5 years ago
I recall a rumor that Royal Navy/Marine rations still had the traditional "rum-ration" in them, so some of my less scrupulous partners would trade all hell and gone or even real money to get these rations. Salted kippers are not rum boys. For the record our British cousins did nothing to discourage this yankee enthusiasm for booze...
Robert Jarvis 5 years ago
What, no Scottish Army ration pack? ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ry4QBQejFU
Dimitri Ponirakis 5 years ago
France and Russia look like their soldiers have the best meals to me!
Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 5 years ago
You can buy freeze dried food at Wal-Mart in the camping section. Like freeze dried ice cream. One day I may try it.
Astrid Nineor 5 years ago
I tried it once, while still dry (Dunno if or how one was supposed to add water). Tasted cardboard
Load More Replies...
Gina Babe 5 years ago
I wonder how he got these. This was very interesting, only one, I think, said which meal it was, so I wonder what they all are meant for.
JessG 5 years ago
They're meant to keep you going all day. You can order any of these online.
Load More Replies...
Dippin Dot 5 years ago
When I was young my uncle gave my brother and I MREs when we were camping to see what they were like. I remember not liking them other than the fact that I got the coveted Tootsie Roll (those were my uncle's favorite).
Oskar vanZandt 5 years ago
I think I would like my rations in a waterproof bag/box so that if it rained, I wouldn't lose all my rations out in the field.
Nicole Antoku 5 years ago
If you wanna see more of these, look up “emmymadeinjapan” on YouTube. She has tried out packs from all over the world.
Ric Harding 5 years ago
I've eaten British, American, French, Polish, Lithuanian and German. All of them are very tasty (especially the French ones), the German ones are very bland I was expecting better.
ispeak catanese 5 years ago
Many people do it to be able to get a college education *cough USA cough* because they cannot afford it otherwise.
Load More Replies...
chi-wei shen 5 years ago
There's no reason to lose your appetite. During my time as a conscript in the Austrian army the food rations also didn't look appealing, just like in above photos, but it always was decent food.
Load More Replies...
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 5 years ago
Honestly, when you're in the situation that you only have the MRE-meals for your daily food, I'm sure the trans-fats are the last and least of your problems.
Load More Replies...
Foxxy (The Original) 5 years ago (edited)
I wish these ration packs were easily accessible and cheap. Would be great to give out to the homeless.
mph seti 5 years ago
I would try any of these once. The closest stuff I've eaten is freeze-dried camping/backpacking food you add boiling water to. Not terrible, 100% reliant on spices/seasoning.
Alex Boyd 5 years ago
I bought a few of these (American ones) at a surplus store a while back, for camping/emergency purposes. I'm sure anyone would get tired of them pretty fast, but I found it kind of fun opening them and seeing what different items I got. (The packaging had the name of the entree on it, but the other components were a surprise.) Some of them have a processed cheese-type substance with jalapenos in it, that is probably objectively terrible, but really hits the spot if you've been hiking all day.
Load More Replies... Darius Ryliškis 5 years ago
Why did you not write the duration of the ration pack? example, one United Kingdom ration pack are for 24h survival , and Lithuanian one ration pack for 8h survival, Lithuanian soldiers for 24h get 3 mentioned packs, in post can be assumed that all ration packs are for the same duration of survival, what is wrong ;/
B 5 years ago
Pff, kids today don't know they're born. South African army, 1987 - for a three day hike, full kit and rifle over rocky dry terrain, we were each given one piece of raw steak, but no fires were allowed. And to share between three, one box of dry rusks (hard biscuits that can't be eaten unless sucked for an hour before or dipped in a hot drink... again, no fire allowed, so that was a no-go). By the end of the march we would have killed each other for one of the packs above.
Jessica Cifelli 5 years ago
All the ones with pate just seem like they are giving their soldiers cat food to eat. Also they almost all have some form of cracker/ biscuits. However the main entrees in the MREs dont look particularly enticing. I get that they are to serve as a quick thing to eat during combat, but you'd think that the military that is defending your country would get way better looking food than this.
Meyer Weinstock 5 years ago
I noticed that the nations with colder climates had some of the most caloric and compacted foods, save for Poland. Kazakh summers can be very hot, but the winters are tough.
John L 5 years ago (edited)
They certainly are different from my days as an Army dependent(WWII Baby), and active duty tanker. My guess is that they are quite tasty and nutritious. 'Course, the favorite pastime is complaining and Bitching about anything and everything, just to Be one of the gang. When my scout troop went into the boondocks, we always carried a good supply of "Cs". And we burned up a lot of calories too.
Yvonne Boots-Faubert 5 years ago
There is actually a whole web community (mre info I believe is one of the main websites) - my husband & son are active in it. Youtubers review different rations from different countries & eras (yes, you can actually get some from earlier decades and wars) and let people know what is good/bad & ugly, lol. One of the most awesome of these guys (Steve) will try almost anything (sometimes twice) and has the best reviews.
Shinduvi Zitha 5 years ago
Wow! Thank you- to the women and men who go out of their way to put their lives in danger so our countries can be protected. Cheers to you.
Jaybird3939 5 years ago
Biscuits as Americans know them are not the same as biscuits in the rest of the world. For us, they're a flaky, risen dough type of savory treat (often covered with gravy). To the rest of the world, they're cookies. Americans. We always gotta be a little different.
Veronica Sjöberg 5 years ago
I was in the swedish army for a year (lumpen) in 2008. It was actually pretty good food.
Fixin'Ta 5 years ago
There's a YouTuber whose channel is called Emmymadeinjapan who tests out MREs to see if they're any good (she does a lot of other awesome things foodwise, mostly making interesting/odd recipes and tasting them -- you should check out her channel, it's fanastic). The Scandinavian ones seem to be the best. They're more like Actual Real Food.
Blackheart 5 years ago
If you like this post watch Steve1989 on his YouTube channel. He does great MRE reviews of MREs from all over the world, and from various time periods. Even the Civil War, and WWII. He eats them too as many are good for decades.
Melissa Nunya 5 years ago
Anyone interested in MRE's should look up Steve1989 on YouTube. You're welcome ;)
Kristen Medina 5 years ago (edited)
I remember getting into my dad’s MREs from when he served in the Gulf and Bosnian Wars (USAF)....I’m 36 now and can *still* taste them 😂
Marcellus the Third 5 years ago
I'm shocked the legendary Scottish winter[/extreme environment] army ration isn't included: For an extended review, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ry4QBQejFU
CaptainDinosaur 5 years ago
I recall a rumor that Royal Navy/Marine rations still had the traditional "rum-ration" in them, so some of my less scrupulous partners would trade all hell and gone or even real money to get these rations. Salted kippers are not rum boys. For the record our British cousins did nothing to discourage this yankee enthusiasm for booze...
Robert Jarvis 5 years ago
What, no Scottish Army ration pack? ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ry4QBQejFU
Dimitri Ponirakis 5 years ago
France and Russia look like their soldiers have the best meals to me!
Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 5 years ago
You can buy freeze dried food at Wal-Mart in the camping section. Like freeze dried ice cream. One day I may try it.
Astrid Nineor 5 years ago
I tried it once, while still dry (Dunno if or how one was supposed to add water). Tasted cardboard
Load More Replies... Gina Babe 5 years ago
I wonder how he got these. This was very interesting, only one, I think, said which meal it was, so I wonder what they all are meant for.
JessG 5 years ago
They're meant to keep you going all day. You can order any of these online.
Load More Replies... Dippin Dot 5 years ago
When I was young my uncle gave my brother and I MREs when we were camping to see what they were like. I remember not liking them other than the fact that I got the coveted Tootsie Roll (those were my uncle's favorite).
Oskar vanZandt 5 years ago
I think I would like my rations in a waterproof bag/box so that if it rained, I wouldn't lose all my rations out in the field.
Nicole Antoku 5 years ago
If you wanna see more of these, look up “emmymadeinjapan” on YouTube. She has tried out packs from all over the world.
Ric Harding 5 years ago
I've eaten British, American, French, Polish, Lithuanian and German. All of them are very tasty (especially the French ones), the German ones are very bland I was expecting better.
ispeak catanese 5 years ago
Many people do it to be able to get a college education *cough USA cough* because they cannot afford it otherwise.
Load More Replies... chi-wei shen 5 years ago
There's no reason to lose your appetite. During my time as a conscript in the Austrian army the food rations also didn't look appealing, just like in above photos, but it always was decent food.
Load More Replies... Marlowe Fitzpatrik 5 years ago
Honestly, when you're in the situation that you only have the MRE-meals for your daily food, I'm sure the trans-fats are the last and least of your problems.
Load More Replies...
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