Thanks to a friend’s family who sent my friend two boxes of MREs from the U.S., I finally got the chance to experience the field rations American soldiers eat outdoors!
MRE stands for Meal, Ready-to-Eat. As the name suggests, it’s a self-contained meal designed by the U.S. Department of Defense for soldiers to consume in the field or in combat. Each pack provides enough calories and nutrition to sustain them. Its key features are convenience, long shelf life, and the ability to heat food without any cookware. If the packaging stays intact, an MRE can last up to five years. Because of these qualities, many people also keep MREs as camping food or emergency supplies at home.
Currently, there are 24 different menus, divided into two cases: Case A (Menus 1–12) and Case B (Menus 13–24). The options are surprisingly diverse—pasta, pizza, ravioli, even vegetarian menus—and the lineup is regularly updated so soldiers don’t get bored.
This time, I opened Menu 4: Spaghetti with Beef and Sauce. Inside were:
• a flameless ration heater (works like a heat pack, no fire needed),
• the main entrée spaghetti with beef and sauce,
• side items: Italian breadsticks with cheese spread,
• dessert: chocolate-filled cookie and raisins,
• drinks: a chocolate-hazelnut protein shake and lemon-lime beverage,
• plus napkins, spoon, salt, gum, and even a small box of matches.
From main dish to sides, dessert, drinks, utensils, and even gum for after the meal—it was so well thought out, I was honestly impressed!
The main entrée in the green pouch had to be placed inside the heater bag. Once I added water and shook it, it started steaming and making little crackling sounds. The brown packages, on the other hand, were ready to eat straight out of the bag. The portion size was huge, so I split it into two meals: dinner with the entrée, breadsticks, raisins, and lemon-lime drink, and then breakfast with the rest.
To be honest, the spaghetti with beef sauce was way better than I expected—about airline meal quality. The breadsticks with cheese spread were flavorful too, though overall a bit salty. The raisins were just raisins, while the lemon-lime drink tasted extremely artificial.
The next morning, I tried the dessert cookie and the chocolate-hazelnut protein shake. The cookie had a nice caramel note but was extremely sweet. As for the protein drink… it tasted ten times more artificial than the lemon-lime beverage. I couldn’t bring myself to take a second sip.
Final verdict: the savory dishes are very salty, the sweets are very sweet, and the drinks taste overwhelmingly chemical. The flavors are unmistakably “American.” That said, if I ever had to eat this during a disaster or emergency, I’d probably be moved to tears (protein shake excluded). In that situation, it might even feel like a feast fit for a king!