[twilightbluff]

I just recently heard from an army buddy of mine. He's on his 4th tour in Iraq. He was saying that him and his buddies figured out that you could make vanilla wafers by lighting the creamer packet from an MRE on fire. I wish I had some MRE's to try it out on!

Do any of you have any other kind of improvising tricks like this on the topic of survival foods?

 

[childclown]

I just figured this out yesterday, get a potato and a regular sized magnifying glass and a plate, then cut off a slice of potato and zap it with the magnifying glass and you can sit around eating cooked potatoes for hours (kind of tedious)

 

[Slappy]

Great, just add a conveyor belt and you can start a solar chip company.

 

[OFG]

I don't know if MREs even contain these type of foods anymore, but back in the day...

We used to take the dehydrated fruit. Peaches, pears, mixed fruit, and/or strawberries. Sugar, fruit drink mix, and mre bread.

Then get yourself a large waterbottle.

Place crushed fruit powder in bottle, add several sugar packets, add fruit drink powder, and one MRE bread fill 3/4 or a little better with water and shake.

Then get a rubber glove from your medic and tightly rubberband the glove to the top of the bottle. Store in cool dark place.

The yeast in the bread will reactive with the sugar and start to ferment. The glove is needed to allow the gases to expand, without allowing them to escape.

Let sit for 2-4 weeks, strain and mix with something that tastes better, such as sprite.

So there ya go... mre field booze. I can vouch that it tastes pretty crappy, but it does work.

If you want to take it a step further, you could probably distill it, if you can manage to swipe enough stuff from the motor pool to make a still.

Enjoy.

 

[catfishcharlie]

Would distilling it make it have higher alcoholic content?

 

[BlackPaladin]

Would distilling it make it have higher alcoholic content?

That's the idea.

That MRE fruit brew sounds interesting. I am extremely curious as to what alcoholic content it measured out at when it was done.

 

[Dollskin]

That's crazy. I wonder if the soldiers are over there doing that as we speak! It may taste bad, but I would probably drink it to get my mind off things out there in the big sandbox.

So OFG, exactly how bad did it taste? Worse than vodka?

 

[BlackPaladin]

That's crazy. I wonder if the soldiers are over there doing that as we speak! It may taste bad, but I would probably drink it to get my mind off things out there in the big sandbox.

So OFG, exactly how bad did it taste? Worse than vodka?

Oh, you bet the survival lore is passed down from WWII times on down.

 

[BlackPaladin]

And by vodka you are referring to cheap vodka, since the better it is, the less of a discernible taste it will have. (or smell, or color).

 

[OFG]

Yes distilling it would indeed boost the alcohol content. As long as you use the proper components to build a still and don't poison yourself.

The taste was fairly bad, but you could taste the alcohol, I have no idea what the percentage was .. probably 3-5 % Vodka doesn't really have much of a taste if its any good. So I'd have to say it was worse than vodka to me... but your really looking at more of a brew than a liquor.

As I mentioned, I don't even know if they have those items in MREs anymore... That was a trick I learned during the gulf war. I would imagine that there are some substitutes that could be had.

 

[crosscanadian]

Does it have a beer-ish taste to at all?

 

[OFG]

Nope... tastes sort of like a really crappy wine cooler.

There's no hops or barley in it and the yeast comes from bread. Probably taste a bit better if one had some actual brewers yeast.

 

[raMONA]

Does it taste anything like bread? I am really curious to try it out because I want to see what it ends up looking like and tasting like.

 

[OFG]

Does it taste anything like bread? I am really curious to try it out because I want to see what it ends up looking like and tasting like.

It looks pretty chunky because the bread pretty much dissolves into small pieces, and due to the dehydrated fruit and fruit drink mix its usually red, unless you use the grape drink. So basically you have a chunky red liquid. (strain)

Its really not that great, there are certainly other ways to make better tasting alcohol.

But this does work, so if you happen to be in a foreign country that doesn't have alcohol, and you get mres (at least the old ones) and have a place to put it thats cool and shady, then you can do it.

BTW if you spot mold inside, pitch it.

 

[ke4sky]

Charlie Ration Cookbook Now Offered for MREs

"Back in the day" the makers of Tabasco sauce produced a Charlie Ration Cookbook which had lots of ideas to spice up C-Rations. They still print a modernized version of the booklet focussed to today's MREs. This is a fine item to include in your holiday gift boxes to our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. MRE Cookbook-McIlhenny & Company

The Ranger Digest series is also a fine gift, the nine books can be passed around members of a unit, each one fits easily in a BDU pocket, and they are chock full of tips.

Welcome to US Army Ranger (Ret.) Rick Tscherne's TheRangerDigest.com. Military-styled survival education, survival training, survival kits, survival books and supplies. Learn how to survive and thrive in the outdoors military style. EXPEDIENT SHELTER

 

[JuanMatus]

Is it possible to cook the tray-pack ones in a fire?

 

[Laddyboy]

Ew, red chunky liquid sounds disgusting! But I guess, desperate times cause for desperate measures you know. I would probably drink it just to get my mind off the war and all the things going on around me.

I also know that alot of times soldiers can find pills and other drugs from the civilians. I know that if I were out at war, I would probably be one of those soldiers hustlin' the civilians! LOL

 

[dallaswynn]

Ranger cookies

This trick is almost correct, as far as what we used to do. When I was in the Marine Corps, I had a Staff Sergeant teach me how to make Ranger Cookies. You take the creamer and empty the sugar into it. Then you fold it closed and bake it in a fire for a little bit, maybe a min. The sugar will caramelize and the creamer will flavor it. It actually isn't bad and it tastes like a sugar cookie. I used to make them all the time if I had a chance.

 

[dallaswynn]

MRE bombs and gas bombs

You can also make an MRE bomb by cutting the heaters and dumping the black powder in a plastic bottle. Put a little water and tighten the cap on. Throw it and wait. To make a gas MRE bomb, you simply collect a whole bunch of the tabascos and pour it in the FRH (Flamless Ration Heater) instead of water. The gas bomb will bring a tear to your eye!! We used to make these and throw them in the ten with a fellow Marine....LOL. They wouldn't stay in the tent long. WARNING: the MRE bomb, not the gas version, has the possibility of throwing hot contents when the bottle blows so don't throw this one in someones tent. The MRE bomb is better tossed under someone's rack (bed) when they are sleeping. God how I miss the Corps. Ooh Rah and Semper Fi!