Food
Interview
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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
Alduin Hearth Report
Final score:
124points
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mph seti mph seti Community Member Follow
"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
Alduin Hearth Report
Final score:
112points
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JuJu JuJu Community Member Follow
Is that a teeny tiny Tabasco?
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#3
Italy
Breakfast: Biscuits; Chocolate; Jelly; Spoon; Coffee; Sugar; Salt. Lunch: Tortellini; Beef; Fruit salad; Biscuits; Coffee. Supper: Crackers; An entry bar; Tuna; Soup
Alduin Hearth Report
Final score:
86points
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Astrid Nineor Astrid Nineor Community Member Follow
Look better than many of the others
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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
Alduin Hearth Report
Final score:
84points
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Bardhi's Dad Bardhi's Dad Community Member Follow
I would gladly serve in french army. Especially if you compare it with than Yugoslavian army where I served more than 30 years ago
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#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
Alduin Hearth Report
Final score:
83points
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chi-wei shen chi-wei shen Community Member Follow
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;
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#6
Canada
Hot chocolate; Orange drink; Coffee; Coffee creamer; Banana flavoured oatmeal cereal; Bread; Sliced apples; Baked beans; Ketchup; Peanut butter; Strawberry jam
Alduin Hearth Report
Final score:
73points
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Mike Crow Mike Crow Community Member Follow
I’ve had many of these when is was an aside Cadet and in basic training when I joined the Canadian Forces.Some of the entries were better than others but I never got the baked beans.
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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.” ADVERTIsem*nT
#7
Croatia
Biscuits with pepper; Salt crackers; Chocolate; Pineapple; Papaya; Turkey pate; Liver spread; Sardines Beans; Coffee taffy's; Orange drink; Tea; Beef soup
Alduin Hearth Report
Final score:
71points
POST
ruthenium the ruther ruthenium the ruther Community Member Follow
best one yet!
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#8
U.S.
Marble pound cake; Skittles; Grape flavor energy drink; Crackers; Chili; Macaroni
Alduin Hearth Report
Final score:
68points
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Pandasrule Pandasrule Community Member Follow
oh my gosh they have skittles
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#9
Poland
Tea; Coffee; Chicken casserole; Hardtack; Hard candies; Stick of gum; Honey; Condensed milk ; Pepper; Salt; Raisins
Alduin Hearth Report
Final score:
65points
POST
mph seti mph seti Community Member Follow
Is the condensed milk in that toothpaste tube?
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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.” ADVERTIsem*nT
#10
Lithuania
Drink; Chicken soup; Hazelnuts; Crackers; Chocolate; Chicken and rice
Alduin Hearth Report
Final score:
62points
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ebony1k124 touch ebony1k124 touch Community Member Follow
This looks decent but i would pour some of the soup over the chicken and rice to rescue it a bit.
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#11
Kazakhstan
Biscuits; Tea bag; Jam; Pate; Squash; Rice; Corned beef with soup
Alduin Hearth Report
Final score:
45points
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Oskar vanZandt Oskar vanZandt Community Member Follow
Tins can double as close-range weapons... not enough fluids?
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#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
Alduin Hearth Report
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Andrew Gibb Andrew Gibb Community Member Follow
wouldn't want to put the camouflaged pack on the ground ;-)
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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
Alduin Hearth Report
Final score:
35points
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Gina Babe Gina Babe Community Member Follow
This one is gross looking
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See Also on Bored Panda
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#14
China
Cake; Fruit; Rice; Sausage; Hot Sauce
Alduin Hearth Report
Final score:
24points
POST
ebony1k124 touch ebony1k124 touch Community Member Follow
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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Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.
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Liucija Adomaite
Writer, Community member
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Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.
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I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place
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Ilona Baliūnaitė
Author, BoredPanda staff
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I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place
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What do you think?
POST
Foxxy (The Original) Foxxy (The Original) Community Member Follow
I wish these ration packs were easily accessible and cheap. Would be great to give out to the homeless.
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Bill Bill Community Member Follow
We do every natural disaster
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Mike Crow Mike Crow Community Member Follow
I can’t speak for the others but for the Canadian IMPs, I found that you eat one and you won’t be hungry for a long time.
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mph seti mph seti Community Member Follow
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.
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Alex Boyd Alex Boyd Community Member Follow
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.
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Foxxy (The Original) Foxxy (The Original) Community Member Follow
I wish these ration packs were easily accessible and cheap. Would be great to give out to the homeless.
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Bill Bill Community Member Follow
We do every natural disaster
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Mike Crow Mike Crow Community Member Follow
I can’t speak for the others but for the Canadian IMPs, I found that you eat one and you won’t be hungry for a long time.
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mph seti mph seti Community Member Follow
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.
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6points
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Alex Boyd Alex Boyd Community Member Follow
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.
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