Spinning off from another thread, what foods do we consume today that started as military rations? I can think of three off the top of my head.
SPAM=WW2
M&Ms=WW2
Goldenbergs Peanut Chews=WW1
Any others?
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Spinning off from another thread, what foods do we consume today that started as military rations? I can think of three off the top of my head.
SPAM=WW2
M&Ms=WW2
Goldenbergs Peanut Chews=WW1
Any others?
Bully Beef, AKA tinned corned beef. It goes back to the Boer War.
My dad and I used to have bully beef sandwiches right up to when he passed away. I still have the occasional one although my culinary elitist wife won't go near the stuff.
My dad hated SPAM and mutton to the day he died. He once claimed that was all they got when they were in the islands during the war.
M&M candy. Melt in your mouth and not in the pacific heat.
Instant coffee. Freeze dried.
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M&M candy
Instant coffee
T.V diners=WW2 bomber crews
Wasn't "Camp Coffee" originally invented for use by the British military in Victorian times?
I remember in the army cadets that occasionally we got given some packets of thin dry biscuits that looked as if they had squashed flies in them. These packets of biscuits had come from ration packs and it did give us something to talk about and debate for half an hour or so when they appeared. Does anyone know the origin of them, please? I'm guessing that they were made that way so that they would have a long shelf life.
The 'dead fly' biscuits were in fact Garibaldi biscuits. They usually came in a green foil packets of 5 or 10. You had to be a bit careful because also in a very similar packet, were BISCUITS, AB. These were supposedly or rumoured to prevent unnecessary stops for the toilet. Hence the AB part became Biscuits, 'Arxe Blocking'. No doubt, the best of all, Oatmeal blocks. All were made by Huntley and Palmer at Reading with packet marked H&P or occasionally, Carrs Biscuits (CBC)
Peter, I've got to ask you the million dollar question concerning all the rumours over the years about British army tea having an extra magic ingredient to subdue soldier's desire to sleep with women. Have you ever seen any evidence that there may be any truth in the rumours?
Yep, each urn of Army tea was topped up with a 2lb bag of high grade bromide and stirred in by the gormless cooks. It's just started to work!
Adding to the list, Camp Pie supposedly dates to before the Crimean War and was used as a ration item. It is found on the shelf of every supermarket in Oz next to bully beef. I like it fried as a breakfast meat, but it's a non-starter for the wife. Do they still sell it in the U.K.?