MRE Review: French Individual Reheatable Combat Ration (RCIR) - Part Two: Taste Test and Review

CORRECTION There are actually FOUR packages of each of the two types of biscuits in the box, not THREE as I mentioned in the video. Sorry for the mistake.
Here's part two of my look at a French Individual Reheatable Combat Ration. I had never had one of these before and a KZbinr named MrCedewatt ( / mrcedewatt ) was nice enough to send me one all the way from France!
You can see Part One here:
• MRE Review: French Ind...
This video is the actual "review" part of this review. We see the food heated up and tried out. Everything I tasted was very good to excellent. The two main entrees (Beef and Carrots, and Braised Ham with Haricot Beans) and even the Pork and Mushroom Paté were all delicious. If I had to pick something that I was less than thrilled with it would probably be the citrus beverage mix. There was nothing wrong with it, but it simply didn't have the quality of the rest of the contents.
While not an expert on French military rations I'm pretty sure that this one is meant for a whole day's worth of eating (or at least a couple complete meals). In addition to two full-sized entrees there is also the paté, a soup base and even some muesli for breakfast. There is a whole box filled with two different kinds of crackers (biscuits), and plenty of beverages to last for a lot more than one meal: The citrus drink mix mentioned above makes a whole liter of the stuff. There are also two packages of tea, two instant coffees and an envelope of hot cocoa. Finally there is a nice assortment of desserts and sweets to finish off each meal and give some much needed sugar and comfort to an active soldier.
It's hard to directly compare this French Combat Ration to an MRE because they are so different in what they give you, but I do feel that the main entrees had a better taste than many of the MRE entrees I have had (and I actually like most of the MRE entrees).

[@Spidouz]

I confirm, a RCIR is for an entire day (24 hours) and does include Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, as well as the sweet snacks. You typically have an entree, a warm meal (you need to reheat) and a cheese/desert for both Lunch and Dinner and you have some milk and muesli for the Breakfast. You also have some Coffee, sugar, salt and tissues. The heater is usually used to heat the meal and some water (for the coffee, soup, milk, etc...). There's 14 different menus (you had the number 11). There's 7 menus with Pork (1 to 7) and 7 menus without Pork (8 to 14, for jews and muslims soldiers). The whole 14 menus do change every year. The RCIR weights 1.5 kg (around 3.3 lbs) The packed dimensions are: 294 x 149 x 63mm (11.57" x 5.86" x 2.48") Nutritions of the whole RCIR is based on a 3,200 kcal diet / 13 380 kJ Protids:13 % - Lipids: 32 % - Glucids: 55 %. The expiration date is usually around 2 years (unless you get some old surplus stock, which will be around 1 year). There's some Half-Day MRE, called RIE (Ration Individuel d'Exercice, Individual Exercice Ration) that are smaller and lighter. The price is generally around 10€ (for the 24h RCIR pack) and around 5€ (for the 12h RIE pack). We can find them around 6€ and 4€ on surplus. I hope it will help. Cheers and Bon Appetite!! PS: Petit Déjeuner means Breakfast ;)

[@bigornek]

I am french, had these babies for 2 years long in Ivory Coast as a french Marine Infantry , and I just can't tell you how happy we were to have them! They are suited for two guys /one meal, or one guy whole day long (in this case you have too much to eat, and there is waste:) ) Every menu was a joy by itself, and we had like 15 different of them! The great plus is that nothing (except soup and coffea) is dehydrated, so you wouldn't waste your drinking water to rehydrate your meal! :)

[@MrSebfrench76]

Merci pour ton temps passé à proteger mes enfants des tarés de ce monde. Regarding the rations , i vividly remember them ,while doing my army , like the best moment of the day . And i do confirm , these are mostly civilian meals slightly modified for the soldiers (more conservatives maybe?); I swapped one of them with a US mre , enjoyable but less "raffiné" ,héhéhé

[@Crackshotsteph]

I heard from French officer once said, "If were going to send you to fight and die on the battlefield we'll feed you the best damn there is."

[@m3ntalcollid3r]

What? No mini bottle of wine and a small packet of cigarretts?

[@Theealterego]

Exactly dude that's the same thing I was thinking

[@AllpostsFilms]

Now thats a clever mre kit

[@sandy9free]

That was the best looking MRE food i have seen so far Go French!!

[@sirtom68]

No after dinner cigarette ?

[@andreacummins1271]

Glass of wine, cigarette, a choice of poetry or philosophical literature and a shag

[@danmorgan3685]

The Basset Hound got to them first.

[@Spidouz]

They used to have a cigarette pack a day, but not anymore.

[@gschultz9]

As I mentioned in the description and in part 1, a subscriber was kind enough to send me this from France to review. I don't actually know where a good (and affordable) source for these would be.

[@PassDaMethod]

So basically French MREs kick the everloving dog shit out of US MREs.

[@LupusAries]

***** Yep, and they know how to cook! ;) You would expect the french to have some higher food standards, given how good quite a lot of the food there. We don't say living like god in france for nothing. Nowadays the state of the military between germany and france is pretty much switched around.......the french is stereotyped as bad, but well prepared and the german is stereotyped as good but ill prepared.* *not saying anything bad about the troops but the state of equipment is bad. And good food is important for morale, bad food leads to bad morale. I remember a german Smutje (ships cook) once saying, that what they handle in the galley, is just as explosive as what they have in the magazine! ;)

[@jannethiebaud1493]

If only all of our military were fed so well. The French certainly know about food. I know one thing though, I could NOT eat all of that in one day lol...but it looked YUMMMMM for field rations.

[@Jesse-Jackson]

Napoleon was famed for saying "an army moves on its stomach" =)

[@kingkong-qt7nm]

***** absolutely Napoléon logic

[@andreacummins1271]

king kong Different guy- but Napoleon III commissioned the invention of a cheap, transportable butter substitute.... They came up with Margarine!

[@andreacummins1271]

king kong Napoleon (THE Napoleon, not the one I just mentioned) was a bit of a genius- "A man does not have himself killed for a half-pence a day or a petty distinction, you must speak to the soul in order to electrify him" The basis for most military management ever since- Keep morale high, make them believe what they fight for.

[@alfredogarcia6332]

It's made to fit to different persons too. That's why you can start the day with a coffe or a tea or a chocolate beverage. You're not supposed to eat them all. lol. You can trade with your fellow soldiers.

[@gschultz9]

I have to admit that I don't know any good sources for French (or other international) rations. This one was sent to me to review by a subscriber. Check the comments for some suggestions that people have posted.

[@NGMonocrom]

Leave it to the French to make delicious MREs.

[@Cedewatt]

where is your country ?

[@alfredogarcia6332]

Between winning wars and eating well, we've made our choice ! lol

[@sarsky22]

Alfredo Garcia shithead

[@sarsky22]

it was not being a troll, I just wanted to insult this person...

[@TheMourot]

Alfredo Garcia That's good cause we do both = best military record in Europe.

[@VonHayes9]

This was unreal. Awesome setup.

[@gschultz9]

As mentioned in the Part One, I have no idea how to purchase these rations. One of my subscribers was kind enough to send one to me all the way from France! I'd love to get more, but will have to figure out where I can find them.

[@VA7BC]

Excellent review. Thank-you. The French MRE is certainly gourmet!

[@gschultz9]

Thank you. I've already been reminded of that a few times. Something I SHOULD have remembered from high school French class!

[@Newan42]

One of the best MRE in the world :)

[@chewychoui]

Petit Dejeuner means Breakfast (little lunch), Dejuener by itself is lunch. (: i'm a fan of your vids

[@gschultz9]

Yeah, many people have corrected me on that over the past couple of years. I wish I had remembered that little item from French I class in high school.

[@chewychoui]

Haha it's all good

[@guspaz]

That's actually regional. Déjeuner meant breakfast up until the 19th century in France, so in regions that split off from France before the 19th century (like here in Quebec, which split off in the 18th), it still means breakfast, but in France, it means lunch. In Quebec, we use "déjeuner" for breakfast and "dîner" for lunch.

[@chewychoui]

Ah i see (:

[@guspaz]

mizxe "souper", but you will often hear people talk about eating in less formal terms, like how people don't often say "I'm going to go get something for dinner", they would just say "I'm going to grab something to eat."

[@AshleyPomeroy]

Something about the metal thing at 1:51 impressed me immensely. They thought of everything.

[@zalnoor01]

The minute you pulled out the mini stove, I was done. Fancy Frenchmen lol love it!

[@gh0stofsparta85]

Dude, I love your MRE videos...and I have no idea why lol. Nicely done.

[@gschultz9]

That's a good question. You really do only seem to see fish in the flat cans like these. Of course there's tinned Spam and Deviled Ham and stuff like that, but the cans are taller and differently shaped. Good luck finding what you're looking for. I hope you find it.

[@alfredogarcia6332]

The chocolate cake can reads "nappage chocolat" , this means you should have a chocolate cream topping the cake. You should open the can, turn it upside down over a plate, make a hole in the bottom of the can and either you can shalke it of blow through the hole to help the cake get out of the can. And voilà ! You got your cake with chocolate topping cream. lol

[@cofrbooboo]

I wouldn't mind having a few of these French ration packs in storage myself! Much more appetizing than any MRE I've seen!

[@Amsayy]

I literally just read a comment saying America has never lost a war. What do they teach you people in that country my god.

[@gschultz9]

AmSay8D I don't think a comment on KZbin counts as an overall statement about what they're teaching people in this country.

[@paolosnasser1383]

AmSay8D While I'm sure the comment was meant to be provocative, it's not an indefensible statement. Many historians subscribe to the following narrative: Revolutionary War - Clear victory Indian Wars - Clear victory Barbary Wars - Clear victory War of 1812 - Stalemate Mexican-American War - Clear victory Civil War - Union maintained Spanish-American War - Clear victory Philippine-American War - Clear victory Banana Wars - Clear victory World War I - Clear victory World War II - Clear victory Cold War - Victory, despite proxy losses, i.e., Vietnam Gulf War - Clear victory Yugoslav Wars - Clear victory Global War on Terror - Military victory, despite political losses You could make a fair argument that the Russian Civil War was a US loss, but you'll probably get "British command, British loss" in response. You could also make a fair argument that the Cold War should be divided into each individual proxy, but it's not unreasonable to group them together. tl;dr: Dude was probably trolling, but still, 'Murica can definitely blow stuff up.

[@BattlegroundsFTW]

+Paolos Nasser Vietnam was only a loss in that the U.S.'s objectives weren't achieved, the U.S. pulled out in 1973, and the war ended in 1975.

[@MyMuleHasAName]

+AmSay8D Another stupid woman. Our country the USA is so much better to live in. Don't ask for a handout or help us end your wars which are always started because of colonial greed.

[@paolosnasser1383]

Colin G That's a valid point, but you can also define victory in terms of strategic objectives.

[@gschultz9]

I was very surprised to not find any sort of utensils included. Maybe French soldiers are issued eating utensils with their gear?

[@Ducesweden]

That does it, i'm joining the french foreign legion!

[@gschultz9]

You're welcome. I might have liked to hold onto this one for a while, but it was sent to me specifically to review. Hope you enjoyed the videos!

[@compound32]

Is there a way to melt the caramel on the chocolate cake?

[@alperez6752]

GIVE THIS MAN A COOKIE

[@Super_Maskass]

Hello, I'm French and to answer your questions you can find this MRE/RCIR at Ebay and some french militaryshop "surplus militaire". Infact we have 14 differents menu with different french specialities like deer, wild boar, hare, tartiflette, cassoulet, ...

[@gschultz9]

Exactly. Very good observations. It would be interesting to get the R&D people from some of the countries that make MREs/rations for their soldiers together and create one "super" MRE that combines all the good points of each one.

[@gschultz9]

Good question. No, it does look like it could be cheesy, but it was more of a gravy kind of a thing. After all these months I don't recall exactly what it tasted like, but it was very good.

[@colddrake80]

From the limited research I've done these rations are constructed from a lot of commercial components. In the military the attitude towards the end user is "they'll like what we tell them to like" not so with the general public. It would also be a hell of a lot cheaper to use commercially available products and the soldiers will be more accustomed to that kind of food. They do have some kind of concentrated or freeze dried ration for when the troops really need to travel light.

[@gschultz9]

Unfortunately I do not have those kind of contacts to get a regular supply of these. It was just a kind viewer who sent me this one. It's the only French ration I've ever had. I will try to do some more reviews, but don't know if I'll get around to doing them all.

[@Garcia1689]

Haven’t watched any of your videos in along time this French MRE video was my favorite to watch well one of them.

[@TheDirtyNorf]

They have the Andros Jam in the UK rations, getting those with the right biscuits is an amazing snack.

[@tomace1748]

This is the first MRE video I have watched that actually makes me hungry.

[@gschultz9]

I've only has U.S. MREs and this one RCIR. I'd like to try some more international ones, but haven't had the chance yet. The fuel tablets in this one were very good for heating the entrees. I'd recommend using one for each of the tins. I only use one and it didn't really heat up the second one all that great. There are six tabs included, so they might as well get used.

[@Jaybird196]

But..but..., where's the wine :( ? * * ;)

[@kingkong-qt7nm]

never whave wine in combat ration ...but Beer ...

[@Jaybird196]

king kong I've heard something about that. A beer ration, in lieu of water, or something like that. I believe was the Germans.

[@andreacummins1271]

British Navy had rum in it's ration until the 1970's.

[@Jaybird196]

Andrea Cummins ^_^

[@andreacummins1271]

Jaybird196 I wasn't in the British Navy in the 70's so I just took the book of trivia's word on it! ;-)

[@babysisv]

"Delicious!" LOL you're so cute trying all this stuff.

[@gschultz9]

Thank you. Unfortunately I don't really have any good sources for these RCIRs. As mentioned in the description, this one was sent to me to review by a very generous subscriber.

[@trippychill]

3:32 *best jaboody impersonation* "the fuck is that cat food?'

[@gschultz9]

Yeah, someone already corrected me on that one. I've forgotten more French than what I remember from high school!

[@gschultz9]

Thank you Henry. I hope you like the other videos too. This is the only one I've done on a French ration. The rest of them are on U.S. MREs (Meal, Ready to Eat). You'll find that they aren't quite as "real"-looking as this one. Certainly better than an edible paste, but just not quite as "gourmet" as these French ones!

[@MsSpy]

What a great review. Loved the close ups. You made me hungry.

[@gschultz9]

That's pretty much how I feel too. This ration has a lot of food in it (at least two MREs worth). While heating it with fire makes it feel like cooking over a campfire or something I do prefer the convenience and flexibility of the Flameless Ration Heater. It can be used in a lot more situations.

[@gschultz9]

Unfortunately I have no information about how to buy these. For the most part it would be very expensive to buy these and ship them to the U.S., but I"d imagine they'd be easier to come by and less expensive to ship to countries closer to France. I was lucky enough to have this one sent to me by a viewer who wanted to see it reviewed.

[@gschultz9]

Good question. Unfortunately I don't have a good answer. This one was sent to me by a generous viewer. Check the comments for suggestions as to where/how to buy these.

[@mesahusa]

after watching a ton of MRE videos, i feel like the US does a really shitty job of doing miliraty rations compared to other countries.

[@williamkelley1971]

Hey, know this is a long time ago, but the reason our rations aren’t very high quality or complex is because of the shear amount of them we have to produce. We have the most active military in the world by a long shot, and we have a much larger military than any country in Europe. That’s why their rations can be so much higher quality than US rations.

[@stanborg1545]

The stuff Europeans have, you can buy at the grocery store.

[@jimtalbott9535]

@@stanborg1545Which is almost exactly what the MRE manufacturers there do, in many cases. They’re just tied into the civilian product stream, pulling out what they need, and engineering what’s missing, in a nutritional sense, from the menu. And there’s also morale - give soldiers what’s familiar, and they’ll generally be happier.

[@jimtalbott9535]

Yeah, I can understand where that idea comes from. Like others have said, I think it’s a result of volume requirements, very strict nutritional rules, storage potentials (that is to say, how long it needs to remain edible in a certain temp range, etc), and the diversity of nutritional needs (Kosher, Halal, Vegitarian, etc.)

[@gschultz9]

I've gotten most of my MREs from eBay. You can also get them at other online sites that sell camping/survival stuff. This is actually the first international ration I've done a video for. The rest of my ration vids are of MREs.

[@gschultz9]

I would agree with that. Even though they're called "Combat Rations", they would seem more suitable to resting up in a green zone well behind the lines.

[@gschultz9]

The nougat stuff was very good indeed. I don't think I'd had any of that stuff since I was a kid. You're right, the French do know their food!

[@gschultz9]

That's entirely possible. As I've mentioned, I only have a limited background in French. But it does appear that a certain kind of bean is referred to (in English at least) as haricot beans. Google "haricot beans" to see.

[@gschultz9]

Yes, I did eat it later on. It was a while back but I remember it being very good. It's hard to go wrong with chocolate!

[@gschultz9]

Thank you for the kind words. Yes, it was very tasty indeed!

[@Kanekals]

There are no words for this video... Literally

[@gschultz9]

They both were! I'm glad they were heated up too, that probably helped. The pate (despite how it looked) was also very tasty.

[@SecurityPro2704]

This was definitely a full day ration. The only problem with the tins is they do tend to be much heavier and not to easiest to dispose of when hiking. Remember pack out what you pack in to the field. This MRE definitely looked tastier than most MRE's I've eaten. For hiking though I do like the Budget Gourmet brand of meals.

[@pinz2022]

Interesting that they included water purification tabs. From Michael Yon's blog it seems we spend incredible amounts schlepping bottled water to the troops in the field...even when portable water filtration units would be more practicable.

[@bbjd9328]

I understand from a friend that you need to pull the lid further back and stir to keep from boiling over--also it cooks quicker.

[@gschultz9]

They're very different things.The RCIR is designed for 24 hours of eating, while the MRE is supposed to be a single meal (meaning that it would take 3 MREs to equal what this is supposed to supply). On that point I guess the RCIR would be easier to carry into a combat zone for a day's worth of food. Overall the food in the RCIR tastes better. On the other hand, the plastic MRE bag is more suited to harsh weather. And The MRE doesn't need a fire to heat up the food (if you want it heated).

[@gschultz9]

There's definitely good and bad about all the different rations. I like the fact that these come in cardboard that can be burned or left to biodegrade, but wondered about their effectiveness in wet weather too. In part one you can see that they do come wrapped in plastic, so as long as the plastic wrap is on it shouldn't be a problem.

[@md10591]

in my time in the french army ( 1968 ) , the powder you are mixing in the water ( orange or citrus ) we were using it to lit a fire !!! that stuff is like a real fire work !!!! and in the combat ration , always a litlle bootle of booze , no more ??

[@gschultz9]

Have you tried MREs? It may be more food than it appears in the videos. The serving sizes of the entrees certainly aren't huge, but I do find the meals pretty filling.

[@gschultz9]

I agree. I'd love to find more of these, but don't know of a good (and cheap) source.

[@arifbudiman6740]

I'm drooling while watching this video, can civilian buy that ? looks tasty.

[@madmax2069]

yes, Amazon has quite a few different MREs from different countries (USA, Russian and so fourth).

[@telemachin]

french MRE are mostly made from "of the shelf" products, i'm french and i think i can find 80% of this products in my next door supermarket.

[@gschultz9]

A very general price is around ten bucks. That's pretty expensive, but you can find them cheaper if you look around, and especially if you're willing to send the money on a case (or more) o make the per meal price lower.

[@copsrhot1]

I like the little tin take off the stove thing

[@gschultz9]

The little handle? That's a GREAT addition to this one!

[@gschultz9]

Can't really argue with any of those points. The only thing I know for sure is that this was quite tasty. And I agree, the whole idea of using a stove and flammable heating tablet seems almost "old fashioned" today. It certainly does its job under ideal conditions, but it's hard to imagine that someone in a real combat situation would be able to properly heat any of this stuff.

[@gschultz9]

MREs can be found pretty easily on eBay and at Army/Navy stores as well as some web-based camping/surplus stores. International rations like these French ones are harder to find (and more expensive). I don't really even know a good place to look for them--someone sent this one to me to review.

[@hrdknox2000]

It actually looks pretty good! To be honest, I knew a guy who while in Iraq was issued ONE MRE for like four guys! You can imagine how hungry those guys were after that mission! In that case, a 24 hour ration would be easier to dispense to the troops. That cake in a can looks quite tasty, too!

[@gschultz9]

You know, I remember when we were doing training in the desert I would bring along a helmet bag filled with goodies that I bought at the PX. I'll bet that if someone wanted to buy a few of their own international rations they could probably bring them along (as long as there was room in their bags). People get care packages with cookies and stuff--why not an RCIR or two?

[@kebabtank]

Thank you for your prompt reply. I'm glad you enjoyed the chocolate. I enjoyed your review so much, that just bought a meal No 14 ration pack on Ebay!

[@gschultz9]

Thanks for the information. What a great variety of foods!

[@gschultz9]

I'd like to do another one, but don't expect to get another one any time soon.

[@gschultz9]

No. It seems to have everything you'd need EXCEPT for any kind of eating utensils. I don't know if French soldiers are issue a set of utensils with their gear or how they are expected to eat the rations.

[@hjwpumps9574]

I was thinking they would also get a glass of wine to.

[@sunyoungcho8837]

Only for the old ones

[@DieselDemon18]

Where do I get one of these? that looks delecious! Also you know it's serious business when the heater comes with a steel plate. Haha

[@gschultz9]

I was kind of under that impression too. Either this isn't a type of ration that includes it, or they have indeed gotten rid of it (kind of like how U.S. rations used to include cigarettes). I'm not really sure.

[@DMK000]

Props to the French. That meal actually looks very good.

[@senseihEnRY16]

this is my first time watching a review of military ration and i must admit i never expect it to look like a real food. I thought it would be in form of paste so it would be easy to eat. I even thought the mint tea is a ready to drink tea ^_^ never imagine a soldier fill up his/her canteen with a tea. Very,very good video, gonna watch your other videos!

[@gschultz9]

They are pretty full. I guess you'd have to hope for a quiet time to eat them so you could concentrate on keeping them level and not have it spill all over the place. I can't really imagine trying to eat one of these meals (with both tins open at the same time) in a foxhole--especially if they're heated up and hard to hold onto.

[@NotanotherAlpaca]

This looks like it was for two days rather than one so much in that one box :D great vid btw.

[@thecman26]

That actually looks pretty good! Bravo! Job well done!

[@Hammertime165]

I used one of these during a weekend trip with some friends and an expert in the non-tourist parts of the marl caves on the dutch/belgian border where we slept for one night inside the caves. They are really efficient however it was making an awfull lot of noise with the metal jumping around the box wich wasn't really nice since the caves are homes for bats. However the food was really good.

[@turtlebuttmudd]

Oh my god. That looks fantastic.

[@RecicledCanadian]

Thank you. Excellent review and very fine French cuisine.

[@gschultz9]

They both were very good indeed. Unfortunately, I don't know of any convenient or affordable way to get these in the States. eBay (especially European versions) and other online sources are probably the best bet.

[@gschultz9]

How are the British ones? I've never had one, and some people have been commenting that they're not that good. True?

[@gschultz9]

Thanks a lot MsSpy! The French should take most of the credit for making you hungry--it's pretty good food!

[@nikosfilipino]

this is something us survival guys would like because of the flexability. boil water with the can, it comes with the stove, water tabs, and a trashbag for emergency shelter or rain gear. much more useful to us wilderness survival/self relience guys than an mre

[@MsSpy]

French rations are impressive. German rations are impressive too. It probably all tastes the same (as US rations), but the way they package it makes it look more appealing.

[@gschultz9]

Cool. Thanks for checking!

[@StephyLynn]

Wish I could get a hold of some of these. Very neat!

[@kickinbackinOC]

It's so good, it reminds you of the comforts of home, so you'd rather call the whole war off, and surrender! (Je plaisantais autour, mon ami!) The whole kit looks much more palatable than an MRE. This cheers you up, when you are feeling miserable. Has a positive effect on morale. It's got more heating power than a FRH, so you don't have to choose between heating your entre, or heating your hot chocolate. You can heat everything, and then some. Plus there is more toilet paper!

[@gschultz9]

Very interesting. Thank you for the information!

[@gschultz9]

Thanks. Yeah, I should have double-checked that before saying anything. A number of people who know French a lot better than I have corrected me on that one!

[@martinblank2]

Great Editing and great shots.

[@gschultz9]

It's quite a variety of food choices!

[@gschultz9]

I don't know. I think we get along pretty well.