Best C ration of WW2? - Page 2

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Best C ration of WW2? (Page 2 of 2)

Posted: 7/22/2011 5:30:21 PM EDT

[#1]

I used to buy C-rats at Ark Surplus as a kid, loved those damned things. Never had one that I didn't like. My parents would just shake their heads, but let me get them.

I also loved the original MREs, those things were awesome.

The cheese and crackers were the best.

Posted: 7/22/2011 5:31:11 PM EDT

[#2]

I remember seeing some Korean War era cans, when I was a kid, that belonged to my best friend's father. I thought it was funny how some of them would read something like, "Beef Stew OR Franks & Beans."

Posted: 7/22/2011 5:37:21 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:

Quoted:
You'd have to be pushing 60 to have any extensive-enough culinary history with C rats in order to have an opinion on the topic.

Not really. We had WWII era C Rats as kids in the early seventies. Scouts and such. I was also issued Vietnam era C Rats in 1990 while on range detail in basic training. Much better than MRE's.

MREs came into regular use in the 80s, so I figured any military member who regularly ate them would be in his 50s by now..
I would assume that any casual use of them outside the military by the 70s would be so limited that the evaluator wouldn't have a wide enough sampling of the former menu. Its like trying to judge all MREs based on the omlette being the only MRE you ever ate.

In 21 years in the Army I've never had a C rat.

Posted: 7/22/2011 5:40:23 PM EDT

[#4]

Well, not my story...but Dad said I could use it!

He was USMC in Vietnam in '66. He said they got many c-rats that were stamped around 1944-45. He also said when they were on patrol and resupplied by helicopter, however many c-rats you got was how many days until resupply. 3 c-rats...3 days. The way he told me was that each c-rat was supposed to be one meal.

Gus

Posted: 7/22/2011 5:45:15 PM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:

Quoted:
You'd have to be pushing 60 to have any extensive-enough culinary history with C rats in order to have an opinion on the topic.

Not really. We had WWII era C Rats as kids in the early seventies. Scouts and such. I was also issued Vietnam era C Rats in 1990 while on range detail in basic training. Much better than MRE's.

MREs came into regular use in the 80s, so I figured any military member who regularly ate them would be in his 50s by now..
I would assume that any casual use of them outside the military by the 70s would be so limited that the evaluator wouldn't have a wide enough sampling of the former menu. Its like trying to judge all MREs based on the omlette being the only MRE you ever ate.

In 21 years in the Army I've never had a C rat.

That wasn't a hard and fast transition though.
I remember seeing the VN era rations in AF BMT in the mid 80's
BDU's/Cammies were still to be issued. I remember the first flight I saw that got issued BDU's and the weird "new" boots and wondering how they were ever going to shine them, and that the laundry/drycleaners were going to have a hell of a time getting a good crease.

Posted: 7/22/2011 5:51:12 PM EDT

[#6]

my dad used to get us c-rats to take camping. i grew up in the same town as Mrs. Kings bakery that made metric shit tons of the cakes in c-rats. up until about 10 years ago, you couls still buy cases of the canned cakes at different junk/closeout stores around here.

Posted: 7/22/2011 5:57:23 PM EDT

[#7]

Grew up eating those on camping trips and stuff. Dad always said the Beans&Franks were the best, that along with the white bread and pound cake.

Posted: 7/22/2011 6:03:58 PM EDT

[#8]

The ones we got in Viet Nam were from the Korean War. It think there is a requirement that they must save them for the next war. My favorite thing in the box were the B-3 units and Peaches in Heavy Syrup.

Posted: 7/22/2011 6:05:31 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
The ones we got in Viet Nam were from the Korean War. It think there is a requirement that they must save them for the next war. My favorite thing in the box were the B-3 units and Peaches in Heavy Syrup.

Pound cake + peaches in heavy syrup = yummy sickly sweet field treat.

Posted: 7/22/2011 6:16:34 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:

Quoted:

You'd have to be pushing 60 to have any extensive-enough culinary history with C rats in order to have an opinion on the topic.

Not really. We had WWII era C Rats as kids in the early seventies. Scouts and such. I was also issued Vietnam era C Rats in 1990 while on range detail in basic training. Much better than MRE's.

MREs came into regular use in the 80s, so I figured any military member who regularly ate them would be in his 50s by now..

I would assume that any casual use of them outside the military by the 70s would be so limited that the evaluator wouldn't have a wide enough sampling of the former menu. Its like trying to judge all MREs based on the omlette being the only MRE you ever ate.

In 21 years in the Army I've never had a C rat.

I understand. My father and uncles were career military. So I've been eating the stuff since I was a kid.

Actually the whole time at basic we were never issued MRE's. If there were MRE's at Fort Jackson they were sitting on them. Sack lunches for all.
I liked the green eggs omelette.

Posted: 7/22/2011 6:17:45 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Pork, lard, and beans

So yum

Freezing to death due to lack of calories and protein means it may be yuck but it saved a whole lotta lives. Hi cal, high fat beats vegetarian hash when you're fighting a war and burning thousands of calories a day.

I dont know. In the book Recon Scout, the author who survived four WWII campaigns recounts a story of being in a hot fox hole and opening a can of them. He ate the can and immediately vomited them up because of the taste.

Posted: 7/22/2011 6:19:37 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
The ones we got in Viet Nam were from the Korean War. It think there is a requirement that they must save them for the next war. My favorite thing in the box were the B-3 units and Peaches in Heavy Syrup.

I thought they were still eatting WW2 stockpiles in VN?

Posted: 7/22/2011 6:28:28 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:

Quoted:
The ones we got in Viet Nam were from the Korean War. It think there is a requirement that they must save them for the next war. My favorite thing in the box were the B-3 units and Peaches in Heavy Syrup.

Pound cake + peaches in heavy syrup = yummy sickly sweet field treat.

Loads of folks raving about the pound cake.

Am I the only one that found those and the chocolate cookie things to be "soapy" tasting?

But yeah, the peaches were good. Worked in a cannery during HS that filled a lot of DOD orders from WW-2 on. never canned anything gourmet, but damn if it wasn't good.

Posted: 7/22/2011 9:08:32 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:

Quoted:
The ones we got in Viet Nam were from the Korean War. It think there is a requirement that they must save them for the next war. My favorite thing in the box were the B-3 units and Peaches in Heavy Syrup.

I thought they were still eatting WW2 stockpiles in VN?

Joined in '73 (Ah! Parris Island in the summer), we got WW II era C-Rats at Camp Giger. I didn't smoke but the Pall Malls were so dried out the guys called them firecrackers.

Posted: 7/22/2011 9:40:04 PM EDT

[#15]

I had a few c and k rations but I don't remember much about them. I had a few MRE's when they first came out and it put me off them for a long time. That pork patty was truly horrendous, it was like a block of greasy soundproofing wallboard.

The current ones are great, but you can get tired of even the best food. Much less something packaged for shelf life and stuffed in a pouch.

Posted: 7/22/2011 9:41:22 PM EDT

[#16]

Chille-Mac... hands down!

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Best C ration of WW2? (Page 2 of 2)

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