Unless you’ve got one of them portable Coleman Roadtrip grills, camping food will most likely mean something like an MRE, or Meal, Ready-to-Eat. Originally designed for the U.S. military, MREs are self-contained lightweight rations available in a wide range of flavors. They are also produced by other countries for their own militaries, with all of the familiar flavors a local would expect!
As an example, MREs for South Korean troops feature such regional delicacies as kimchi, while Italians enjoy beef tortellini; Swedes and Norwegians get cod stew with sour cream and potato, and Poles make do with bogracz (beef goulash). And though soldiers in the field can’t use camping grills for obvious security reasons, thanks to the marvels of modern science MREs now provide hot meals flamelessly!
Today’s MREs contain a Flameless Ration Heater, or FRH, that will increase the temperature of an eight-ounce entree by a hundred degrees Fahrenheit in no more than twelve minutes. FRHs use a simple chemical reaction to provide heat sufficient to warm up the precooked contents of an MRE.
The concept is to use the natural oxidation of a metal to produce heat. MREs now reach boiling point within seconds, steaming and bubbling! In ten minutes or so, dinner is ready. As may be imagined, they are not anywhere near the power of your least expensive Coleman Roadtrip grills, but they ain’t anybody spending the night outdoors.
No, combat cuisine does not compare to camping fare, but it’s not actually that bad, and, frankly, isn’t roughing it part of the overall experience, whether in the military or living out of doors?
Of course, you could just opt to go completely authentic and hunt game and roast it over a campfire spit! But an MRE is a nice compromise between that and a Coleman grill.
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