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Post by Cybermortis on Sept 6, 2013 17:22:32 GMT
Did you just ask what flavour the chocolate biscuit was...?  (OK, being fair American Chocolate biscuits do tend to taste like bile to anyone with taste buds - ie none Americans...  ) From the link above, although the biscuits were originally designed not to taste nice so GI's wouldn't eat them all at once. The flavour was very quickly improved - one might assume that someone realised that handing out vile tasting confections to men with guns might not be a good idea. The main and consistent problem/complaint seems to have been that they were simply to hard to eat - probably due to the biscuits being created for a long shelf life. Crushing them and soaking them in condensed milk for a few hours might not only have allowed some of the flavour to leach out, but softened the biscuits enough that you didn't risk your teeth trying to eat them. |
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Post by c64 on Sept 6, 2013 20:36:34 GMT
Did you just ask what flavour the chocolate biscuit was...? The Army biscuits I am familiar with have no flavour at all, no matter what colour and what's printed on the wrapper. My theory is that the only reason why humans would eat them is that there is "biscuit" printed on the wrapper. All animals I gave one of those biscuits didn't recognize them as food. The only exception is our rose chested Galah which likes to lick (not gnaw) the "Salt crackers" and it says that it enjoys the taste of salt. This bird still categorizes them as "thing". It divides the world into "friends", "things", "food", "fun" and "danger". |
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Post by User Unavailable on Sept 6, 2013 22:43:36 GMT
The coco powder was one of the items that was included in the ration packs, and I'd guess was intended to be used to make a hot drink with. The other item that was included was lemonade powder*, which according to the site I linked to above was found to be superb for scrubbing floors but too acidic for most people to consider eating/drinking. As both were standard ingredients in B and C ration packs (and hot chocolate is probably not your beverage of choice in the tropics) it makes sense if these were used for flavouring - and the coco more than the lemonade. Hot drinks in the tropics is not really much of an argument NOT to drink a hot beverage as coffee drinkers will use squad stoves or small fires to heat up water for coffee, even in high heat/humidity field conditions. Speaking from personal experience, not being a coffee drinker, I would trade my coffee for cocoa powder or other beverage powders, though most of us would not heat up the water to drink the cocoa. Just stir it into a canteen cup of "cold" water and drink it like a Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink. Why would we drink cold cocoa? Because drinking water all the time gets to be pretty tiresome as it either tastes like the canteen or water can or tastes like whatever chemicals were used to kill whatever parasites were in the water. Cold cocoa tastes much better. |
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Post by ironhold on Sept 6, 2013 23:32:02 GMT
Did you just ask what flavour the chocolate biscuit was...? (OK, being fair American Chocolate biscuits do tend to taste like bile to anyone with taste buds - ie none Americans... ) From the link above, although the biscuits were originally designed not to taste nice so GI's wouldn't eat them all at once. The flavour was very quickly improved - one might assume that someone realised that handing out vile tasting confections to men with guns might not be a good idea. The main and consistent problem/complaint seems to have been that they were simply to hard to eat - probably due to the biscuits being created for a long shelf life. Crushing them and soaking them in condensed milk for a few hours might not only have allowed some of the flavour to leach out, but softened the biscuits enough that you didn't risk your teeth trying to eat them. IIRC, it was primarily the survival chocolate (a "fortified" chocolate bar that contained a full day's calories and nutrients) that the military deliberately made to taste awful; this was done so that the soldiers didn't mistake it for a regular chocolate bar and consume it as a snack. |
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Post by User Unavailable on Sept 7, 2013 4:39:26 GMT
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Post by Antigone68104 on Sept 11, 2013 17:01:13 GMT
Speaking from personal experience, not being a coffee drinker, I would trade my coffee for cocoa powder or other beverage powders, though most of us would not heat up the water to drink the cocoa. Just stir it into a canteen cup of "cold" water and drink it like a Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink. Why would we drink cold cocoa? Because drinking water all the time gets to be pretty tiresome as it either tastes like the canteen or water can or tastes like whatever chemicals were used to kill whatever parasites were in the water. Cold cocoa tastes much better. I'm guessing it was a cocoa mix (with sugar and powdered milk), rather than the cocoa powder I find in the grocery store (just plain cocoa, no additives), then? It should be easier to turn cocoa mix into a chocolate syrup-like product for adding to ice cream. (Would these drink mixes be present in modern MREs? I know a few people with commissary privileges, and I know the Offutt commissary usually has MREs available.) |
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Post by the light works on Sept 11, 2013 17:25:16 GMT
Speaking from personal experience, not being a coffee drinker, I would trade my coffee for cocoa powder or other beverage powders, though most of us would not heat up the water to drink the cocoa. Just stir it into a canteen cup of "cold" water and drink it like a Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink. Why would we drink cold cocoa? Because drinking water all the time gets to be pretty tiresome as it either tastes like the canteen or water can or tastes like whatever chemicals were used to kill whatever parasites were in the water. Cold cocoa tastes much better. I'm guessing it was a cocoa mix (with sugar and powdered milk), rather than the cocoa powder I find in the grocery store (just plain cocoa, no additives), then? It should be easier to turn cocoa mix into a chocolate syrup-like product for adding to ice cream. (Would these drink mixes be present in modern MREs? I know a few people with commissary privileges, and I know the Offutt commissary usually has MREs available.) since I don't consider pure cocoa powder to be "ready to eat" I would be surprised to see it as the powdered chocolate in field ration kits. |
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Post by User Unavailable on Sept 11, 2013 19:51:52 GMT
Speaking from personal experience, not being a coffee drinker, I would trade my coffee for cocoa powder or other beverage powders, though most of us would not heat up the water to drink the cocoa. Just stir it into a canteen cup of "cold" water and drink it like a Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink. Why would we drink cold cocoa? Because drinking water all the time gets to be pretty tiresome as it either tastes like the canteen or water can or tastes like whatever chemicals were used to kill whatever parasites were in the water. Cold cocoa tastes much better. I'm guessing it was a cocoa mix (with sugar and powdered milk), rather than the cocoa powder I find in the grocery store (just plain cocoa, no additives), then? It should be easier to turn cocoa mix into a chocolate syrup-like product for adding to ice cream. (Would these drink mixes be present in modern MREs? I know a few people with commissary privileges, and I know the Offutt commissary usually has MREs available.) Yeah, the cocoa powder, back then* and in the MREs** is the instant type. No need to buy an MRE to get the cocoa powder. Just get some Nestlé instant cocoa mix, or whatever is cheapest. * per having eaten many a surplus c-ration as a kid in the 60s and 70s and a few of the newer MCI rations (also commonly, but mistakenly called C-Rations early in my military career while the transition to MREs was still underway and recent research inspired by this topic. ** per having eaten many, many MREs in 17 years of service. |
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Post by the light works on Sept 11, 2013 19:59:47 GMT
I recall a campout as a kid where we didn't bother with either heating the water OR mixing it into the cocoa mix before consumption. of course, we went through the mix much faster that way.
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Post by User Unavailable on Sept 11, 2013 20:05:38 GMT
I recall a campout as a kid where we didn't bother with either heating the water OR mixing it into the cocoa mix before consumption. of course, we went through the mix much faster that way. Well, I've done that as well, when needing quick energy, many times, such as on a hump, or in a lull during the assault/defense or a break in training. Just tear open the pouch, pour it in your mouth, and wash down with water from your canteen. |
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Post by the light works on Sept 11, 2013 20:08:29 GMT
I recall a campout as a kid where we didn't bother with either heating the water OR mixing it into the cocoa mix before consumption. of course, we went through the mix much faster that way. Well, I've done that as well, when needing quick energy, many times, such as on a hump, or in a lull during the assault/defense or a break in training. Just tear open the pouch, pour it in your mouth, and wash down with water from your canteen. I think that's the only time I've eaten powdered drink mix "straight" although the "fun dip" or whatever it was that used a bonded sugar stick to dip up powdered candy was essentially that - as were Pixie stix. |
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Post by User Unavailable on Sept 11, 2013 21:26:02 GMT
Well, I've done that as well, when needing quick energy, many times, such as on a hump, or in a lull during the assault/defense or a break in training. Just tear open the pouch, pour it in your mouth, and wash down with water from your canteen. I think that's the only time I've eaten powdered drink mix "straight" although the "fun dip" or whatever it was that used a bonded sugar stick to dip up powdered candy was essentially that - as were Pixie stix. We would sometimes "eat" the powdered, flavored drink mixes as well, much like pixie sticks or pop rocks. The flavored drink mixes were "crunchier" than the cocoa powder. The down side of eating the drink mixes, was that they turned your mouth, teeth and tongue, whatever color the flavor was. Grape drink mix was my favorite, so I would end up with purple teeth and tongue.  the lemon flavor, actually didnt color your mouth up too bad. Grape and cherry were really bad. We would also tear open the sugar packets and eat it. Most of us would put it under our tongue, behind our from teeth and enjoy it for awhile. Though this was also to access the quick energy of the sugar. Coffee drinkers who didnt have time to heat water for a cup, would sometimes tear open the coffee packet and pour it in their lip like dipping tobacco and absorb the caffeine that way, like a dip user absorbs nicotine. |
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Post by the light works on Sept 11, 2013 21:36:15 GMT
I think that's the only time I've eaten powdered drink mix "straight" although the "fun dip" or whatever it was that used a bonded sugar stick to dip up powdered candy was essentially that - as were Pixie stix. We would sometimes "eat" the powdered, flavored drink mixes as well, much like pixie sticks or pop rocks. The flavored drink mixes were "crunchier" than the cocoa powder. The down side of eating the drink mixes, was that they turned your mouth, teeth and tongue, whatever color the flavor was. Grape drink mix was my favorite, so I would end up with purple teeth and tongue. the lemon flavor, actually didnt color your mouth up too bad. Grape and cherry were really bad. We would also tear open the sugar packets and eat it. Most of us would put it under our tongue, behind our from teeth and enjoy it for awhile. Though this was also to access the quick energy of the sugar. Coffee drinkers who didnt have time to heat water for a cup, would sometimes tear open the coffee packet and pour it in their lip like dipping tobacco and absorb the caffeine that way, like a dip user absorbs nicotine. the variant I heard was "ranger coffee" where freeze dried coffee was eaten with a hot water chaser. |
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Post by User Unavailable on Sept 11, 2013 22:50:30 GMT
We would sometimes "eat" the powdered, flavored drink mixes as well, much like pixie sticks or pop rocks. The flavored drink mixes were "crunchier" than the cocoa powder. The down side of eating the drink mixes, was that they turned your mouth, teeth and tongue, whatever color the flavor was. Grape drink mix was my favorite, so I would end up with purple teeth and tongue. the lemon flavor, actually didnt color your mouth up too bad. Grape and cherry were really bad. We would also tear open the sugar packets and eat it. Most of us would put it under our tongue, behind our from teeth and enjoy it for awhile. Though this was also to access the quick energy of the sugar. Coffee drinkers who didnt have time to heat water for a cup, would sometimes tear open the coffee packet and pour it in their lip like dipping tobacco and absorb the caffeine that way, like a dip user absorbs nicotine. the variant I heard was "ranger coffee" where freeze dried coffee was eaten with a hot water chaser. I gotta ask,.... if you have freeze dried (instant) coffee and hot water, why would you eat the coffee and wash it down with hot water? I'll bet some Army Ranger, somewhere, some time , thought that would make him sound "tough", instead of sounding like a complete moron. |
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Post by the light works on Sept 11, 2013 23:09:08 GMT
the variant I heard was "ranger coffee" where freeze dried coffee was eaten with a hot water chaser. I gotta ask,.... if you have freeze dried (instant) coffee and hot water, why would you eat the coffee and wash it down with hot water? I'll bet some Army Ranger, somewhere, some time , thought that would make him sound "tough", instead of sounding like a complete moron. I think the idea was to reduce the time required for consumption. I could have heard wrong and it was coffee grounds - though I understand it was from an MRE, and I would not expect an MRE to require you to brew coffee. of course, being from an MRE it could have been because it was unpalatable and taking it like that got it over with. |
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Post by User Unavailable on Sept 12, 2013 1:14:34 GMT
I gotta ask,.... if you have freeze dried (instant) coffee and hot water, why would you eat the coffee and wash it down with hot water? I'll bet some Army Ranger, somewhere, some time , thought that would make him sound "tough", instead of sounding like a complete moron. I think the idea was to reduce the time required for consumption. I could have heard wrong and it was coffee grounds - though I understand it was from an MRE, and I would not expect an MRE to require you to brew coffee. of course, being from an MRE it could have been because it was unpalatable and taking it like that got it over with. I gotta go with the "sounds tough" for the audience listening, line of reasoning. It makes the most sense as far as reasoning goes. Yes, the coffee in MREs is freeze dried, instant coffee. Yes, it's not the greatest coffee. It can't taste as bad as pouring the powder in your mouth and washing it down with hot water. Lets look at the "saves time" reasoning. You've already heated water by whatever means, you already have the hot water in a container from which you can drink. You've got to tear open the packet and pour it out anyway, whether into your mouth or into the cup. If you pour it into the cup, all that is needed is a quick stir with a finger, an ink pen (which every good troop has) or the readily available MRE spoon that you keep stuck in the webbing of your gear or in your pocket. (Something every good troop also has in the field as extra, for a variety of field expedient uses). So in a couple of added seconds, you have a cup of coffee, you can slam down your gullet as fast as needed. If you have to do something so pressing that you can't spare the few seconds to stir the freeze dried coffee into the ready and waiting cup of hot water, then you don't have time to be pouring coffee in mouth and chasing it with hot water. Thus, the only logical conclusion to reach is, "sounded good/sounds tough at the time, to impress the audience", to whom it was being told. |
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Post by the light works on Sept 12, 2013 14:15:36 GMT
I think the idea was to reduce the time required for consumption. I could have heard wrong and it was coffee grounds - though I understand it was from an MRE, and I would not expect an MRE to require you to brew coffee. of course, being from an MRE it could have been because it was unpalatable and taking it like that got it over with. I gotta go with the "sounds tough" for the audience listening, line of reasoning. It makes the most sense as far as reasoning goes. Yes, the coffee in MREs is freeze dried, instant coffee. Yes, it's not the greatest coffee. It can't taste as bad as pouring the powder in your mouth and washing it down with hot water. Lets look at the "saves time" reasoning. You've already heated water by whatever means, you already have the hot water in a container from which you can drink. You've got to tear open the packet and pour it out anyway, whether into your mouth or into the cup. If you pour it into the cup, all that is needed is a quick stir with a finger, an ink pen (which every good troop has) or the readily available MRE spoon that you keep stuck in the webbing of your gear or in your pocket. (Something every good troop also has in the field as extra, for a variety of field expedient uses). So in a couple of added seconds, you have a cup of coffee, you can slam down your gullet as fast as needed. If you have to do something so pressing that you can't spare the few seconds to stir the freeze dried coffee into the ready and waiting cup of hot water, then you don't have time to be pouring coffee in mouth and chasing it with hot water. Thus, the only logical conclusion to reach is, "sounded good/sounds tough at the time, to impress the audience", to whom it was being told. it doesn't take a full cup to make a chaser; and the definition of "hot" is probably negotiable. although I am sure there is an element of braggadocio involved as well - this IS named after a special forces team, after all. |
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Post by User Unavailable on Sept 12, 2013 15:42:55 GMT
It doesn't take a full cup to make a cup of coffee either, still no logical reasoning there either. Now, if we " negotiate" on what "hot water" is, an argument can be easily made logical. If by "hot", one means water that has been riding around in a canteen all day, then yes, that is no different than eating the cocoa powder and washing it down. Marines call eating the coffee, creamer and sugar packets, all at the same time and washing it down with water from your canteen, a "Combat Espresso". Ranger Coffee would then be perfectly understandable, but the addition of the word "hot" really changes everything. |
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Post by Antigone68104 on Sept 24, 2013 13:29:32 GMT
Ice Cream Report - Test OneI made the Sugarless Berry Ice Cream recipe from page 2 of this thread yesterday. The only substitution made was strawberry jam instead of the fresh-and-pureed strawberries, on the assumption that it would have been much easier for a military cook to get his hands on jam. (And we're at the end of strawberry season anyway.) The recipe is fast to make. Well before the five minutes to let the condensed milk thicken, I'd finished whipping the cream -- and I didn't use any of the special tricks like chilling the beaters, either. Room temperature bowl, room temperature beaters. I did use an electric mixer. I should have bought a larger jar of jam. The jar of store-brand "All-Fruit" preserves I'd gotten turned out to be just over one cup, I think the strawberry flavor would have been a little stronger with the full 1 1/2 cups. It looked completely frozen after two hours in a chest freezer. Dinner wasn't ready that early so it wound up sitting in there for the four hours suggested by the recipe. However, I was freezing it in a 9x13 Pyrex baking dish. The science content for this myth will be on convective heat transfer, a.k.a. how long does it take for something to freeze. A canister might take longer than the flat dish. When I was putting it into the baking dish to freeze, I noted that it's not very runny. I'd call the pre-frozen consistency close to brownie batter. Someone making this in a warplane would want it in a container with a lid that can be fastened down, but would not need a watertight seal. Once frozen, the consistency was just like commercial ice cream. It was much richer than most of the ice creams on the market, if I'd been thinking I would have grabbed a single-serve cup of Ben and Jerry's at the store for comparison. But my taste-testers and I agreed that it was definitely ice cream.
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Post by Antigone68104 on Sept 24, 2013 13:38:50 GMT
The next ice cream test will be adapting that recipe for chocolate ice cream. A link from another discussion brought me to a site with a nutritional breakdown of modern MRE cocoa mix; comparing it to a web-obtained nutritional breakdown of Nestle's cocoa mix shows that the military version is a bit higher in fat and has some additional vitamins. Should this appear on the show, I suspect the guys might want to order a case of the military cocoa for maximum authenticity. For my testing, I think grabbing the richest and highest-fat content commercial cocoa mix should work.
I know there was a mention up-thread about freezing the ice cream in an ammo box, but I don't know how easy it would be to scrub one of those out to food-safe standards. Any other ideas for something a WWII cook might have been able to scavenge? I have access to a couple hiking/camping/hunting stores, there's some military surplus stores in the area as well, and one of my taste-testers has full commissary/PX privileges.
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(OK, being fair American Chocolate biscuits do tend to taste like bile to anyone with taste buds - ie none Americans... 
)
the lemon flavor, actually didnt color your mouth up too bad. Grape and cherry were really bad.