Rolls
Beverages: Gatorade-like drink mixes, cocoa, dairy shakes, coffee, tea Hot sauce or seasoning: in some MREs
Flameless Ration Heater: to heat up the entree
Accessories: spoon, matches, creamer, sugar, salt, chewing gum, toilet paper, etc.
A prime selling point for considering an MRE is that Flameless Ration Heater. Tis little beauty allows you to enjoy a hot meal, even on an open boat, with absolutely no cooking facilities. The heater consists of a pouch with a chemi- cal pad inside. Tat pad is of a mixture of magnesium powder and iron oxide along with a small amount of salt. (Magnesium + iron oxide = Termite!) You place the entrée inside, next to the pad. When you add water a chemical reaction starts, pro- ducing enough heat to warm the entrée by about 100 degrees. What could be better in a small boat in cold weather? So far, we’ve been talking about mil-
itary MREs, basically sold as military surplus. Tere are also companies, about five, that sell civilian MREs. Tese are often sold as disaster supplies. Most sell theirs in cases of 12 meals. Prices range from $89 to $130 per case, with no choice of menus. Only one will sell individual meals, priced at $7.99 plus shipping. The calories per MRE are lower than the military versions.
Taste Test For this article, I purchased three MREs, two military and one civilian. As a taste test, I tried one of each. Te entrée for the military MRE was
spaghetti with meat and sauce. It also included a Pop Tart, bread slice, peanut butter and jelly, raisins, chocolate drink mix and cranberry-grape drink mix. Te first thing I will say about using an MRE is to pay attention to the recommended amounts of water called for. I overfilled the Flameless Ration Heater, despite clear instructions not to. Te entrée got warm but not hot. Te spaghetti was a bit on the dry side, but had plenty of meat chunks. I expected the bread slice to be hard,
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like hardtack. It was actually soſt and a little crumbly. Spread with the peanut butter and blackberry jam, it made a filling accompaniment to the spaghetti. The chocolate drink could have stood a little less than the recommended amount of water called for; it was a little watery but had a good taste. I used a little less water for the cranberry-grape drink. Less water, more taste, more wa- ter, better hydration. The raisins were soſt and fresh. Te Pop Tart was, well, a Pop Tart. Overall rating? Not a gourmet meal
but satisfying and sustaining. The second MRE I tried was the
civilian MRE. It contained an entrée of macaroni in tomato sauce, two pilot crackers, a chocolate chip cookie, a raisin/seed mix and a raspberry drink mix. Tere was no spread for the pilot crackers and only one drink mix. Tere was an ample amount of macaroni and sauce, but the taste was reminiscent of canned Spaghetti O’s. Te pilot crackers were large and crisp but with little flavor. Te raisin/seed mix was heavy on seeds but light on raisins. Te chocolate chip cookie tasted fine but was very dry. I did like the raspberry drink mix, especially since I skimped a bit on the water. All- in-all, I preferred the military MRE.
Costs A single military MRE is about $15-$18 each, including shipping. A case of 12 military MREs run anywhere from $80 to $150, usually with shipping included. You get no choice of entrees when buying a case of military MREs. A case of 12 civilian MREs will cost between $90-$130, again with shipping included. Civilian versions typically have fewer entree choices, 6 versus 12, per case. If you are buying military MREs, pay
attention to the inspection date. This date is typically three years after the packing date. MREs have a shelf life of five years or greater, if properly stored. Today, you can buy MREs with inspec- tion dates of 2019 or 2020, indicating a long service life. Te bottom line is that you pay a high
price for the convenience of having a shelf-stable complete meal, with a means of heating, in a pouch.
DIY Option To my way of thinking, the entree pouch
and the Flameless Ration Heater are the most important part of an MRE. The ability to produce a hot meal without a fire or a stove is a very useful option, especially in an open boat. The good news is that you can buy both the entree pouches and the Flameless Ration Heat- ers separately and at quite reasonable prices. Given that, it is a simple matter to put together your own custom MRE. Te following is a sample I put together, along with prices.
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 1
MRE Entrée
Flameless Heater $1.19 Fruit Cup
Drink Mix
$3.75 $0.59
Pudding Cup $0.28 Cheese Crackers $0.31 Raisins
$0.42 $0.29
Instant Coffee $0.22 Coffee Creamer $0.26 Sugar Packets
$0.08
M&M Candy $0.89 Sanitizing Wipes $0.22 Spoon Total
$0.08 $8.43
Place all these items in a large (gal-
lon size) zip lock bag and, along with bottled water, you have a custom MRE at a reasonable price. The best part is that you can customize the MRE to suit your tastes. Tese custom MREs are not suitable for long term storage, you make them up, per trip, as you need them. A quick note about bottled water. I
do not buy bottled water. It is expensive and the bottles are flimsy and prone to leaking aboard a boat. I buy a six-pack of bottled soda, 12 or 16 oz. and rinse out the bottles aſter drinking the soda. Tese bottles are much studier than the water bottles and hold up for dozens and dozens of refills. I fill the bottles with tap water and freeze them. Reusing the bottles time aſter time keeps the bottles out of the landfill or out of the water. I use the frozen bottles in place of ice in my coolers and its cheap.
Finally If you have even rudimentary cooking facilities, there are many less expensive options than MREs. But in a boat with no cooking facilities or for a quick, but hot, meal an, MRE or two might be your answer.
•SCA• SMALL CRAFT ADVISOR
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