Thread 723042479

>Let get this out on the tray.

Also why did Kojima state that the US rations were bad when the USA literally invests billions of dollars on MREs. While Italy and Japan don't even have a serious military budget.

>>723042479 (OP)
Because food is subjective and to most people meals for a soldier are shit but to a vet its porbably not bad and pretty good at best

>>723042479 (OP)
MREs are bad because tasting good is at the bottom of the priorities list there. Priority number one is having something that remains edible even when stored at room temperature for decades.

>>723042479 (OP)
>why did [Japanese man] say thing in favor of [Japanese thing]
Truly a mystery for the ages. Next you'll say Indians tell other people Indian food is amazing and not brown slop that looks like diarrhea

>>723042761
Indian Cuisine #1 in the World, Saar!

MREs are fine for the most part, but Peacewalker's timeline predates them. I couldn't tell you what military rations were like before then.

>>723042479 (OP)
they were bad. then they got a chinese man to design the modern ones.

>>723043063
Before 1975, military rations relied on canned goods and dried staples, with the U.S. military primarily using C-Rations and later Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) rations. C-Rations, developed in 1938, included items like canned corned beef, bacon, hardtack, and coffee. The MCI ration, introduced in 1958, offered more variety with 12 menu choices, but still featured canned meats and fruits, bread, and a can opener, with a minimum of 1,200 calories per meal. Both were heavy and not particularly palatable, with soldiers often finding ways to supplement or trade items to make them more appealing.

>>723043167
The modern ones are possibly the worst in the history of the US military.

>>723043167
Chang Bingbing got rid of the worst of the bunch, at least.

>>723043475
>eating an MRE on a plate
Say that you're an officer without saying you're an officer.

>>723043813
That's probably just Steve1989.

>>723042479 (OP)
just because you invest millions of dollars into a thing doesnt make it good or high quality, you talk like you've never seen how much money the US wastes on stupid shit when someone else always does it 75% better for 1/10th the price

>>723042761
but kojima is a faggot cuck antijapanese westaboo anon.

>>723043302
awh fuck yuh.
school pizza.
the best.

>>723043497
>vomelet

>>723044803
>Makes Snake part Japanese when it adds nothing to the story
>Calls instant ramen space age food in MGS3
>makes 2 white people fight each other with Katanas
>"antijapanese westaboo"

>>723043302
Had that the other day. One of the worst mains, but it comes with an oatmeal cookie and a big pouch of cinnamon apples

>>723043302
FFFFFFRIDAY NIGHT

>>723045465
I finally bought that two-box set with 24 of them out of curiosity and I'm only 6 through but the pepperoni pizza one was easily the worst one so far. It's not even the cheese like one might think--it's the "crust," which was just shitty bread. Beef ravioli also came with some dire italian breadsticks. MREs just cannot do bread right (or maybe it's Italian in general; the ravioli wasn't great even if I did manage to finish it). The tortillas some come with are at least edible (if lackluster), but I vastly prefer when they come with the surprisingly tasty vegetable crackers.

Chili and macaroni has been the undisputed king so far, both as a main and an overall meal. I don't know how the fuck people who can't do bread managed to make such a delicious shelf-stable lemon poppy pound cake.

>>723043497
>anything milk on an MRE
it was doomed from the start, at least the cheese spread is the typical american plastic cheese slop without actual cheese

>>723043813
thats not very coffee instant nice of you

>>723042479 (OP)
Military here. MRE actually aren’t all that terrible in context, they are a massive calorie bomb (like 5500 calories) meant to sustain you on extended operations away from base. Plus you can use the heating elements for hilarious unintended shit. Eating mre is pretty rare and it’s usually noteworthy when it happens. It’s defiantly not your daily existence

>>723042479 (OP)
us rations tend to focus on kind of gimmicky meal recreations that might not necessarily suit the dried processed storage. I could definitely see a country doing it better.

>>723042692
>MREs are bad because tasting good is at the bottom of the priorities list there.
What? No. Good food is a major morale boost. It won't be fine dining but there's been millions dumped into figuring out how to make MREs tasty. Shelf life and weight are important, but if taste wasn't on the list of "very important things" then MREs would just be bland blocks of salty chocolate. The only reason they aren't bland blocks of salty chocolate is because taste is so important.

>>723045423
thankfully they retconned the japanese heritage to just being mitochondrial dna from a lab assistant instead of him being a full blown hapa.

>>723046825
I have a fond spot for mre and sometimes buy them from the commissary for just this reason. They are objectively not great but when I had them after a 15 mile patrol in the mountains or 8 hours of adrenaline pounding fighting in Ramadi it tasted so fucking good my mind is addicted to them

>>723042479 (OP)
Isn't there a difference between rations and MREs? Like rations are just nutrient blocks to keep you barely alive and MREs are actual meals that you can march on, yeah?

>>723046825
This shit right here.
Hot meals and drinks also go a long fucking way, which is why MREs also contain a heater and instant coffee packs.

Going a long time without those things does things to you, and when you finally have those things again, it's like flipping a switch that makes you instantly come alive again. Our psychological well-being is inexorably linked with what we eat, and it goes well beyond simple sustenance.

I actually wish western games had more food porn like so many Japanese games and animes do. Shit rules.

>billions of dollars in zogslop
>best they can do is walmart candy, toxic green 1 sewage drink and fucking tortillas
https://youtu.be/9CZnIorN2Y0

>>723047141
Unironically you can blame that last part on Americans only really having stuffed Turkey as a culture based food

>>723047019
>Always go backpacking with dad
>Freeze dried food for camping wasn't really readily avaliable, just wasn't all that big at the time
>Dad and I disappear into the mountains for 4 days basically surviving on rice, oatmeal, pita bread, a can or two of spam and a few candy/granola bars thrown in
>After camping, we would find some run down greasy burger joint in the first town we came to
>Absolute ambrosia
>Freeze dried and tiny super light stoves start hitting the market
>Food is better, but still not great
>Tail end of dad's backpacking years, he gets a food dehydrator and makes his own camp food
>Actually eat really good on the trail
>The burgers just aren't nearly as tasty as they use to be when we'd come out of the mountains half starved
I miss how tasty those burgers are, but it's weird when I crave camp food when I'm just at home feeling lazy. Some of the stuff he dehydrated for trail food was incredible. Texas chili above the timberline was peobably some of the best food I've ever had. Good times.
Thanks for reading!

>>723047280
That shit looks depressing, why would a soldier enjoy being fed gas station food? do americans really?

>>723047557
Yep just like that but less fondness.
>>723047565
When you are being shot at all day just having hot food is nice

>>723047280
>Ree Gatorade and candy!
Bro. Those are the most valuable parts of an MRE. Gatorade is already perfect if you're marching and sweating a lot. No reason to fuck with that. Candy is great for extra calories to snack on while on the move. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Candy when you're burning that many calories is exactly what your body needs. No reason to reach for the HIGH ENERGY PROTEIN BAR that costs 20 dollars at the sporting goods store when a Snickers bar or some peanut butter candy is nearly identical nutrition-wise and is already cheap because its mass produced. Candy and gatorade is exactly what should be included in every MRE.

>>723047141
YEAH
TOAST!

>>723046825
You can always cook good food at the base. MREs are for in the field

>>723046825
I remember the US paratroopers carried one of those power bar MREs in WW2. And sometimes they'd go to the villagers and trade them for some fresh eggs

>>723042479 (OP)
that one is actually true. while US rations aren't terrible tasting etc.. they DO get traded at like a 5 US rat packs to ONE french rat pack. because of how much better those are.

however. the millions sunk into the US rat pack was to make them last forever. make them nutritionally balanced for people doing 30 Kcals of labor daily in high intensity combat, etc, where you can't have a chow line and 'real' food.

this has the unfortunate side effect of producing 'ration pack shits' a horrific combination of both constipation AND dihorrhea, where youwill do horrific, godawful, abominable bio-weapons grade hellshits at great personal suffering and pain, IF you have to eat too many ration packs at a time.

>>723046750
They're only 1300~ calories per. That myth never died huh.

I don't know how the fuck Steve can always heat so much shit with the FRH. I'm lucky if I can get just the main into the bag in a way that actually heats it, and then get the bag into the sleeve without ripping it. I recently had one with a expired/defective/inert FRH so I boiled the pouches for 6 o 7 minutes instead and it was SO much better.

>>723042479 (OP)
I spent like $300 tasting MRE from different nations after walking SteveMRE a bit.

TLDR They're all the same shit. 60% biscuit/crackers, a bunch of high calories canned high fat meat/cheese/jam ( biscuit dips), loads of coffee and tea with hundreds of gram of sugar for energy reason, and one pack of "main dish" that's just a small bag of spaghetti/rice/meat ball etc just to add some variety and help relief the biscuits fatigue.

If you care about health you'll instantly skips 25% of a MRE box brcause they're just disgusting white animal fat, so that's already 25% of your money gone into the garbage bin.

Most of the MRE aren't even fulfilling. Most of the 3000 calories intake comes from canned animal fat and the hundred grams of sugar you're supposed to pour into the instant coffee/instant tea. The MRE is supposed to maximize energy you can get from the smallest amount of space, not to fill your belly.

A 5/10. Won't do it again.

mres... actually suck and are only for extreme conditions?
tell me about astronaut ice cream and diabetic candy next

>>723042479 (OP)
while I was in the only objectively bad mre was the veggie omelette which absolutely nobody liked. all other stuff was personal taste and you could usually find someone to trade mains with if you got one you didn't like.

>>723049175
Derp. They aren’t designed for some fag trying to be healthy. They are designed to be able to sit on a supply ship for 20 years then rapidly get fielded to a war and supply calories to a man burning 4K+ a day doing combat ops far from a starbucks. They do that job quite well

>>723042479 (OP)
and yet you've been using beretta and benelli for decades

>>723049175
Fat is good for you if your level of physical activity makes your body burn it off. Source lewis and clark expedition.

>>723043813
Lmao imagine being proud of being a retarded enlisted grunt. Probably not even an nco. We all insult you cretins when we are alone

>>723049857
>we
only thing you've ever been commissioned for is gay porn

>>723049175
>If you care about health you'll instantly skips 25% of a MRE box brcause they're just disgusting white animal fat, so that's already 25% of your money gone into the garbage bin.
They are MREs, not Blue Apron. They aren't some meal replacement for people that are too lazy to cook. If you're out on a mission burning 5,000 calories a day you want them back. That's what they are designed for. The civvie versions are for emergency food. In either of those situations calories and electrolytes are king, you're not going to be worried about the extra salt and cholesterol.

>>723050012
>They aren't meal replacements if you're too lazy to cook
Man. I had a Mormon friend and all their MREs were getting ready to expire so they just gave a big pile of them to me. That is all I ate for like two months.
And I fucking ruined myself. Not because fat and cholesterol, but because I was already on the lazy side when it came to cooking. Even years later I find it a gigantic chore to actually cook. Just not doing it for a stretch made it so much worse.

>>723046750
>Plus you can use the heating elements for hilarious unintended shit.
Any examples?

>>723050204
Cooking is a chore if you cook for one everytime.
The real hack is to buy some lunch boxes from dollar shop and everytime you cook you cook proportions of 3 to 4 meals and box the leftover in the fridge. This minmax the time you waste on cooking and dishwashing and it lowkey saved cooking at home for me.

>>723050473
Probably treating it like a pocket pussy when no iracki farmboys were around.

>>723042479 (OP)
After Calorie Mate, the second most popular emergency food in Japan are Imuraya Eiyokan Jellied Azuki Red Bean Paste Blocks, which also come in chocolate flavored Imuraya Eiyokan as well. Japanese hikers and mountaineers actually prefer yokan over Calorie Mate because yokan is usually moist enough to be eaten without water. Eiyokan = えいようかん

>Imuraya Eiyokan Jellied Azuki Red Bean Paste Blocks are an ideal disaster preparedness food, designed to provide a reliable energy boost during emergencies. With a shelf life of up to 5 years, this product ensures long-lasting freshness and can be stored for extended periods without worry.

>Perfect for outdoor activities or emergency situations, Eiyokan offers a convenient, ready-to-eat option to replenish calories when you need it most. Stay prepared with this nutritious, easy-to-store snack that supports your energy needs in any crisis.

>Ready-to-eat, as it can be consumed straight from the packaging without the need for water

>Easy calorie replenishment: One stick provides 171 kcal (the same amount as one small serving of rice). One chocolate Eiyokan (55g) contains 197kcal.

>It does not contain any ingredients containing allergens (specific raw materials, etc.) and is suitable for stockpiling in schools, companies, and public facilities for distribution to many people.

>Even during a disaster or when you don't have scissors, you can easily open it with your hands and eat it.

https://www.imuraya.co.jp/eiyo-kan/

https://www.imuraya-webshop.jp/shop/c/c1010/

https://x.com/IMURAYA_DM

>>723050473
Generally using it to light many things on fire that were not supposed to be lit on fire with a heater like banners and posters and shit. Heating wine we found in a church for lukewarm gluhwein on Christmas. I used it to warm my dick up to jerk off once in the high desert (hurt). Dunno maybe not funny to a civilian

>>723049175
>Went on an MRE kick after some SteveMRE videos
Nice.
Me too. Knocking the drops off my stirring spoon was disappointingly less musical.

>>723046825
sun tsu say starve your army and feed them dogshit to make them kneel to you

What do soldiers with sensitive stomachs do? They're essentially going to starve themselves to death since they wouldn't be able to process the food well, or are those sorts of people just not placed as soldiers?

>>723043302
>be soldier
>eat mre #23 during BCT a lot
>still felt hungry after
This one sucks, might as well just not eat.

>>723052046
Just don't shit.

>>723048185
Thought this was going to say Reddit Spacing

>>723052046
Those sorts of people don’t really make it as soldiers and get drummed out fairly quickly. If you have less than 6 years in you are considered probationary and can get kicked out with without review at commanders discretion for a variety of reasons.

If you are in an army at war desperately fighting like Russia or Ukraine lol lmao who cares about your indigestion

>>723052046
Kojima actually addressed this

>>723042761
MGS says that French military rations are the best, and that Japanese ones are just "better than expected" thoughever

>>723047565
anon do you think people are eating this shit on base or something? do you not understand the purpose of these at all?

>>723052378
>morale doesn't matter on the battlefield

>>723042479 (OP)
>makes you buy calorie mate irl
I need to buy more.

>>723052435
im sorry do you want a fucking chef with soldiers while they're getting shot at in bumfuck middle east? do you want the MREs to weigh 3x as much for diminishing returns?

christ if you think THIS is bad then you know nothing of history.

>>723052046
Alternative MRE options or get rocked out like the sensitive pussy you are.

>>723052554
>eat slop and get shot at by muslims
>don't
you're making this tough, so give me a sec

>>723052435
It does matter but if you think having the most delicious food is the decisive morale factor on the battlefield I have bad news for you. Shit like comradery, sense of purpose, training, confidence and will matter far more

>>723052435
Food service troops are usually reassigned to as-needed duties at FOBs and only make hot food for dinner if feasible. My dad was an Army cook and said the only time he made hot food during the day in Kuwait was when Schwarzkopf visited for a summit.

>>723052542
>im sorry do you want a fucking chef with soldiers while they're getting shot at in bumfuck middle east?
NTA but I don't see why they can have a chaplain so they can make things right with god as they die but giving them a meal to make them happy in the fight is somehow over the line.

>>723048827
I believe they call that a skill issue.

>>723042479 (OP)
>USA literally invests billions of dollars on MREs
US funny money is worth less than toilet paper

>>723052749
>you're making this tough, so give me a sec
it's called a crusade, don't you want to go to heaven?

>>723050473
I heared some of them put the self hearing powder on people they dont like it burns them badly. Not sure if true or not

>>723042479 (OP)
because it is bad

>>723052790
A chaps saying words about sky wizard with a book in his hands is far less logistically challenging than 3 hot meals every single day for thousands of troops constantly moving under enemy fire. This should be intuitive to a high iq individual.

>>723052963
>3 hot meals every single day for thousands of troops
Why would it be 3 hot meals every single day? I thought they had good food at HQ? Isn't anon just asking that the food soldiers get on the front lines be equally good for morale as the food they have at base?

>>723052816
Well the skill issue store called, and they're runnin' outta YOU!

>>723052046
>What do soldiers with sensitive stomachs do?
Not be soldiers.

what an odd discussion

>>723042479 (OP)
MREs are trash. You don't shit for 5 days then you feel like your asshole will never ungape after you finally shit. Everything is either all sugar or tastes like Satan's balls. Only half decent MRE is Beef Stew.

>>723053062
If he is he’s retarded. None of us expect or want to get the same shit on the front line as we get in the rear echelon. Everyone knows the forward element is going into danger and hardship and it actually hurts my soul to explain that setting up a field kitchen on the battlefield that can serve the same quality as a permanent command post gets would just get everyone involved killed and no one fed. When you are on the forward edge of battle you want to keep fighting and killing the enemy and get nourished as quickly and efficiently as possible so as to not stop killing the enemy hence mre

>>723046431
Chii Mac was always my favorite when I was in the Army. Getting that and the giant cracker (do not try to eat the cracker without copious amounts of liquid at hand) with the pouch of peanut butter for a sweet snack to go along with it was fantastic. I also have bizarrely fond memories of the powdered iced tea mix despite coming from a family who takes their iced tea very seriously.

>>723053620
I avoided the peanut butter like the plague gave me an unquenchable thirst

>>723052790
Because a Chaplin needs a small cross and a small book. A chef needs a kitchen and pantry.

>>723053234
Man. If a meal with a little more salt in it fucks your system up that bad you really should go see a doctor. Something is teetering on the edge and you'll want to address it before it really becomes a problem. Or just drink more water.

>>723054260
Are you fucking retarded? MREs are filled to shit with preservatives. They are MEANT to cause you to get constipated. I was in the service for 4 years and I haven't met anyone who didn't get constipated after spending 2 weeks eating MREs.

>>723054260
Generally people who react this way are reservists on their one weekend a year exercise so yeah it’s over the top for them. The battle scarred sgt who is day 117 in the combat zone is actively trying to keep his weight up in the most efficient way possible while not getting exposed to enemy artillery

>>723053717
Yeah, a lot of the boys I was with said something similar, which made it so easy for me to trade for it. I basically subsisted on peanut butter and school lunches from the time I was 16 up until I joined the Army since my mother was a junkie who couldn't keep food in the house, so that shit felt like home to me.

>>723047463
America has a lot of cultural food, it's just usually based on states rather than the entire nation.

>>723054435
Nice bro I hope you scored some sweet gedunk in trade. Always one of you freaks in the bn

>>723052043
Sure. And then when they become POWs of a well fed army they all get culture shock when they eat better as prisoners.

>>723048185
in chicago, around theeee bob and tom shooooow

>>723054762
Ziggers experiencing this in real time

>>723048649
>ration pack shits
One would think this would be the second biggest design factor behind stability, a bigger deleterious effect than all possible positives from optimized rations.

>>723055035
Why? Needing less time for shits is a combat benefit

>>723055230
"Less time for shits" is not the described scenario, by a gaping fucking chasm of a margin, Anon.

>>723055306
It is though if you actually experienced it.

>>723052843
>sacks constantinople for non-payment in your path

>>723053620
I keep hoping one of them will have both crackers and a cheese spread, but so far no dice. I've become oddly fond of just eating the peanut butter directly, which is helpful when they keep coming with the goddamn tortillas.

>>723052491
I bought a few myself and they weren't bad, although I expected them to be one big cookie block each, not individual bars.

>>723055431
Ahh the Italian special. Funny how the biggest enemies of chistendom are always other Christians

>>723042479 (OP)
Because they're bad? At it's not dog food like the russian mre lmao

american mres are dollar store snack collaborations cause the dicks in charge wanted to save a few dollars

>>723043497
I bought one of these as a joke, cost me $45cad

I am a fucking retard, but I can confirm it's terrible

>>723042692
>>723046825
If you have really bad MREs soldiers just stop eating. Or they'll eat the one component of the MRE they can tolerate and will lose tons of weight. Soldiers in active combat scenarios (not people sitting on a base for a year)/patrols lose a ton of weight even when eating everything.
Taste is one of the largest priorities and it is so much so that a lot of times rations just straight up have candy in them. No nutritional value other than caloric content, but they need it. People will eat it, they'll eat all of it, and it'll at least help to preserve some weight.

i tried an MRE once, tasted like i was licking the inside old carboard box that was supposed to be containing the food i was eating. mad repect if you actually had to eat them out on the field because i hated it.

>>723048185
>>723054901
my brothers from other mothers

>>723055848
Bob & Tom Show got me through high school.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWMPVn1kgIQ

>>723042692
What? MREs last like five years, not decades. Theyre not long term survival foods, theyre boxed lunches for grunts. Theyre explicitly designed to be tasty and varied, we have these actual survival rations with maybe four times the calorie per gram of weight, but the only times those usually see use is handing them out in disaster relief situations. The MRE has a huge issue, and its not taste, its that 80% of them are massive pains in the ass to eat while marching, and in the field you always have to eat while marching. Slurping congealed meat fats out of a plastic bag makes me want to die, doubly so because when warmed and on a plate that crap is pretty damn tasty.
t. Army loser

>>723055767
American MREs are scientifically pretty cool and I would say if I had to choose one countries to live off of for a year and I was just given random ones without getting to select them and I have to survive, I'd go with them. You pretty much know the American ones are gonna work, be preserved, undamaged, and edible like 99.9% of the time.

However, MREs from other countries have vastly better menus and if you were just trying one for a lark don't both with American ones. It is literally just shit like Mac N Cheese "Chili" or school lunch beef patty with maple syrup, or like... spaghetti with meat sauce. Meanwhile you see Italian MREs that come with a bit of alcohol and real food you can cook on a fire.

>>723055978
Yeah, pretty much this. MRE food is actually decent when it is hot, but most of the time you basically take all the "snack" like food and just inhale it and then worry about trying to eat a "burrito bowl" while walking. This idea that people are gonna get to sit down for 20-30 minutes and use the heaters and everything is hilarious.

>>723055787
This. Spent 11 months more or less in active combat all that mattered was calories and I still lost mass overall and had to bulk back up afterwards.

>>723055978
Navy here we have “survival rations” that are equipped in our life rafts but other than that normal food is our sustenance a warship doesn’t carry mre. If we are in a long term battle situation we just get some shittier version of regular food like the battle messers will just serve bread and sauce or legit pb&j or whatever until we can reliably cook again. The way we fight actual galley ops would be probably only be down 8 hours at most

>>723056113
How many people did you smoke though

>>723056310
Too many but not enough if you understand

>>723056272
Yeah, the survival ration stuff is pretty cool, a high school in my town gave away a ton of survival rations they had for some defunct hurricane program, they were ones manufactured for the Coast Guard, and they had this chemical in them so that if you ate too much, they would turn really disgusting. So you’d start eating them and they taste like lemon cake, but once you exceeded like 700 cal they would taste like what I imagine sugary pesticide tastes like. Really nifty concept, it prevents the random people you’d hand them out to from over eating if they’ve been starving. Apparently it works by coating your tongue in a chemical that takes a little bit to cure, and once it does, it reacts with the food to make it taste bad for a few hours.

>>723056483
I’ve only actually tried ours like 15 years ago so I don’t have a great memory of it. It is policy if we abandon ship no one eats for the first 24 hours. If it really is hard to consume I imagine that helps stretch it out.

>>723056482
the way she goes

>>723056681
I just wanted the men I lost and the people we killed to have a point