Rat packs of the world

[Spaghetti_Monster]

Not aviation related, I know. Interesting to see how things have moved on though! Whatever happened to Cheese Processed and Bacon Burgers? :(

The eat of battle ? how the world's armies get fed | Life and style | The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/feb/18/eat-of-battle-worlds-armies-fed)

[Wensleydale]

Are Compo Sausages still on the menu? Long hours of QRA in the Shackleton would not have been the same without them.

[Sloppy Link]

Tubes of condensed milk. You could hear your teeth decaying as you sucked the tube dry.

[GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU]

Only the Americans declined to contribute. They were legally forbidden from giving away their ration packs, embassy and military officials said apologetically, and no one was willing to risk bending the rules.The book says ....... I love it in a world full of change, some things are reassuringly constant.No mention of the remarkable array of ethnic menues in our packs.

[The Oberon]

Wensleydale,


Sometimes still available commercially as Westler's Sausages in Lard, says it all really.

[Toadstool]

Ah, the tales of a certain unit in GW1 who, when bored waiting to break the breach, removed the middle sausage from the can and made hay.

[500N]

Condensed milk in a tube. Loved it.

Biscuits on the other hand even the dogs wouldn't eat !

When the Aussies went from tinned Rat packs to dry packets,
it was superb, with one exception that you had to carry more water !
Not good in a hot country.

[NutLoose]

How many menus do they have these days? nearest to a babies head I have found is the Frey Bentos steak and kidney puddings that take seconds in the microwave..
Looks like the Aussies still have cheese possessed. I should imagine the curry is mild to appeal to all tastes.

[Mr C Hinecap]

http://www.firestormkit.co.uk/image/data/Rations/Menu1-10.jpg

http://www.firestormkit.co.uk/image/data/Rations/Menu11-20.jpg

[500N]

Nutloose

I think the reason for the processed cheese is the heat, it's the only way of keeping it "fresh".

Those little packets of Kraft cheese you get with aircraft meals go very squishy in the heat and all the butter leaks out of them.


Re Curry, I thought the "curry" part was a powder in a bag that you mixed in if you wanted it.

[Motleycallsign]

Wensleydale - surely QRA and Shackleton in the same sentence is a contradiction in terms. I do agree with you tho' square 'compo' sausages will never be beaten IMHO.

[NutLoose]

It has Chicken tikka as a meal 500n, bet that's tasty, thanks for the menus they sound quite tasty and at least more choice.

I actually liked the cheese possessed.... Seems a shame they no longer have the lemon powder to suffer.... That still sets my teeth on edge just thinking about it. That and Spangles that were welded to the wrappers.

[500N]

Nutloose

Those dry ration packs came in when I was in. It was a major step up from the tinned one's and I loved them and could eat them all day, every day. A few didn't.

We didn't have as many options on the menu as shown on that chart was posted.

That might be a reaction to the fact that Australia has been on Ops for over 10 years with a lot of SF troops out in the wilds of Iraq, Afghanistan and Timor
and the need to provide a lot of variety.

Anyway, all the options look far better the old 60's style rat packs used by the guys in Korea / Vietnam !!!

[Saintsman]

I still have a can opener on my key ring.

Must be getting on for 35 years or so. Still comes in handy.

[500N]

So do I, a "mini" one.

And I have the bigger rat pack spoon type in the car,
in the bush gear, in the drawer at home.

Very useful item !

I once went bush hunting and found I had left all my KFS / Cooking stuff at home. Single spoon, can opener and a few sticks worked fine :ok:

[Old Bricks]

At the back end of 1982 (post war) in the Falklands, you could follow the path of the advancing/yomping/tabbing troops from San Carlos by the discarded packets of compo "Biscuits Dog - Dry". Never found any packets of "Biscuits Dead Fly" at all.
Actually, I remember with some affection eating the dog biscuits spread with cheese possessed, and the tinned fruit cake/Christmas pudding, followed by tinned fruit gums. Those were the days!

[Basil]

Mr C Hinecap,
They wouldn't believe it if you told them what the compo was like back in the day ;)
Once ate a tinned jam rolly poly canned in 1939. That can could have told a tale or two :}
Doesn't matter what it's like; if you're hungry you'll eat it.

[500N]

"Doesn't matter what it's like; if you're hungry you'll eat it."

Now that is very true !


They had a small tin of something in the 24 hr rat pack, egg and ham or something. Used to taste awful but you had to eat it.

[The Helpful Stacker]

Ah, can anything top the joy when on a multinational exercise you manage to get your grubby mitts on Ration François?

C'est magnifique!

[ExAscoteer]

Why was it that (in the Good Ol' Days) the 'Rolo' packets always had Arabic writing on them?

[Melchett01]

I still have a soft spot for MREs - Meals Ready to Eat, or as we were told at the time, the rather less PC Meals Rejected by Ethiopians. Other than the chilli cheese dip, they were largely awful, but you could have some real fun making 'MRE bombs' which was a childish if not amusing way of whiling away several months.

Strangely enough though, I do like the biscuits brown in our own rat packs and I have absolutely no idea why.

[headbuttsupreme]

oz delta pack (i think).... chilli tuna and pasta. heavenly. http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/icons/mpangel.gif

[West Coast]

Because of the world famous ability of the MRE peanut butter to constipated you, MRE's are also known as meals refusing to exit.

[500N]

"to constipated you,"

Not sure whether it was the old and new style of Oz rat packs
or just the old style but out bush, you could go days without !

As a result, a few took a Salami along, often held in the 66mm
Rocket Launcher and have a few slices each day. Worked wonders
for keeping things moving !

[West Coast]

I'll tell you,what, when nature finally wretched back control of the outflow valve, it was a loud, painful affair. Small little pills to help launch the ship on a regular basis became as popular as adult beverages.

[Rocket2]

Oh for the delights of good old fashioned (& mostly very old) Compo Rations, no sign of a "Best Before" date. Guarranteed to bung you up. Start the day with bacon grill & beans (yum!) test your resolve later with a Babies Head & in the evening use the tinned tomatoes for training in the dark art of playing Freckles (because nature & the compo stopped you producing the required ingredient) then use the cast off cans with some purloined speed tape to fashion a cannon / mortar.

[cliver029]

...Oh yes, early 60's we would go from Singapore up to the air to ground firing range at Asahan, complete with compo rations for 10/14/21 days depended on how much practice was needed. On route we would always stop off at a small village in the middle of nowhere and swap compo rations with the local headman(?). American, Aussie, Kiwi plus others, some of it old but as said elsewhere, no sell by date and it made a change from the cr*p we were being given. How they came by it, no one asked but they always had cases of the stuff!
The other bonus was we normally had army cooks who would work wonders with a field kitchen and the stuff we had.

[500N]

West Coast

Sums it up well :O You felt so relieved as well.


The one that got me was a 9 day selection course, we did so much exercise
and ate so little, nothing left to come out !!! I think I lost more than a few kgs !

[PTR 175]

Nut loose,

Babies heads aka Goblin Steak and pigmy puddings. Available at your local Morrison :ok:

[500N]

"The other bonus was we normally had army cooks who would work wonders with a field kitchen and the stuff we had."

I was always a bit amazed at what a cook could do with a 10 man ration pack.

Although never got used to ? the Rice pudding ? and the Evaporated milk !

[The Oberon]

Couldn't agree more cliver029, after a couple of weeks at Wideawake, Asc. they opened a field kitchen next to Tanker tent city, it was run by an Army Sgt. chef, what he couldn't do with compo rations wasn't worth bothering with, brilliant man.

It was a different story down at the Georgetown kitchen where the standard fare was " babies heads and train smash ", a Royal Marines delicacy which consisted of building a mashed pom wall across your mess tin with a babies head one side and jam roly poly on the other.

[GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU]

The current Menus are on https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/33783/20110208JSP456_Vol1_Chap08_OperationalCateringv5_0webU.pdf , Ch 8, Annex A. There used to be a Kosher menu but I'm buggered if I can find it now.

[Basil]

There used to be a Kosher menu
It's just the usual Goyim one but without the lobster, Coquille St. Jacques or filet de porc which you usually have ;)

[Wensleydale]

"I was always a bit amazed at what a cook could do with a 10 man ration pack."


In my day, it was called Honkers' Stew!!! (or at least it was when it was in the pan in the Shack Galley).

[gr4techie]

I always liked the "biscuits brown" with a can of cheese or "biscuits fruit" with a toothpaste tube full of strawberry jam.

The Yorkie bar wrappers made me smile.

I remember the boil-in-the-bag sticky toffee pudding being a brick that's swimming in treacle. I've never eaten anything with so so much sugar, it would make my teeth hurt.

I've always wanted to try the yank MRE as I'm intrigued by their self heating bags. Do they work ok?

http://www.fototime.com/9F341F5CE3EA2D2/orig.jpg

[gr4techie]

Does The Guardian read PPRUNE or is this article shear coincidence?

How the world's armies get fed... The eat of battle ? how the world's armies get fed | Life and style | The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/feb/18/eat-of-battle-worlds-armies-fed)









"Hello" to The Guardian if you're reading this.

[Wensleydale]

In the days before Yorkie Bars - there were the Cadbury Bourneville Fruit (dark chocolate with raisins) and the blocks of "Tiffin", each 5 bars to the tin. I remember when I was an air cadet on my first hill walking exped (in Easter 1969), sitting outside a café in the Peak District and opening a tin (with the little can opener) much to the amusement of the locals.

[500N]

gr4

Re the link to the Guardian.

That is the article at the beginning of the thread that started it all.

[NutLoose]

Don't worry, he'll catch up soon :p

Ptr175, thanks, checked and Tesco's do them too, so will give one a try

Not sure whether it was the old and new style of Oz rat packs
or just the old style but out bush, you could go days without !

As a result, a few took a Salami along,


500n My mind was in overdrive as to how you un bunged yourself with a Salami in the outback, but apparently you eat it..... What a let down :p

[500N]

Nutloose

:O

I've never had anyone say that before !

They were always 66mm diameter, I reckon it might be a bit hard
but never tried so wouldn't know.

I hate to think what they put in those Salami's, never once had one
go off or get mouldy even in up to 35 / 100 degrees !!!

[NutLoose]

You know there is one food product in the world that never goes off , you could eat it 2,000 years from now, and that food is?

Quick Honey Facts (http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/honey-facts.html)

[500N]

Interesting.

[Whenurhappy]

Ahh, Italian rations! I spent a day or two with the Italian Brigade in Pec in Western Kosovo in July 1999 (there was a UK signals unit embedded with them). Lunch was invariably pasta, washed down with a tetra-pak of red wine.

It was rumoured that the FAF Atlantique crews had wine with their In-flights. Can anyone confirm this?

[Wensleydale]

"It was rumoured that the FAF Atlantique crews had wine with their In-flights. Can anyone confirm this?"


Not sure of inflight rations but in the 1980s, red wine was available over lunch on the tables in the Officers' mess at Trapani in Sicily used by F104 pilots (and yes - they did have the odd glass).

[Wander00]

Not that long since French truck drivers had a litre of red wine with their lunch then got back in the cab. That has largely stopped with the French drive to reduce accidents. However, a Brit we know locally was stopped by the gendarmes and asked if he had been drinking. He replied that he had consumed a couple of glasses of red wine. " C'est bon" said the gendarme, and sent him on his way.

[Mickj3]

I remember when the 10 man ration packs had a tin (large) of red salmon in them, ah luxury on the hard tack biscuits. It was replaced by pilchards in red sauce following another round of economy measures. A real morale choker.:confused:

[GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU]

gr4techie. I've never been guilty of being a victualler but my understanding of the Septics' self heating bags is that there is layer of magnesium and iron compounds between the inner food bag and the outer protective bag. When water is added to that, it forms a self short circuiting battery that heats up the inner bag.

To my simple loggie mind that seems all very clever except that you need water that's heavier then hexamine blocks to get the heat. That's not a problem if you are near water that's not much other use but if you are in the middle of bum f**k nowhere with no water, you'd probably best widdle on it. Nice thought. That's assuming that water containing other salts won't bugger up the intended reaction. Anyway, I'm sure the chaps who get other chaps to the Moon and back without mishap know what they are doing.

[NutLoose]

I remember when the 10 man ration packs had a tin (large) of red salmon in them

Canadian Sockeye Salmon, when doing the Swinditz camping phase we had to make lunch for the whole course, so had to make over 100 salmon sandwiches using several boxes of the stuff, we had a load left over and buried it. Didn't bother having a sandwich as by the time we had finished I was sick of the sight of it.

[Wensleydale]

I am sure that I heard this buried stash of Salmon while I was walking the dog the other night! As I wandered along I am sure that I heard voices in the wind singing softly "Evening - Evening" as it rose to a crescendo of harmony and slowly went quiet again as a stranger came walking towards me with a curious look on his face.


Yep - Salmon chanted "Evening"! :ouch:


(or was it during a det to the South Pacific).

[NutLoose]

Gbz correct they are a banned carry on on airlines and can be lethal, scroll down this link to see what happens when a bit of water gets into a container load that was being shipped

Meals; Readt To Explode Pt. 2 (http://www.cargolaw.com/2001nightmare_mre2.html)


And the US testing their meals

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a346239.pdf

[oxenos]

Flew on a French Atlantique in the mid 60's, and there was wine with meals then.
Whether that was part of the rations,or organised by the crew themselves I don't know.
Got stuck in Istres for a few days in the late 70's with a broken aeroplane. Wine on the mess tables,so we got stuck in. When it was time to go, we got a bill for wine, and were told that only the first half bottle per meal per person was free. Persuaded them to re-do the bill to show something that the imprest holder could pay for.

[teeteringhead]

Best bit (or possibly only good bit) of the cousins' MREs - to my palate anyway - was the tiny bottle of Tabasco.

Got a few of those stashed away, they can transform all sorts of :yuk:meals. :ok:

[reynoldsno1]

The 48hr ration packs I remember had an oatmeal block that consisted of cereal anti-matter. In its elemental form, small buildings could have been constructed from it. One could dissove it in liquid and make porridge, but this was likely to take longer than 48hours. Trying to bite the block inevitably lead to orthodontic failure, but since the resulting tooth detritus was softer than the block itself, it would pass unnoticed down the alimentary canal. Consuming a whole block in one sitting was possible, but caused the digestive system to cease functioning for days, whereupon the block would be reconstituted prior to evacuation from the lower tract, with some effort. :{

[Wensleydale]

Back to my air cadet days again - the oatmeal blocks were highly prized to share out on hill walking expeditions and were exceptionally good when spread with the greengage jam that came in a tube.

[Wander00]

Oatmeal blocks made damn fine porridge too

[Dan Winterland]

Fried bacon roll. Yum Yum!