Field rations of the world

[bojan]

Next time order tea in the "bricks"

Edited January 21, 2022 by bojan

[sunday]

7 minutes ago, bojan said:

Next time order tea in the "bricks"

Loose leaf for me ATM. However, it is easy to see how compressed tea was preferred for transport.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed_tea

[DKTanker]

4 hours ago, bojan said:

Next time order tea in the "bricks"

If it weren't for the designs it would look like a block of hash.

[Tim Sielbeck]

And some idiot has probably tried to smoke it.

[DB]

The extended steeping time for UK traditional tea (typically 4-5 minutes) is associated with the use of milk and sugar, which would otherwise mask the taste. I find that typical English teabags (say Yorkshire Tea, PG, Tetley, Typhoo...) become undrinkable without milk if brewed for that length of time. I much abbreviated approach is necessary for black* tea.

* "!black" as in without milk.

I suspect that Sunday has had a tea epiphany similar to mine when I moved from instant coffee to using a home espresso machine. 

[sunday]

1 hour ago, DB said:

I suspect that Sunday has had a tea epiphany similar to mine when I moved from instant coffee to using a home espresso machine. 

Could be, could be. 

Even some middling-fancy Indian teabags of black tea gain when stepped 2 minutes, and then stepped again 2 or 4 times for one minute. Also, now I understand the concept of an electric kettle, and the need for boiling vessels in AFVs.

Edited January 24, 2022 by sunday

[DB]

ONE OF US! ONE OF US!

[sunday]

5 minutes ago, DB said:

ONE OF US! ONE OF US!

Not really, still wanting to get Gibraltar back! 😜

[bojan]

2 hours ago, DB said:

ONE OF US! ONE OF US!

You know that Russians drink tea like crazy?

[sunday]

19 minutes ago, bojan said:

You know that Russians drink tea like crazy?

They have no tanks with samovars, I think.

[DB]

China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia, Japan. You have about half the world right there before you even get to the UK.

I wonder if Arjun has a BV?

[rmgill]

On 1/1/2022 at 5:24 PM, Rick said:

teabags or loose powder or leaves?

I've made up loose powder for events. Pre-mixed sugar and dried milk. Works pretty well. But PG Tips and other stuff is obviously better. 

 

On 1/2/2022 at 10:04 AM, DB said:

WTF is powdered tea?

Tea was powdered and mixed with sugar and dried milk for emergency rations. Since there's only one way to have tea, it was basically instant tea after boiling up water. 

[DougRichards]

On 1/24/2022 at 10:05 PM, DB said:

The extended steeping time for UK traditional tea (typically 4-5 minutes) is associated with the use of milk and sugar, which would otherwise mask the taste. I find that typical English teabags (say Yorkshire Tea, PG, Tetley, Typhoo...) become undrinkable without milk if brewed for that length of time. I much abbreviated approach is necessary for black* tea.

* "!black" as in without milk.

I suspect that Sunday has had a tea epiphany similar to mine when I moved from instant coffee to using a home espresso machine. 

I start my morning with a large mug with two tea bags.  The next cup uses those same tea bags with an additional bag, then the next three plus one and then onward.  That suits me.

 

[DB]

Seems to me that you should consider using a teapot. I've known of people who "freshen" a pot with new boiling water, but you must have a monster sized mug to fit 3 tea bags and enough water to make for a drink!

[sunday]

I use a device like this one, and infuse one set of loose leaves 4 or 5 times, depending on the type of tea. For some it is 2 minutes first time, then 3 or 4, or more, during 60 seconds.

https://www.thewhitecompany.com/row/Glass-Infusion-Teacup-/p/GLHCI

[DougRichards]

9 hours ago, DB said:

Seems to me that you should consider using a teapot. I've known of people who "freshen" a pot with new boiling water, but you must have a monster sized mug to fit 3 tea bags and enough water to make for a drink!

Sometimes it is five tea bags, but that is after the first four have already gone through the process.

I have a small teapot, but it is only about one and a half mug capacity and yes I do also have loose leaf tea.

From my schoolboy cadet days I remember the 'tea bag' issues as a component of a section one day ration pack,  it was about 10cm by 7cm and at least a centimetre thick and made of heat resistant plastic.  You poked holes in it with your fork, then boiled it until the water had a consistency of stew.  Then you kept it, hanging it from a twig on the branch of a tree or similar, until you used it at lunch, and again the same until evening, and then the evening brew.  The evening brew being creamed with the condensed milk can that had been saved from exploding in the camp fire (for fun - yes hot condensed milk being splurted everywhere) or had not been used as an accompaniment to the canned 'baked goods' (think canned Christmas pudding but plainer) that were included in the ration boxes

There were probably campfire recipes that included canned potatoes and condensed milk, or fried 'luncheon meat' or 'camp pie' (think bland corned beef or spam) that used that same condensed milk, probably blended with canned tomato sauce and maybe curry powder.

 

================

Edit: Damn! I have some luncheon meat, some condensed milk, canned potatoes, curry powder, tomato sauce............. DINNER tomorrow night!

++++++++++

Quoting from an old Gordon Lightfoot song:  "Living on stew and drinking bad whiskey........."

(Canadian Railroad Trilogy)

Life as a only single man with no one else to worry about.

Edited March 12, 2022 by DougRichards
more info.....

[Rick]

8 hours ago, DougRichards said:

Sometimes it is five tea bags, but that is after the first four have already gone through the process.

I have a small teapot, but it is only about one and a half mug capacity and yes I do also have loose leaf tea.

From my schoolboy cadet days I remember the 'tea bag' issues as a component of a section one day ration pack,  it was about 10cm by 7cm and at least a centimetre thick and made of heat resistant plastic.  You poked holes in it with your fork, then boiled it until the water had a consistency of stew.  Then you kept it, hanging it from a twig on the branch of a tree or similar, until you used it at lunch, and again the same until evening, and then the evening brew.  The evening brew being creamed with the condensed milk can that had been saved from exploding in the camp fire (for fun - yes hot condensed milk being splurted everywhere) or had not been used as an accompaniment to the canned 'baked goods' (think canned Christmas pudding but plainer) that were included in the ration boxes

There were probably campfire recipes that included canned potatoes and condensed milk, or fried 'luncheon meat' or 'camp pie' (think bland corned beef or spam) that used that same condensed milk, probably blended with canned tomato sauce and maybe curry powder.

 

================

Edit: Damn! I have some luncheon meat, some condensed milk, canned potatoes, curry powder, tomato sauce............. DINNER tomorrow night!

++++++++++

Quoting from an old Gordon Lightfoot song:  "Living on stew and drinking bad whiskey........."

(Canadian Railroad Trilogy)

Life as a only single man with no one else to worry about.

I faintly remember Marines burning peanut butter that came in those small, C-Rat cans. I think the reason was, well, because they could.

[Tim Sielbeck]

On 3/12/2022 at 4:00 AM, Rick said:

I faintly remember Marines burning peanut butter that came in those small, C-Rat cans. I think the reason was, well, because they could.

The Army had more than a few people like that.

[bojan]

Some Israelis told me that they used to heat tuna cans by putting a piece of paper in the partially open can to serve as a wick and then lighting it, burning the oil that tuna was preserved in.

 

[Rick]

Had a random thought this weekend wondering if company size formations could do away with field kitchens from W.W.2 onward  and rely on canned or packaged rations with fuel tablets, individual stoves, etc.?

[R011]

2 hours ago, Rick said:

Had a random thought this weekend wondering if company size formations could do away with field kitchens from W.W.2 onward  and rely on canned or packaged rations with fuel tablets, individual stoves, etc.?

Even well devidsed preserved rations get tiesome and lack nutrients after a while. It's also expensive.  If you can serve one proper hot meal a day, you get a better diet and higher morale.

[DougRichards]

The advice that I received as a cadet in 1970 (I was all of 13) when being instructed about ten man ration packs is that they were considered to be satisfactory for three or four days, at which time fresh food (ie vegetables and fruit that was not canned) was really required.  The ten man packs had tinned meat, tinned fruit, potatoes, what could pass for stew ('braised steak'), tinned baked goods, tea, coffee, tomato sauce, vegemite (of course) condensed milk, pepper, salt, sugar, curry powder (to put in the stews for variety).  

Not too many fresh vitamins there, but a couple of fresh meals a week should deal with the threat of scurvy.

We also got a packet of what, one hundred and ten years before on another continent, would have been called hard tack.  Luckily they were not weevil castles. 

It had been noted that around 30 years before, the Japanese troops that were the opponents in Papua New Guinea had vials of vitamin tablets, but these were not included, at least not 1970 to 1973, in Australian section ration packs.

Those were the ration packs issued to Australian troops in Vietnam. 

[Mike1158]

We never did rely on ration packs, we always had tea and coffee etc, alongside herbs etc so whatever we ate or drank it hardly represented the packs at all.  Something prized by crews was the occasional tin of Salmon and the ration sausage was magic, one of the great sarnie constituents available.  A BV with a ready supply of tea additive was a must at all times.  NOTHING puts an RSM or whatnot in a better mood on exercise than a hot brew on tap.

[Rick]

17 hours ago, Mike1158 said:

We never did rely on ration packs, we always had tea and coffee etc, alongside herbs etc so whatever we ate or drank it hardly represented the packs at all.  Something prized by crews was the occasional tin of Salmon and the ration sausage was magic, one of the great sarnie constituents available.  A BV with a ready supply of tea additive was a must at all times.  NOTHING puts an RSM or whatnot in a better mood on exercise than a hot brew on tap.

Due R.S.M., and others, routinely use sugar, or other things in the tea or do most folks drink tea straight?

[Mike1158]

NATO standard as it still (I believe) is.  Milk and two sugars, from ground up.  Now, no clue what they do tbh.  I believe that most will add sugar when the weather is inclement.  1977 was about the worst and we actually had a grog/rum ration for sentries dung the nights.  The SNCO tasked with delivery was rather merrier than he should have been as frankly rum and water did nothing for most I asked and I thought it was/is fowl.  Pun intended.

Edited June 14, 2022 by Mike1158
Added sugar.