MRE Review: MCW Menu No.7 Beef Stew (Meal, Cold Weather)

[@BigScreenViewing]

I don't know why I find your videos so fascinating. I've been watching them non-stop for the past two days (in loo of doing my work). Maybe I find it intriguing to see how developed nations (such as ours) solve the issue of feeding its troops on an individual menu item basis. Maybe it's how you're able to speak plainly and honestly, which is suitable for this subject matter, or maybe seeing these things remind of my dad's old war stories and his "unique" fondness towards C-rations. Either way; these are great videos, you have my compliments and take care of those girls who seem to really enjoy wheat snack bread (you have to be pretty special to like that stuff).

[@gschultz9]

Thank you for the kind words. I don't know why you'd find them fascinating either, but if you do then I'm glad to hear it!

[@blakris9382]

gschultz9 i hate people who speak for hours and hours; Your videos are just perfect. Do you want to try some french MRE?

[@gschultz9]

I'd LOVE to be able to try some more French rations!

[@blakris9382]

gschultz9 Dude give me your address, i live in france. I ll send you some.

[@gschultz9]

Really? Send me a PM!

[@N0616JCProductions]

Holy crap, that a lot of Tootsie Rolls. o.O And You sir, just made me hungry......

[@AirynnAlysha]

Yeah... Im hungry right now

[@hrdknox2000]

The MCW (formerly known as the RCW, or Ration, Cold Weather) is the protégé of the Long Rang Patrol ration, LRP, called "LuRPs" for short, which were introduced in the Vietnam War. These were so prized by the guys who got them that when they came home, one of the vets who'd started a camping store contacted Oregon Freeze Dry and bought all of their remaining stock to be sold for camping purposes. It sold out quickly! They regrouped and began to make the meals again, this time called "Mountain House", which is still in existence today. I too liked those chocolate covered cookies! I liked even more the old MRE brownies that looked like that. I have a buddy who was in Iraq during the 2003 invasion and he said they started sending them MCWs in place of some MREs, as the MCWs pack MORE calories than the regular MRE. It may not look like a lot of food, but like you said the entree's bigger. The idea is that, at least with the LuRP rat, that you pack more calories to keep the soldier going while reducing the amount of food and subsequently weight and space taken up in a rucksack, a soldier has to carry. This allows them to carry more mission essential items....and the freeze dried meals, in my opinion, taste better!

[@Bucky1836]

Mountain house is civilian version Oregon Freeze Dry still makes Entree fro MCW/LRP.....better ration imho.....

[@Punkfunkster]

It's 3am, why am I watching this? I can't stop...I just subscribed.

[@kickinbackinOC]

The sequence of presentation in the MRE vids is done very well, with good sound, good focus, and even close-ups so we can see the texture of the food. The POV perspective is perfect, just like we were opening the packaging personally. The tray/plate is a perfect prop for displaying the contents, and actually has become "part of the furniture" in these videos. All in all, very nice videos, lots of fun to watch. I think I'm not alone in saying "thanks"!

[@gschultz9]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@MrJkca]

I have no interest in this kind of thing. I have no interest in going outside and using these things. But somehow i found your channel and i subscribed a few months back and have watched and enjoyed every video of yours... Strange internet

[@Andovarius]

Another great review! It is getting hard to even offer you constructive criticism because you are getting so polished at this. Always enjoyable. Thanks!

[@KarlHeger]

Astreine Ostertour mit optimaler Besetzung. Habe mich wieder ein paar mal am Boden geringelt vor lachen. Tolle Tour mit lachen ohne Ende. Danke das ich wieder dabei sein durfte. LG Carlos

[@TheMulticamfan]

Always interesting, I've never been able to find these though.

[@kickinbackinOC]

You should think about doing narration for movies or documentaries. The issue is this- Your voice has a mellow, mid-range character, that records well. And your honest-sounding stream-of-thought reaches the listener, and strikes a common chord.. I think all the above is partly why you have over 10k subs. I suspect they are not all MRE fans, per se. Your videos are like a little adventure with a good friend.

[@Schone23666]

Having a few hexamine tablets along with a folding portable heater (like you find in some foreign MRE's like the German ones) IMO would be pretty helpful in these MCW's. That way it'd be easier to warm up the water in your canteen cup for this meal.

[@gschultz9]

Schone23666 Very true.

[@razzgaminghd8072]

+Schone23666 I swear the beef stew looks like shit

[@stabulouskoda834]

Schone23666 yeah it would but that would also cost more so they don't ha

[@sharonmaurer2882]

Really enjoyed this ration. I am hooked on watching you and other guys. This is my viewing of choice at night. I like some tv programs but find these enjoyable to view:)

[@E.TGropeHome]

Your suppose to add a bit more water than normal for a good soupy/ so everything gets rehydrated as well. Don't mix too much or the potatoes turn to mash n the whole thing turns into sorts like stuffing

[@sherriwilliams6963]

Good review. Not bad for 9 year meal. I think I would prefer this freeze dried pack to the moist stuff.

[@Hyack57]

Listening to you prepare and eat an MRE is the food equivalent to Bob Ross painting. So soothing. Do you fully consume the meal after taping?

[@strategy]

Have you ever gotten sick after consuming old/out of date menus?

[@donniedarko979]

The lifespan of MRE's are amazing.

[@heatherdavis771]

My husband brings these home when he comes back from the field

[@DrBobaliscious]

This meal would have been perfect for Strategic Air Command Camper Alert Teams, but alas, it was way after SAC shut down! I'm sure some variant of it is being used by Global Strike Command Alert Teams. These guys were sent out to "babysit" a nuclear missile when it started reporting gibberish to the launch capsule. The various Alert Teams guarded the missile 24/7 in weather that approached (-100 degrees below zero) until maintenance teams could be generated to fix the missile. Great review!

[@tincans0]

I have no idea why this is interesting to watch

[@witherdrive]

The cider is also quite lovely warm!

[@ShawnSatterfield]

Thanks for another great vid

[@DragonAurora]

WTF?!! They have cold weather and breakfast meals now?? Wow I would have loved having those back when I served.

[@jasonscollection6357]

question: After the reviews are done do you finish off the rest of the meal? considering that was a massive amount of beef stew lol

[@gschultz9]

+CodeWorldGaming In general I do eat everything. After doing these for quite a few years now though, I will sometimes try to give my body a break and leave some on the plate (especially if it's not the best). This was indeed a LOT of beef stew, but it was also quite good, so it was all eaten!

[@Crafter1992]

I've bought a case of MREs just try try them out and so far they have been quite good. Honestly if I were to live on these for few month I wouldn't complain.

[@LegalizeTheNuclearBomb]

how's life over 2 years later?

[@Crafter1992]

Pretty good. Weird of you to ask.

[@LegalizeTheNuclearBomb]

Crafter1992 How so? A lot of things can happen in the span of 2 years.

[@Crafter1992]

k Yes, but usually total strangers don't ask about each others lives on KZbin. Even if I told you how my life is you wouldn't exactly care would you? Since you don't know me.

[@LegalizeTheNuclearBomb]

Crafter1992 No I don't really care but this comment was posted 2 years ago I kinda wanted to reply

[@dooka74]

I want to try an LRP which as you probably know is what they use for cold weather as of now. They have the normal brown MRE style packaging and them they have the white cold weather packaging.

[@GunsNMoney357]

In all honesty, Beef Stew is my personal favorite out of all of the MREs.

[@Manoel1978Alves]

Just a great vid! Thanks for the review and sharing! I am a bit envy of you, its almost impossible to get MRE where i live!

[@joelmcdowell8232]

that really looks really good. if you got the condiment packets in that, you could hit that with some hot sauce and spice it up a little. M.R.E.s are pretty awesome from what I have tried.

[@cmr1177]

Ok, this is a dumb question but here goes...would the date code 4057 be 2004 or 2014?

[@gschultz9]

Not a dumb question at all. Because the government chose to go with a four-digit date code rather than a five-digit one that will always be a possible problem. You basically need to know a few things about the MRE to be sure: was the menu around in 2004? What is the bag design like? They didn't really intend for MREs to sit around for 10+ years without being used or rotated out, so I guess they didn't figure it would be a problem. Check out my video on date codes for more information on the subject.

[@SecretcyisEstacy]

do you eat the mre for every meal of the day.

[@Jaybird196]

Congratulations! You've put me in the mood for beef stew ^_^ .

[@marshallhippie]

very glad i found this channel .... keep them coming =)

[@daturner1985]

This is so relaxing for some reason. Haha. Great review as always.

[@tristenreeder7248]

does the meal come with the tray? or did you buy it and come separate

[@kuzmakrasko6884]

gschultz9, How would you feel if I'd sent you some Russian military rations foods?

[@Jaybird196]

I'm not Gschultz9, obviously, but that would be really cool to see :) . I would hope you would perhaps give him some sort of sheet identifying what each item is, as while I do not know, I don't think he speaks Russian.

[@kuzmakrasko6884]

Jaybird196 Translating it is not a problem! I can do it.

[@Jaybird196]

Кузьма Краско Awesome :) ! If he takes you up on your offer, I'd certainly enjoy seeing/hearing about it, as previously mentioned, and I'm reasonably sure that he'd appreciate your help.

[@kuzmakrasko6884]

Jaybird196 The Russian meal has lot of good stuff in it, usually some kind of stew, some canned meat and a fish item like Sprats, also with items you might find hard to get in a combat zone like cigarettes, candy and such.. Also has a small stove for heating, I think compare to USA meals, it's better stocked.

[@Jaybird196]

Кузьма Краско 'Sounds like quite a nice meal. As a current smoker myself, I do like the idea of the cigarettes, cancer worries, mild temporary impairment of the shooting eye, and fear of being discovered via "smoker's cough", not withstanding ;) . I also like the stove idea. 'Very handy, should you need to re-heat your meal and keep it hot in the cold weather Russia, and places near it are known for. Personally, I think the French and British have the best meals, but I say so without having seen everyone's complete selection, so take this opinion with a grain of salt ;) .

[@indyracingnut]

I'm surprised they didn't throw in a heater bag & drink bag in that. Might come in handy given the number of drinks they provide....at least they'd have something to mix the drinks in besides a coffee mug and a glass like you're using.

[@4k8t]

I wonder how the beef stew would have come out if there was only body temperature water to do the reconstituting?

[@gschultz9]

+4k8t I'm guessing (but don't know for sure) that it wouldn't be quite as good (if "good" is the right word to describe how it came out!). It probably wouldn't have reconstituted all the way, or taken a lot longer to do so.

[@ricklane8554]

Nice review, without a bell in the intro, happy new year my friend *

[@trishoconnor2169]

What amazes me is the number of sweet items in each meal. I know one needs a lot of calories in a combat situation, and especially in cold weather, but I would think you'd get a "crash" after the sugar high after eating a meal with three desserts. Wouldn't swapping out one or two desserts with some foods with more fat and complex carbs but less sugar give soldiers longer-lasting energy?

[@MinMinn192]

But you don't need to eat all of them at once...

[@CAMSLAYER13]

+Trish O'Connor they are more used as snacks throughout the day to keep a solder going.

[@trishoconnor2169]

That does make sense. I would think the idea snack would be something like peanut M&Ms, because it combines the sugar with protein.

[@CAMSLAYER13]

they do often contain nuts and fruit in the meals

[@Lazyboy230]

i was thinking the same thinking lmao

[@celerlike]

Your videos look pretty cool, I'm going to subscribe. Also I'v never had a MRE, are they like food in a can and does it taste like food in a can.

[@Riverside69]

They taste like an MRE!!! You gotta try it first and then you'll understand!

[@DinoHunter56]

These MCW's are really intelligently designed. They are smart enough to put more food because soldiers burn more calories in cold conditions.

[@picoloyoshi95]

is the gum from these things any good? they look like they would be bland.

[@born2tx]

The Tabasco is handy to help kill bacteria, the vinegar in it helps with that, just like eating raw oysters. That's why they serve Tabasco with the oysters. Thats the theory anyways...whens its dried out like this one its useless. Maybe why the newer packets are in plastic packs?

[@portalplayer]

these are really interesting to me for some odd reason. This meal looks actually more tasty than the other ones do.

[@105Banana]

What US operations have required the use of these? I don't know of any off the top of my head

[@matthewpinon8515]

Most likely for sniper missions where the soldier would be hidden and safe.

[@MsMrfantasMO]

What kind of knife did you use to cut open the beef stew bag?

[@gschultz9]

A Gerber EVO

[@singhavong479]

U can get them at any army or military supply stores....

[@stu110213]

Have you ever gotten sick from eating a old mre?

[@Johnyrocket70]

cold weather mre's have more calories for the cold weather. I was stationed in Alaska. mre heaters come in the case.

[@kristjan9941]

Where do you get the MRE's ?

[@kumbackquatsta]

can a frh heat up a frozen mre main meal?

[@thenolifegamer8520]

Wow the army's defiantly getting healthy with these

[@GreasyBaconBro]

3:34 Probaly named like that to make the eater/user of the MCW a little bit warm from the inside because it's a tootsie roll.

[@billyw.6121]

soo...uhh, funny story. as im watching this, im eating an old spaghetti with meat and sauce entree from an MRE from the 80's when my dad was in the service. He claims they last for a long time, but ill be the judge of that. dumb? probably. but honestly, it tastes like chef boyardee, its pretty good

[@BackRewind]

The MCW says Evansville, IN, is there anything important bout the location

[@gschultz9]

That's where the Ameriqual company is located. It's where the MCW was packaged.

[@Jackledead]

Hungry now. Love these videos.

[@ataylorai1]

Great review and thank you for sharing.

[@Damaku250]

I was wondering what the appeal to these things was but I figure it's like a Lunchables for adults

[@hobobob68]

Do MREs companies accommodate for people that have allergies or are vegitarian?

[@Jaybird196]

Vegetarians, yes, to some small extent. Allergy sufferers? To the best of my knowledge, no.

[@jacobgreve802]

What kind of tray is that?

[@panchomagana333]

Do you eat the entire meal?

[@joewong7628]

Where do you get this?

[@thisthatboy]

that MRE was packaged on my exact 1st birthday!

[@thisthatboy]

My birthday is February 15, 2004.

[@vikasjsheth]

Yay!

[@khuaplox]

You expend more calories in cold climates. That might be why these MCWs have more food compared with the regular MREs.

[@cheetochinpo]

I imagine they'd melt snow for that hot water.

[@honey2kisss]

Great review as always :)

[@DarbyIsAwsome811]

Any one know were I can find one of these

[@lilywagner7973]

There seems to be a lot of dessert type items in this mre.

[@thehankman100]

I've had Beef Stew but not in a cold weather version like this.

[@thehankman100]

And it was pretty good.

[@Rebel_Railroad_Productions]

Where do you get these MREs? Are you in the military or do you buy them online?

[@SirDankington]

These are civilian mre`s that you can buy on eBAY

[@Rebel_Railroad_Productions]

Hajlakan Oh that's cool that they sell the civilian ones on eBAY. I'm pretty sure that you have to be in the military to get the military grade MRE's. I could be wrong though.

[@nmstranger]

u can get military mre's from an army surplus store

[@nmstranger]

TheRedNeckGamer777 your wrong you can get military ones from an army surplus store

[@Rebel_Railroad_Productions]

nmstranger Okay so you can at Army Surplus stores. Where else could you get them? I guess I have an interest in them ever since I saw the movie Tremors 2. One of the characters had a shit ton of MREs.

[@jacobgreve802]

The reason for the extra food is to compensate for calorie loss from your body keeping itself warm.

[@sasukekyuubi]

Where can i find a tray like this? Anyone know?

[@awsomehobbies]

I've seen some on army surplus store web sites, amazon, eBay, etc.

[@torn223ayyyye]

I wonder how soldiers in -10 -20 C temperatures heat frozen meals without having access to hot water.

[@DMac51147]

they would eat it without constituting it

[@jacobgreve802]

Commercial Sale is Unlawful...Right.

[@Maxreddyrusty]

You should give it a review out of 10 1 being horrible 10 being amazing

[@patio87]

Lol, do you take coffee with your cream and sugar?

[@Hyack57]

How would one consume frozen tootsie rolls without doing serious dental damage? Haha

[@leighrate]

For choice put it in a mess tin, add water heat slowly.

[@WaiChungBastien]

It doesn't make sense this wouldn't include a flameless ration heater (or 2).

[@finianmoran8869]

The food in these is freeze dried so there is no need for an frh

[@hamsack981]

this is the best looking one

[@khyrongozalo8801]

That mcw was packaged on my birthday

[@dbucco]

can u get MREs besides ebay

[@SamuraiPie8111]

they sell some at Army Navy surplus stores or outdoor's stores, like hunting or fishing places. online is probably the easiest way to buy them.

[@darrenjonathan4025]

i dont know why,but i like watching MRE or MCW better than watching a real food :/

[@cookiekill27]

Your voice is so clam you advertise or idk do somthing with ur voice :D haha great video firend i hope you try some Korean mres they are wierd but good also try the english rations there quite nice thanks for another great video (:

[@aserta]

You'd think that for a cold environment they'd put a little more importance on the mental stimuli. I mean it's kinda disappointing visually when you open this. To me at least.

[@vikasjsheth]

I still don't understand the point of having a freeze dried meal and then adding hot water to it...I think it would be better if they just gave collapsible stove and food in cans like the French MRE! The food would taste fresh and satisfying!

[@gschultz9]

I agree that it seems kind of strange. Basically it's a trade-off of weight over convenience. A standard MRE would be a LOT easier to eat in the field (either hot or cold), but carrying enough for a long range patrol would be very heavy. By substituting freeze-dried entrees there is a lot of weight saved. I'm sure that getting the boiling water to reconstitute could be an issue in some situations, but once you do manage to reconstitute the entree it also makes a lot more food than a standard MRE entree (this one was 16 oz, where a regular MRE spaghetti with meat sauce entree is only 8 oz).

[@boasking2468]

Good review

[@Garcia1689]

Can you do an eversafe meal kit review please??? You would do way better than me if i did it.

[@gschultz9]

I haven't had Eversafe MREs yet. When I get my hands on one I'll definitely make a video of it!

[@Vsor]

Who drinks spiced cider cold?

[@gschultz9]

Me.

[@blablablablabla3959]

you dont put the cream and sugar firs those are the last things you put in lol!!

[@OnionRingsGaming]

I'm stupid, I commented on your LRP video and asked how the food heated up, duh... hot water. Thought you used cold and there was some magic reaction...

[@GreasyBaconBro]

It's with the use of a flameless ration heater, the bag thingy. It heats up because of a chemical reaction somewhat like this: Mg + 2H2O → Mg(OH)2 + H2 [+ heat] No worry if you don't understand it, but that is something like chemical + Water = 100 F (56 C) in 12 minutes.

[@GreasyBaconBro]

Or just hot water itself xp

[@E.TGropeHome]

+SSninja well to bad you still learn

[@DBZfan1433]

i think the pound cake is one of the best in MRE's

[@cityassassin]

What is a poundcake?

[@jamestachikara1327]

It is a cake originally made with 1 pound of each ingredient

[@Crohniponi]

A teacher at my school has the same last name as u and we r from the same state

[@ozzyfanforlife1]

hey can you send me one?

[@BabyMachine]

You're left-handed?

[@jordanbonnaire7134]

Probably for two people

[@xenery1171]

I feel like this taste really f ing good😄😛😑

[@kickinbackinOC]

At 00:27, it says "xxcorrutionable". (Missing the "p") I'm so lovable......

[@gschultz9]

Wow, how the heck did I NOT see that while editing this video?!? Oh well, I'll just have to be that much more careful in the future...