What Military Rations Look Like in 12 Countries Worldwide

Edited By: Natalia J.

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Military food rations seem like one of those unique experiences reserved for military workers only, a typically not-so-pleasant one, too, or so they say… Given that these meals have to be compact and will have to remain fresh for a long time, we’re pretty sure fresh vegetables and fruit will unlikely be featured. We also suspect that these foods must be quite high in calories, given that soldiers and military personnel have a higher activity level than most civilians. This is pretty much where our guesses end.

Luckily, we don’t have to guess any further, as it turns out that you don’t have to be in the military to try MREs. In fact, military food is widely available for purchase to the public, so anyone can try it! One of the brave souls who took upon himself to test and document him trying military meals from countries worldwide was David Hong. Here they are!

1. Russia

Some of the foods included are crackers, apple sauce, pea stew, carrot and potato stew, meatballs, bacon in fat, rice with peas and meat, melted cheese spread.

2. The UK

Some of the foods included are a sports drink, coffee, tea, muesli oats with milk, cranberry cereal bar, candy, vegetarian pasta, fruit cake, oatmeal cookie with hazelnut spread, salted nuts, tomato pasta salad.

Hong tried military meals from 12 different countries, and he said in a statement to BoredPanda that the foods were often quite dry and heavy for the stomach, as expected, so he couldn’t try these on a daily basis for health reasons.

3. The USA

Some of the foods included are marble pound cake, crackers, skittles, chili, macaroni, a grape-flavored energy drink.

4. Germany

Some of the foods included are pea stew with mini sausages, hazelnut pudding; rindfleisch lyoner grob, crackers, meat with rice, oat milk with fruit and granola, dark bread, cranberry cereal bar, dark chocolate.

But when it comes to choosing the best meal, Hong said that “every ration is unique to the taste and culture of their corresponding nation.” This may be true, but when asked to choose his personal favorite, the Russian ration actually ended up being the winner! Hong liked the Russian IRP "because it offers the most protein of all the MREs I had. The pork fat or sowbelly is probably the oddest choice in it; it tastes like bacon when you mix it with the rice included.”

To see more military food tests, go to David Hong's Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter.

5. Spain

Some of the foods included are beef and pea stew, tuna, mixed fruit, pate, and instant vegetable soup.

6. Ukraine

Some of the foods included are pate, pork, sugar, tea, rice and beef, tuna, biscuits.

7. Croatia

Some of the foods included are beef soup, turkey pate, biscuits with pepper, salt crackers, liver spread, sardines, beans, chocolate, pineapple, papaya, coffee, orange drink, tea.

8. France

Some of the foods include granola, ham, terrine forestiere, crackers, oats and fruit, instant tomato soup, chocolate, nougat, candy.

9. Poland

Some of the foods included are chicken casserole, honey, condensed milk, hardtack, tea, coffee, hard candies, raisins, a stick of gum.

10. Canada

Some of the foods included are banana-flavored oatmeal cereal, bread, baked beans, sliced apples, ketchup, strawberry jam, peanut butter, hot cocoa, coffee + creamer, orange drink.