what do soldiers eat what did soldiers eat these are some questions that many fans including myself one answered horse milk and meat bread and protein bars thicker than a brick mummified cows and literal dog food these are actual foods that were either part or all of the military ration Provisions over history we live in a time when science has made food more available long- lasting and more delicious than ever and we must thank armies worldwide for the advancements in food preservation culinary Innovation food packaging and bio engineering but to make this possible what kind of
sacrifices did men and women at the military have to make and no the dog food wasn't one of those sacrifices but we're going to talk about that later welcome to nutty Productions and this is what food was is and would be like in armies around the world I guess I'm in when do we eat well what your hurry all you get now is beans Army food is no longer a matter of beans and guess workor since the last war nutrition has become a science and our our army quartermaster Corp uses that science in planning Army
meals Napoleon bonapart is considered one of the finest Generals in the history of mankind now some would argue that kuster was the best General except for you know that Little Big Horn thing Napoleon had a strong belief about the connection between food and success he's famous for the saying a military marches on its stomach yet several historical records anecdotes and one journal from a Napoleonic foot soldier proved that Napoleon's men had to pillage or buy their own rations now let's be fair about this it is also quite possible the quote was actually said by Prussian
Monarch Frederick the great decades before Napoleon was born whoever may have said the quote it does have a strong impact on the philosophy of modern armies across the world when soldiers go out into the field today they carry tiny miracles of modern bioengineering not the weapons and protective gear even though they are wonderful Innovations in their own way I'm talking about MREs or the meal ready to eat a soldier needs about 4,000 calories to complete their duties and training in a day without costing too many taxpayer dollars on top of that they need this much
food and light and easy to carry packaging that is still edible after days and days in the hot sun or in flooded rivers or on cold [Music] mountains they can't take a Gourmet Chef with them but thanks to a lot of sciencey tricks and techniques they can take quality food everywhere in the form of an MRE and when I say Gourmet it is not always the fanciest kind of food but the people who made it possible have done their best to accommodate the cultural and geographical Taste of various countries around the world with the second
world war came the sharp realization that a man in the Army is as good as the food he eats came to the new thinking that if the Army needs balance feeding so too to the workers that with new food limitations arising out of the war the question of proper feeding demanded serious attention Australian armies are able to take their marites and vmite tubes everywhere in the world no matter where and for how long they're deployed Spanish soldiers they still get to eat oral squids with green beans and ham German soldiers get rye bread with goulash
Estonian armies enjoy chicken Pate with their ration packs and Italian soldiers love to have a shot of graa a great based a PA teeth because who doesn't like to feel a little buzz before performing the most stressful and intense job in the world and then there is a certain incident of dog food being distributed to their soldiers but let's not get distracted all of this became possible because of MREs they were first delivered to the US Army 1981 in dark brown outer bags now the technology has been evolving ever since allowing the storage of more
and more kinds of food in small packets that soldiers can carry and keep with them during active duty tucked away in a small army base in na Massachusetts is a large industrial kitchen but it's not there to manufacture food it's there to develop the meals that fuel soldiers on battlefields anywhere in the world and with the arrival of the internet these brown bags of food or MREs are no longer a military secret you can now buy them on Amazon put a camera in front of you and record yourself eating them to upload reactions and reviews
on YouTube and not just videos US soldiers and Veterans maintain ranking pages and fors and Vlogs dedicated to MREs now according to these rankings chili and macaroni or chili mac and chili and beans happen to be super popular among active soldiers and Veterans alike in fact the M craze on the internet has gone out of the bounds of reality and people are now coming up with their own themes for MREs such as rations for apocalyptic scenarios where zombie contagion has run over the world and every man is fighting for their own lives so if there's
ever a case where you find yourself fighting World War Z or Humanity depends on you as you are The Last of Us during the Dawn of the Dead you know where to look to keep yourself fed while fighting for survival in a future Zombie Land to survive the Night of the Living Dead just pop one of these sustainable ration bags open and each of them will have enough food to keep you fed for 24 hours as they say don't fight a zombie on an empty [Music] stomach one soldier described the experience as the Entre heats
up I sit back and help myself with the pepperoni combo snacks the cornbread and the vegetable crackers with cheese spread afterwards I eat my entree fire Southwest style beef and beans or simply a beef stew are also another popular choice among American troops this one seems like an underappreciated Hidden Gem because it's not widely popular but those who like it really appreciate for its consistency and then there is the country Captain's chicken now that is the most coveted MRE it's so much desire that in fact it could be considered contraband in the military people have
jokingly offered each other services to trade their MREs for their colleagues country Captain's chicken they're willing to give their own food along with a dubious proposition for that one so let me try some of these MREs without the indecent proposition of course now this is what a package of an M looks like it comes with two dinners this one has little stew the other is beans with tomato sauce now also included in the pack is a peanut butter pack a strawberry jam pack a strawberry Pop-Tart two packs of crackers a shortbread cookie a fig bar
a bag of seasoning a spoon and a napkin right now I'm going to try the lentil stew doesn't look very appetizing but let's uh let's see what it's like H you know that's not really bad at all yeah this is not too bad I could be having fun with this I'm just saying yeah okay now let me try the beans with tomato sauce beans and tomato sauce huh well let's see how this one goes let's see h m not feeling this one this one tastes like the devil's ass I'm just going to say it's not
that good the lentil one yes this one let me give it another shot [Music] here no I'll have the lentil though and I'll have a Pop-Tart on my own just saying not bad not the best but not bad I but complaints about the food are a daily staple terrible it's all around terrible it's delicious it sounds good though it is good it's not good yeah on a scale 1 to 10 how is it three or four you know MREs sometimes get a bad WP no I don't know that the sheer fact that there are clear
favorites among both vets and active duty soldiers should tell you that not all MREs are created equal the Entre cycle in and out through the years but but can include jambalaya pork Chowan and spaghetti side dishes range from fruits and veggies to trail mix bread and crackers come with peanut butter cheese or jelly desserts well that could be anything from brownies to cookies to pound cakes drinks can be coffee juice or tea extras like condiments and seasoning are sprinkled in as well but the variety is not just limited to contents there is a stark diversity
in the taste as well now when we told you chili and beans are considered the best M around we were talking about how popular they are among those who had to eat them these recommendations are from the End customer not some food scientist or a dietitian so keep that in mind when we talk about the not so popular MREs apparently there is one MRE that is considered so nasty that people compare eating it to a death sentence and no we're still not talking about that dog food yet from 1993 to 2000 the frankfurters beef menu
number six was considered a menu item that was perhaps created by somebody as Despicable and evil as Amy dun from the movie Gone Girl encased in an airtight plastic pouch these four hot dogs wreak havoc on the bowels of the US service members everywhere so much so that the soldiers Christen them Four Fingers of Death don't ask these salty hot dogs came in a similar link to an average-sized human finger and usually plopped out of their packaging with an unappetizing Brown pinkish sort of liquid as if they were giving you the finger the M would
also have a packaging of western beans as a compliment hoping that soldiers could create an Ambiance of an authentic weekend barbecue even when they were in the barracks but in reality the cook meal was so detestable that it earned its own entry in the Urban Dictionary according to most who have tried it along with a reviewer on YouTube The Four Fingers of Death was a complete disaster package even the fudge bar included as dessert was rated abhorent the western beans were soaked in a tomato sauce that was mediocre at best and the apple jelly with
crackers was the only redeeming factor of this MRE there's really only been one M that came this close to being universally hated among the servicemen and women they call it the vomelet the M's Infamous nickname was actually a portmanto of its real name veggie omelette those who ate it said it had all the flavor of cold scrambled eggs and all the texture of dried paper mâché a food that is surprisingly avoided at all cost by military personnel is reported to be beef enchiladas now usually beef dishes are favored but enchiladas are shockingly an exception to
this rule the strange texture and flavor have been cited as a reason why most ser Serv members would try to barter it off for something something they could stomach at least and enchiladas aren't the only beef item among MREs that were widely unpopular the dehydrated beef and pork patties that were in circulation about three decades ago wait that's not the 80s that's the '90s man I'm getting oldo anyway not to Sidetrack these dehydrated patties required rehydration and the directions for it were no less complicated than a science experiment conducted by a junior high school student
the plastic bag in which the Patty was stored had to be filled with water and then it had to be put out in sunlight or something until it looked ready to be eaten what I'm going to do is not to dry to the total dryness right to the semi moist stage but shelf still shelf stable and this is different from freeze drying oh yeah freeze drying you have no you cannot do that you have to either dry it totally or otherwise you're going to spoil but the microwave because it's the uniform dra it's it's possible
to try uh to the stage but again these Foods were still meant for human consumption and not dogs yes we're talking about literal dog food cans no matter how good food preservation processing and packaging have become over the years especially in the last century history has witnessed a fair amount of belly aching from all generations of soldiers but this story is a little different Russian troops were fed dog food food earlier this year to save money it's being claimed labels reading premium quality beef covered up the real K9 destined contents according to this video footage
shot by a whistleblower Igor matveev says he was ordered dismissed after posting a video on the internet alleging widespread corruption in the interior Ministry forces in Spring 2011 major eigor medve posted photos and videos online revealing that the cans of Premium quality beef being served to troops posted in the eastern city of V Visto were in fact cans of dog food plastered with bogus labels the interior Ministry denied major matveev's accusations and for his troubles the determined whistleblower was stripped of his rank for maltreating his superiors along with being sentenced to four plus years in
prison since then nobody involved in the incident has talked about it or even if the dog food was any better than the human food unrepentant and rule book in hand he reads a serving Soldier finding illegal use of army property or improper spending of its finances or misuse of its weapons inadequate storage conditions and other factors that could damage the interests of the Russian Armed Forces has the right to appeal to the Regional Court the authorities or public bodies in September 2018 food Engineers accomplished a massive feat they added a special Pizza to the 24
available MRE options now Pizza Pizza is love pizza is life we all cherish pizza and so do people who sit on the front lines so Pizza M's inclusion has been considered a genuinely good move to raise morale and battle something called meat fatigue and that got me thinking what could have been the Revolutionary pizza for armies of the ancients [Music] [Music] Mesopotamians for example the early civilized Bunch who pretty much arguably invented agriculture had a very minimalistic approach to the military rations they gave their soldiers barley oil and Wool Wool were they supposed to eat
it like noodles Egyptians on the other hand allowed their soldiers to carry whatever they could to the battlefield but like many other things about the modern world the term rationing began with the Romans they were the first ones who allotted a specific amount of food to every Soldier it was the purest example of necessity is the mother of invention because a Roman legion consisted of more or less 5,000 men and to feed such a large army in the days with minimalistic preservation and pretty much no Refrigeration meant they had to cook dozens if not hundreds
of animals to meet the calorie needs of the Cavalry and infantry as well this was a problem until the 20th century Romans also punish their insolent Soldiers by replacing wheat with barley in their rations and Romans along with their successor the byzantines had soldiers carry hand Mills to grind their grains and probably make paima Mongols ate their horses Washington's Army had to rely on in bom beef which was basically a mummified cow without the wrappings and during the first world war there was a huge shortage of nitrate fertilizers with not many other options to exist
[Music] so during the second world war American GIS had two major types of ration sea ration was meant for combat troops and the K ration was the less bulky version of the sea ration that was initially developed for airborn regiments and Messengers there was also an a ration and a b rtion and a d ration a ration was mostly fresh or frozen food that the military Cooks prepared in base or field kitchens and it was served in proper Army dining Halls B rtion included can and dehydrated food that didn't need to be refrigerated but also
had to be prepared in the kitchen by Cooks now the sea ration often called sear rats were designed for individual combat troops and consisted of pre-cooked food in 10 plate cans that open with a key the combat the ration C which I have here a box is designed to take care of a man in combat for one day let me show you the contents of this box there are in total of eight cans three cans of of basic menus for a each meal for instance corn beef hash meat and beans with tomato sauce hamburger with
gravy and a can of fruit in this instance pineapple now there are four other cans and they contain the following here matches cigarettes soluble milk coffee sugar a can opener toilet tissue a chlorine tablets chewing gum and again of course a plastic wrapper initially officials calculated that se rashes would only be consumed for No More Than 3 days at a time and produced just three varieties the dation was basically the earliest prototype of a protein bar a heat resistant fortifi chocolate bar intended to provide high energy in a small package that soldiers could carry in
a pocket but the soldiers call them molar Breakers because they were hard to chew these rations designed to provide three meals and approximately 3600 calories each were almost universally unpopular later soldiers would get powdered drinks like lemonade and bullan and eventually they got sweet and cocoa K rations would include breakfast lunch and dinner with 4 ounces of meat Andor eggs cheese spread biscuits candy Gump salt tablets and a sugary drink there were also cigarettes a wooden spoon and toilet paper from 1958 to 1981 the US used MC or the meal combat individual rations which were
precursors to the MREs a full rashing could be bulgy so troops often disassembled it taking what they needed on patrol by placing cans into socks that they could tie to their packs in Korea and Vietnam mcis were distributed to combat soldiers in a cardboard box which contained 1 12200 calories through a can of meat that could be ham and Lia beans or a turkey Loaf a can of bread which could be crackers or heart tack or cookies and a can of dessert like applesauce or sliced peaches or maybe a pound cake but of all these
items the heart tag bread perhaps has the most interesting story behind it that goes back hundreds of years one of the Roman breads called balum which they borrowed from ancient Egyptians was in use until the 20th century in modern times balum is known as the hearttech bread and it's known for longevity and so governments everywhere began a new campaign for better feeding a campaign urged on by the needs of War asking the cooperation of managements to investigate the eating facilities of the employees and try and improve them asking the Cooper operation of the men themselves
to take new note of what they are eating hardtech bread has an exceptionally long- lasting life if stored properly these bad boys can last about 25 years during the Civil discourse of 1861 to 1865 the Union Soldiers complained that the hardtack bread they were being fed was the leftover breed from the days of the Mexican war that happened 15 years before the Civil discourse during the Crusades the bread was known as the muslin Biscuit the Golden Age Pirates called it the Sea Biscuit and during the Great War it was known as the Moler Breakers because
of how hard it is supposed to be it is made with salt flour and less water than usual Breads and baked long enough that the moisture will evaporate and that hardens the bread to the point that it won't rot in the book combat ready kitchen which by the way is a great read author Anastasia Marx dto mentioned that the going stale clock on freshly baked bread Begins the moment you pull it out of the oven it happens because of a starch called amalo strands of amalo Start Spreading all throughout a bread structure the moment it
is pulled off heat making the bread get harder and harder by the minute but amalo has a nemesis called amalay amales are enzymes that are usually denatured by heat as the bread cooks and that is why baguette feels like a razor on your gums if you eat it many days after in the mid 20th century food scientists at Kansas State College discovered that we can artificially add Amal lases that stand up to heat and that change the equation of food preservation forever the age old process that Grandmama learned from her grandma to give us our
daily bread the staff of Life only now we've made our bread better and even more hygienic small loaves take 30 minutes to bake and large loaves take 7 minutes longer the amasis 2.0 here are enzymes that come from a heat tolerant bacteria and they keep the bread almost eerily soft and flexible giving it a longer shelf life because Kansas State's College research was funded by the US military their new bread made it into pouches and Military rations and eventually in the Supermarkets near you almost all bread and grocery stores today has bacterial amasis working to
keep it squishy for the long term you can also thank military research for packets of dry active yeast as well for this Marvel you haven't wondered how a cheese cracker can stay in its packaging for months without cheese drying out and a cracker losing its crispiness it's been made possible by keeping the levels of water activity the same for both items and not letting the water migrate between the two a moist food is a much friendlier place for bacteria and mold than a dry one you can try it at home put some Bree and a
brittle corn chip next to each other and you can easily guess which one would give in first but a watermelon which is 92% water can also Outlast Bree by Miles so what gives apparently it's not the moisture content that determines the age of the food but rather how many water molecules are floating around unattached to anything else they are the spoiler alerts that spoil your food we all know that salt and sugar are natural preservatives but how do they work well I don't know oh I can find out by reading this right because salt and
sugar tie up the water molecules without making the food go dry but with pasteurization food scientists have managed to make modern food hostile to life that is microbiological life this is a huge leap from the 19th century when soldiers had to boil their maggoty bread and coffee to kill vers back in the day Napoleon's government put a lot of resources and effort into developing food preservation one of their biggest achievements was canning but then back then they used sealed glass jars their efforts though paved the way to define modern food as we know it today
without all this science we wouldn't have preservative free lunch meats fresh tasting juice and milk and avocados that stay greened under their wrapper pretty much more than half of our supermarkets would be empty if it wasn't for military rations so yeah even if Napoleon was only repeating what Frederick the great said he was correct and he made a significant contribution to the cause so thanks Napoleon and thank you for watching nutty Productions if you enjoyed the video make sure to like and share to support our Channel And subscribe to watch more nutty videos [Music]
