Never underestimate the value of the smell test! LOL! Channeling my inner 16 year old girl...OMG! You'll eat anything. I should send you a cow pie from the states haha. Super entertaining vid and great job! Cheers
Jomster777 You're very welcome, glad you're enjoying them. I'm lucky that there's people out there willing to contribute interesting MREs like this for us all to enjoy. Bad smells and all! ;-)
really nice touch adding the time related inserts. ive never given it a though about it, but when you presented it that way gave me different perspective instantly. cool idea.
43whisky Cheers. It helped put it into perspective for me too. I started thinking about all the major world events that had occurred during that humble MRE's lifetime, and then here it was - sitting on a table in Auckland after 31 years, ready to let off it's parting shot (and boy did it let off!)
I remember when these came out. This definately was an early MRE type and even an earlier version of the Chicken Ala King. When they " tweaked" it they added a package of dried Won Ton Sticks. The Long Handle brown Spoon, water heater cooking unit and bottle of Tabasco sace in not in this either. If I recall Correctly this particular meal didnt stay in circulation too long. Everyone hated it!! I on the other hand, really like it!! . I would put the Chicken Ala King, Crackers, Cheese and dried ketchup in my cateen cup and cook it with as heat tab. Or even eat it cold if I had to. Popluat thing was to mix coffee and cocoa toghether and make a canteen cup full of the mix. Also You could open the cocoa mix, Add just a bit of water in the pack and make "ranger pudding" This shit brings back memories.
Hi Kiwi dude, nice video! I went through my pre-commissioning training with US Army ROTC 1981-1985 and was commissioned in 1985. I went on to serve as an Infantry Officer in the 101st Airborne Division (AASLT) through the mid-late 80s. A few things with the MREs from this time, an '83 made MRE would have still been being issued in the 85-86 time frame with warehousing/shelf life longevity. We heated our rations in the canteen cup while in the field using issued trioxane "heat" tabs. No cooker/canteen cup stove was issued in my unit. Most soldiers just used a couple of rocks or a tiny slit trench to place the heat tab in and heat the water/main entree in the canteen cup. When you opened the entree for this video and took it out of the cardboard box, it left a small spot of glue on the entree retort package. This glue became the source of some illness among soldiers as they would then use this heated water to make their coffee. In the infantry water was always looked after in a very conservative manner, as it is today. It ultimately led to the dropping of the glue requirement in the packaging contract specifications. Chicken a la king had a bad reputation during my time. I can tell you that I experienced, with the soldiers in my platoon / company, several food related illnesses attributed to specific manufacturing lots with chicken a la king. Our Platoon Sergeant was hospitalized in relation to a bad lot of chicken a la king. It was ultimately narrowed to a specific manufacturing lot but was frequent enough that a logistical training scenario was introduced into our Army Readiness and Training Evaluation Program (ARTEP) whereby the issuing of rations and their recall, while in the field, was established to work/test/train the logistical trains elements of the Division. The fruit cake and the other "cakes" were known in my unit as "butt plugs" for their ability to stop a soldier's bowel movements. Popular in our unit, time permitting, the cocoa beverage powder was mixed with a spoon or two of water and made into a field expedient cake icing and spread upon the cake, particularly the chocolate nut cake and the maple nut cake. Also popular, was to mix the coffee, sugar, creamer and cocoa beverage powder together to make a grunt's mocha/latte drink. Last, the spoon was saved and used as the insulator element when making a field expedient OE 254 antenna that would extend the range of our FM radios (AN PRC 77) about 12 klicks (kilometers) Just thought I would add some perspective to these early MREs. All the best,
That's neat to know. I had my first MRE in 1984 when I was six-years-old. It was a gift to me from a family friend who was a Colonel in the Army Reserves. I ate plenty more MREs throughout my boyhood and into my adulthood. Take a look at my comment above and let me know if it's off base in any way. I don't want to give bad info. Also, those spoons you were talking about were leftovers from the days of the canned C-Rations, of which I also ate in 1984 and had the same experience as Kiwi Dude to THIS MRE. :)
Michael Mitchell No, I was a kid back then, not in the military. But I do remember a scene in one of the Revenge of the Nerds movies where one of the jocks said, "If there's ever a nuclear war, the only thing that'll be left are cockroaches and nerds!" LOL!
Gordon Miller Thanks for that interesting info, Gordon. When I was editing the video I wished that I had mentioned that spot of glue on the pouches, as in both cases it was preventing the pouch from sliding out as you'd normally expect, leading me to rip the cardboard open. It's great to get some back story to that. So far everyone who crossed paths with 'Chicken a la King' in the service had bad things to say about it. I just had a quick look on MREinfo.com and it seems it made it through until 1992. I wonder if it was tweaked over the years. The humble spoon improving radio range. Is there nothing these spoons can't do? Lol. I keep all my MRE spoons to this day. They get washed and used again. The kids love eating from the 'soldier spoons'. Cheers.
chicken ala king, beef stew and spaghetti got me through more than a few freezing nights in Germany. trade some beverage base powder for enough coco powder to get half of a canteen cup for a warm fuzzy and hit the rack after a quick smoke. luckily, we didn't have the midnight dog and pony show but once.
+Kevin Moore . I remember the Chicken Ala King very well sitting in the Gun tower at Fliegerhorst Kaerne in Hanau, Germany, Never liked the spaghetti though.
Jamison Edie I'm sure you remember how big of a fight there was to get to the good ones before everyone else, especially when they would only give you two cases at a time for a platoon. If you were out on the perimeter when Supply rolled around dropping them off, you were usually screwed.
They have come a long way since then. This was a flavor on the menu still in the early 90's when I had to eat them. They would pull boxes of these things and based on how well you were doing in training, is where you were in line to pick the flavor... So the Vomelet (omelet), ham and ala king was the last pickings... The Beef stew and the spaghetti, as I recall was favored. Of course the little bottle of hot-sauce, which we called the "Flavor" was a traded commodity. we would also mix our coffee and cocoa powders together... This takes me back... I think it probably doesn't taste and smell that much different from when it was fresh either... lol
Great review as always Kiwi! I would imagine that the aftertaste from the fruitcake may have been from the nuts, assuming there were any in it. I had a waaaay less than pleasant experience with the Turkey, Diced w/Gravy MRE during a weekend drill with my unit in 1989 I believe it was. Withing 3-4 hours after eating the entree, I became violently ill from food poisoning due to a quality control issue somewhere between the manufacturer and the troops.
David Lang Thanks. When I first tried the fruit cake, I was thinking "Great, something that's lasted", but the aftertaste soon followed. If someone had told me it was a 5 year old MRE as opposed to a 31 year old MRE, I may have actually finished it. As you know, even when perfect, some MRE ingredients taste odd from the get-go ;-) I can imagine it being a total nightmare getting food poisoned out in the field!
Hahahahahaha I've been watching your videos for a long time and this is the first time I had to pause the video multiple times because I was laughing so hard!!
Love your videos! Brings back memories. I retired from the US Army in 2007. The Chicken al la King was the worst meal not because of it's taste, but because it didn't come with enough food to fill you up. It tasted and looked like you describe even when it was new. Occasionally MRE's weren't packaged properly or something and they went rancid. The coffee turned into a brick and they gum was often stale. We had whole cases that were bad. But like I always told my troops, MRE taste is secondary, the first priority is to fuel the body to accomplish the mission. Keep up the great work!
John Sanford Thanks. I'm glad it brought back memories, and reassuring to hear the Chicken a la King had stayed true to its roots! But as you say - fuel ;-)
Love the videos Kiwi- thanks for the effort. As a combat veteran from the USAF ground forces from 1985 to 1990-I got to eat my share of MREs- only ones I actually hated were the Pork Patty and Beef Patty, both were dehydrated hockey puck horrors that were too salty and took way too long to prepare.
Damien Steele Cheers. I've yet to try the old pork and beef patties. Gschultz9 did a brown bag beef patty review though, and it didn't look too appealing.
Oh my giddy aunt...I was soooo willing you not to eat the crackers....and I was wretching along as you tried the cheese spread as well. Thanks for taking these risks so that more timid MRE enthusiasts don't have too! The boss is wise not to have eaten any! Someone else may have already mentioned this; The Southern Packing Company is still packing MREs as Sopakco....and the Sterling Bakery is now the behemoth Sterling Foods. Thanks for a great video!
MsMamabo Thank you. As I've said before "Many taste buds were harmed in the making of this video" ;-) I'm a little bit nervous about the MCI review I've got coming up though. That could be anywhere from 1958 - 1980. Yikes.
I got some of these from the early 80s like this when I went through basic training at Ft. Benning in 1996. Omelet with Ham was the one I learned to avoid.
It's interesting to see an MRE almost as old as I am! I'm amazed your stomach could handle even just a little bit, because mine would make me wish I was never born.
Chicken a-la King was what ROTC cadets and OCS failures were forced to eat in the early 1990s... It was legendarily foul, and the fruitcake tasted like a bicycle tire. Most of the MRE's of that era tasted as foul as day 1000 ;) Your description of the 31-year-old flavors is insanely generous.... I had my last Chicken a-la King in 1991.... I was grateful they discontinued that menu. The texture of the main course is just as it was in 1983, I assure you... this vid is awesome, you have true guts man!
Karnack Lol.. I've heard so many bad things about Chicken a-la King, so really surprised that it remained on the menu for as long as it did! I wish you could have smelled what I was smelling. Glad you enjoyed it.
Most of the MREs I ate were in 1987. I remember this particular menu as being one of the good ones. The cheese spread pretty much looked the same, and it was horrible back then. The fruit cake looked like that too. It seems like there was also a maple nut cake that had that sort of shiny, uncooked look. But they tasted alright. Was great fun having this reminder. Thanks for giving it a go!
delana phelps Lol.. it's hard to believe, but from the moment the crackers were opened, it was a struggle just to continue talking. The think the kids (and Wife) think 'crazy' as opposed to 'awesome' though!
WOAH THERE...whooo brave man indeed XD I was just watching with bated breath and omg when the cheese came out..I dunno why it just cracked me up XDD Again you're very brave Kiwi :D I loved looking at this from a historical perspective, but please, just next time, don't eat any of it please XDD
Back in '83 the saying was still "nothing like moms cooking". These probably didn't cut it for troops. Regardless I give you props for eating a 31 year old MRE. I try not to eat them if their older than 5-6 years old. Through the whole video I was thinking about the fun the guy who gave it to you had watching you eat it!
garretts91 I was both nervous and excited heading into these vintage reviews, but I never expected the kind of nasal assault that ensued. Love the 'time capsule' aspect of these rations though, and just thinking about this MRE heading out of the factory in the early 80's, totally oblivious of the events to come that would eventually see it in New Zealand 31 years later. Amazing.
Stay away from the cheese and the Dairy based caramels. first few chews of the caramel was ok but the 3rd chew I spat it out and had to find something to wash the taste out of my mouth. I think it was from a mid 90's MRE.
Not gonna name the countries but there soldiers are daily served with 30-50 y.o. meat, so this is nothing comparing to that. Good job anyway, love the way you show and explain everything. :)
Victoria Barr Lol.. I've still got one more vintage ration to crack into too. It might take me a while to get into it, but there's probably not much difference between 19 & 20 years old, so I don't think there's any hurry!
I liked Chicken Ala Thing (CAT) mixed with crunched up crackers, pepper and some left over tabasco sauce. While taking part in Operation Desert Storm, we picked up a stray dog out in the middle of nowhere in Iraq. We took him along with us as our company mascot. That dog which we named “Scud” ate everything except CAT! I have a picture of him sitting by a freshly opened CAT with a disappointed look on his face. Makes me smile every time I look at it.
The Chicken ala King was the Cadillac of MREs. Absolutely delicious. I ate one stamped 1983 as recently as 2013. I have one left in my wine fridge that I'm going to attempt to eat in 2023. If you can track them down, the Maple Honey cakes from the same menu series are delicious, although I've heard reports of the nuts going bad in some cases.
specops56 Lol.. thanks, but brave probably isn't the right word. It certainly wasn't the one my Wife used to describe me after I told her what I had just eaten ;-)
Kirigaya Kazuto Thank you. Personally, I think Gschultz9 takes the cake. It was once said that he should do audio books, and I wholeheartedly agree! :-)
Ah, the old Chicken a la King MRE. Brings back lots of memories from my 1989 US Army basic training, when I ate it for breakfast, before our company went on a ruck march. I had to eat it cold, since there was no heating element back then. Thank you for the travel back in time. :-)
KonradAdenauerJr I've heard this menu didn't have a good rep even back then. It sure lasted as a menu for a number of years though. Great to hear it brought back the memories.
Kiwi Dude Yes, this menu didn't enjoy a good rep back then, but I had to eat something before the march. And yes, it was a challenge not to get your fingers dirty when digging in the entrée with that white short-handled spoon. :-) This MRE got phased out some time after I graduated from basic training, but don't remember the exact year.
My god brotha, wow I bet that was tough to endure. I was gagging when you were eating it. lol.. As always my friend great video and enjoyable to watch. Have a good one bud..
Awesome brotha can't wait to see whats coming next. Aye I forgot to tell you that the French MRE with the Lasagne and Sardine entree's tasted amazing. The only thing I didn't really like was the caramels that were included. haha I thought they tasted like shit to be honest. Aye good to hear from you bud and i hope and I wish you and your family the best :)
I can't believe you were brave enough to even try these old MREs ! That is crazy. Are there any food technology experts that can give assessments as to the safety of this ? Even though the food has got old and started to spoil, the nature of the packaging may mean that it is free of microorganisms like salmonella, e.coli etc that would actually make you sick. You are like the Bear Grylls of MREs !
Speaking from experience, the way the Chicken A la King looked and tasted out of the package here, was pretty much the same as it was "fresh" in 1983, so you're getting a fairly accurate experience. Having said that, I'd have given the rest to my dog after taste-testing the 31 year old version of it...LOL!
indyracingnut This menu seems to have quite a reputation, I'm surprised it stuck around for so many years. I wish you could have smelled what I was smelling though ;-)
You are one bloody brave insane man for trying that stuff out. I would have to be in DEEP DEEP SHIT to do anything like it. I mean, zombie-apocalypse-two-weeks-without-food shit.
Gabriel Guarienti Machado Lol.. I'd have to be in some pretty dire straits to go past a quick nibble with this stuff. Realistically though, at 31 years old, even if it was the only thing available to eat, it'd probably introduce health problems that outweigh the nutritional benefits.
Kiwi Dude no doubt there mate... The smell seemed BAD from your reaction.. Wonder how long can one realistically speaking keep MRE's stored and not get sick from them...
Gabriel Guarienti Machado I don't have a weak stomach, so that gives you some idea as to the intensity of the smell. I was actually going to edit that reaction out, but thought it probably said more than I could in words about it ;-) In terms of MRE storage, I think it varies a lot with temperature. If an MRE was stored frozen all its life, it could potentially remain viable for decades. Whereas an MRE stored in the desert at 100 degrees might expire after a few months. The problem with getting MREs on the civilian market is that you never know the history. It's a lucky dip of sorts.
I've been searching for a place to get MRE's here in Brazil, so far I haven't had any luck... closest thing I've found was this. www.liofoods.com.br/ It is a process very similar to freeze drying, people told me they are actually pretty damn good.
these vids are a trip down memory lane!! didn't we have peanut butter in some MRE's? My fave was franks and beans. Always tried to trade away the pork patties-- lol
ive learned that mixing the cocoa beverage with the coffee helps it go down better almost tastes like a mocha coffee if you add a little bit less coffee
Hi kiwi dude love the vids mre's really come in handy during ice storms etc. Question is there any age limit where u would look at a mre date code and based on the age say no way? Lol
Sniffing a package immediately after opening it after 30+ years of stagnation isn't a good idea haha I should keep that in mind if I ever come across one!
I'm a military historian and I work at a local museum. We've got a few older MRE's on display and it is so tempting to try and convince the Colonel to allow me to open one "for display purposes". It'd be so hard not to do what you're doing here. From what I understand the early "wet" MRE's looked like baby food. Some early MRE's were freeze dried. I think they're better than C-rations (the canned ration before MRE's). Look up "four fingers of death". There was also canned ham and eggs. Spaghetti and meatballs was still good and has been since WWII. It's likely the longest running ration entree in American military history. Invented for the war and now a modern convenience. The frustrating thing about studying artifacts like this, especially food is that it ages so quickly and this skews the information. If I took it at face value I'd be appalled. Our servicemen ate that? It is cool to watch technology change over time. Powdered ketchup. Clearly intended to save weight but it require reconstituting it. So it isn't "ready to eat". It's part of the reason freeze dried items went away. Also the cost was too high. Matches aren't going to be around much longer. Only a few have them. The military has cut contracts with tabasco hot sauce and taster's choice freeze dried coffee due to cuts in the budget. MRE's got bigger over time because appetites are bigger and Americans are becoming more and more picky. So to insure proper nutrition modern MRE's are filled with lots of extras because many servicemen "field strip" MRE's. Get rid of the "junk". 18 year old kid doesn't care about coffee. He wants the hot cocoa or Gatorade. So the 1,250-1,300 calories is intended to help provide enough for everyone. Natick research industries should have MRE pizza by 2015 I believe?
***** Hi Eric, thanks so much for that info. A lot of the enjoyment I get from this channel is the education and stories that surround military rations. I've heard much about the "four fingers of death" too, and hope to meet them one day to review ;-) Interesting that the Tabasco contract was cut. Have they replaced with a generic substitute hot sauce?
Yes, they seem to have substituted with something like chili powder. My sister in law just finished Air Force training and was somehow able to save a couple MRE's. In the bunch was an accessory packet that had some off brand hot sauce I had never heard of before. Also some coffee called diario. That just can't be good with a name like that. Taster's choice is freeze dried and I like it so much I drink regularly. From what I can tell, diario is made in Mexico. I don't know anymore than that.
***** Thanks Eric. It was a neat surprise getting the little bottles of Tabasco, then they switched to the sachets (assuming a cost saving measure), and now gone for good :-(
Historical events, eh? Lessee here...In 1983, I was 12 years post-Vietnam, six years post-jet instructor, and in the midst of my NASA years as a media spokesman and launch commentator for Space Shuttle, Delta, and Atlas space launches. Had never eaten or even seen an MRE at that time, but had tasted some astronaut food that couldn't be flown to space (usually because of launch delays) and that we had exhibited to reporters.
Rocky Raab That's awesome! We have an A-37 that flies out at the local aerodrome here. If I happen to have the video camera with me, I'll try to get some footage to put up. I flew gliders and C172's, but always dreamed of getting into jets. Our Air Force then decided to get rid of our A4's & MB-339CB's :-( What was the name of your novels? I'd be interested to read.
Oh my goodness that had me at the edge of my seat especially when you finally had a go at the entrée 😨😨 Just out of curiosity, did you get an upset stomach after that? I know you didn't eat much but I'm thinking it still would have had some effect right?
dLimboStick Thanks. I'm glad to come across someone who enjoyed this menu. There are many who didn't, but I figured it must've had a few fans for it to stick around for so many years.
+dLimboStick yeah the A La King was good , but I liked the freeze dried beef myself :) liked it dry like a mutant cousin of jerky :) oh but the arguments and trading that went on to get the menus with the freeze dried strawberries :)
+Kiwi Dude I used to love the Chicken ala King. It was my favorite meal (then Spaghetti, then Chicken Noodle.) Too bad the Army didn't carry over into the next iteration of MREs. You shouldn't have eaten the cheese. I've had MREs that I tried after 5 years and the cheese was always bad (along with M&Ms.) It usually seperates into a darker-looking cheese and a clear oil. Even civilian fruitcake lasts forever...and peanut butter.
bella1111111115 For U.S. MREs it would have to be 'Southwest Beef Black Beans'. For international rations, it's pretty hard to beat the 24hr French RCIR at the moment.
I was in the Army in the late 80's. I've eaten hundreds of the type of MRE's, like the one you have. They were absolutely TERRIBLE! The only half way palatable one was the "Spaghetti". In fact, I once ate the spaghetti meal for four months, before we received a (real food) Thanksgiving dinner during the first Gulf War. The newer MREs are amazing! Thanks for the review, brings back some memories. Oh, by the way, the Chicken a la King MRE was one of the most hated. Ha ha.
Bama JAF Thanks. I'm so surprised the Chicken a la King lasted until 1992 (I've only heard bad things!). The new MREs are awesome, I always look forward to them - especially when hungry.
You never did any videos on the old C-rations that the United States Military had before the MRE's? It would be interesting to see what the contents look like after 40+ years...
A meal fit for a king *mutters under breath*...during the French Revolution ;) . BTW, before you identified it for us, I thought the fruit cake was a chocolate chip brownie, heh.
Jaybird196 Lol... I think you're right there. Everyone so far that's had this 'Chicken a la King' in the past - detested it. Perhaps it may have tasted better now than it did then!
Kiwi Dude "Perhaps it may have tasted better now than it did then! " Now, THAT is a discouraging thought! Although,...it would fall into line with old-fashioned French cooking (which involved sauces to cover or change the taste of food that was either about to, or had recently spoiled).
Jaybird196 Lol.. I was so distracted by the smell, I totally forgot about the sauce or ' Catsup' as it were. It still wouldn't have tempted me in eating more though :-)
Kiwi Dude Heh-heh, I don't imagine it would've made much of a difference, in terms of making it more tasty ;) . Still, it would've been interesting to see the Ketchup being reconstituted. I wonder if it still retained it's vinegary taste, either after having been powdered (by whatever method used), or after all these years.
Remember eating that chicken ala King I was getting the MREs and the brown package 96 through 97 and then to 98 what I do miss is the fudge brownie it was so hard you could throw it at a car windshield and it would best best the windshield of the car
Hello kiwi dude I would like to ask where you get your mres for review (not the vintage) for two reasons one I would like to try one and two my high school lunch sucks thank you for reading this and have a good day.
Well, from what I've read and my own experiences, the MRE dessert items that contained nuts back in the 1980s did not last very well after their expected shelf life; funny how nuts can ruin a dessert when they start to turn. As for the food poisoning, the ironic thing was that when I got it, I was a medic assigned to a battalion aid station in my state's national guard!
David Lang It may have been the nuts that brought it down then. Other than that, it was almost like someone's wedding cake that'd been squished in the freezer since 1983 resurfacing for another look at the world. I hope you had some meds in your kit bag to alleviate the F.P :-)
Yes indeed sir!By late 1987 if i remember right chicken ala king came on the scene when they started changing menus.Soldiers in my unit hated chicken ala king so they would trade for what i had unless it was ham and chicken loaf "pork with feathers",beef diced with gravy "Alpo dog food",turkey diced with gravy "turkey cube".All the other stuff the guys would put up with.In fact the guys were eating it cold which has a bad taste to it,but if i heated it up in my canteen cup or stuck it in the engine of the APC its great when its hot.Infantry field skills count no matter what weather you operate in,if its hot its good.Dont forget to take Tabasco sauce out to the field,thats why MREs by 1988 had little Tabasco bottles in them because soldiers like me would walk out with them out of the mess halls.The Mess Sergeant would always be pissed at the infantry or units going to the field.LOL!Memories of my young soldier days!
***** Lol! It sounds like you would have been in the service around the same time as Gschultz9. It'd be awesome if the inclusion of those little Tabasco bottles was a direct result of mess hall raids. That's classic! Cheers.
I bet it was.Since Tabasco sauce was very popular and Hispanic,Southern,and Western soldiers like me would go to the PX and Commisary to get a big bottle to pack to the field.The popular ones were McIlhenny Tabasco from Louisiana,Trappey's Louisiana Hot Sauce which the Army always had and Tapatio Mexican Hot Sauce which i loved also as a kid in Arizona.18 years later when i was in Iraq Frank's Red Hot became popular because the company sent many bottles to Iraq and Afghanistan the infantry began walking out of the mess halls with them.By this time the KBR mess hall supervisors never said a word.I myself even ran off with a case of Frank's for my platoon,the KBR mess hall supervisor in Talil Iraq was a former Airborne Infantryman who was in the 82nd Airborne during the Panama Invasion.He was the guy who gave it to me.Frank's was a mystery to me for years because it was not in the Army system even though they had been around for over a 100 years until i got to Iraq.Once i got a taste of it i was hooked.Now i have Tabasco,Trappey's,Tapatio,and Frank's in my kitchen from my days as a fanatical hot sauce guy as a soldier.Spicy hot sauce makes a soldier's meal better in my opinion...Bon appitit Brother!
