C-Rations/MCIs/MREs

Feeling nostalgic today:

I don't have any experience with MREs, but plenty with C Rats and/or MCIs.

So my question is, if given the choice between Spaghetti & Meatballs or Ham & M-Fers, which would you choose?

I'd go with spaghetti which was my favorite (besides the cigarettes). Regarding the other option, to this day I won't eat M-Fers ( lima beans).

FWIW - one of my favorite components of C-Rats was the peanut butter, especially if it was made by REDWING foods, in Fredonia, NY. Beef steak with potatoes were pretty good. We'd heat hem up by slapping a quarter-size chunk of C-4 onto the bottom of the can. I still have a can opener.

FWIW - one of my favorite components of C-Rats was the peanut butter, especially if it was made by REDWING foods, in Fredonia, NY. Beef steak with potatoes were pretty good. We'd heat hem up by slapping a quarter-size chunk of C-4 onto the bottom of the can. I still have a can opener.

Howie-
I have a couple of P38s around someplace also. Didn't you jarheads call 'em something different...John Wayne??

C-Rats and K-Rats are in my domain, but somewhat more limited experiences with the latest versions of MRE (for you civilians, that's "Meals, Ready To Eat").

There have been tremendous improvements in food preservation over the years, but most of it has been in preservation and reducing weight. They still can't make it taste good; and the primary reason isn't to taste good, but to supply sufficient nutrition/energy resource.

Of course, the tradition of banning the really old stuff from all the other services so they can supply it to the Marines is still being observed. And that keeps the ketchup and hot sauce industry thriving too.

I've never had a C-ration or an MRE in my life, but I've had a P-38 on my keyring since I was 16 years old. Read about them in the Whole Earth Catalog and figured that anything that useful ought to be available at all times.

I found the Spaghetti and Meatballs to be so salty as to be inedible. I could choke down almost anything else. The MREs were a great improvement.

Mike and I have something in common, I also have a P38 on my key ring. In addition to its occasional usefulness it serves as a reminder. I also have a bottle of Tobasco sauce close to hand.

I've eaten both K rations and MREs. Of the former, all I've got to say is that I'm glad that I, unlike my father, never had to live off of them for any protracted length of time. I recall the crackers, which were the consistency of cardboard, and the peanut butter, which was salty enough to de-ice your driveway. I've had a few different MREs while backpacking, and they were generally edible if not to be mistaken for haute cuisine. One of the them -- tacos, I think -- had a small bottle of Tabasco sauce as a a condiment -- what's not to love about that?

Mark Lipton