USA mre vrs Canadian mre

[finallyME]

It's not maple syrup, malt vinegar nor mayonnaise that typically is slathered on fries. It's gravy.

Yes, exactly. I just can't remember the specific type of gravy. I was hoping a Canadian would speak up and educate us.

[finallyME]

I wonder if the Ausie MRE has vegemite.

[tundrabadger]

Yes, exactly. I just can't remember the specific type of gravy. I was hoping a Canadian would speak up and educate us.

Probably depends on where you go, but your average run of the mill poutine-sauce gravy is a sauce brune made with a mix of beef and chicken stock, and maybe a little pepper and vinegar. Some places, though, your fries are going to come with a chicken, turkey or maybe veal gravy, again with black pepper in the mix if they are doing it right. Although I did used to go to an otherwise really outstanding diner in new brunswick that used this pale, bland substance that they *called* gravy. Consistency like wallpaper paste, but less flavour. Also too thick. A good gravy for your fries or your poutine should have substantial flavour, but be thin enough to permeate the lower levels of the fries.


Of course, some places will use a mushroom gravy or a peppercorn sauce to cater to the vegeterians. Those can be pretty good, but for a really authentic poutine or fries and gravy experience, you need to go to a chip truck or a greasy spoon, and they will be using a meat based gravy. Don't order poutine in any place that looks fancy, they will do something untowards to it. Don't order poutine in New Brunswick, they use shredded cheese. Quebec and most of Ontario, as well as Nunavut, you can usually get a pretty reliable poutine if you go to the right places.

[hunter63]

Probably depends on where you go, but your average run of the mill poutine-sauce gravy is a sauce brune made with a mix of beef and chicken stock, and maybe a little pepper and vinegar. Some places, though, your fries are going to come with a chicken, turkey or maybe veal gravy, again with black pepper in the mix if they are doing it right. Although I did used to go to an otherwise really outstanding diner in new brunswick that used this pale, bland substance that they *called* gravy. Consistency like wallpaper paste, but less flavour. Also too thick. A good gravy for your fries or your poutine should have substantial flavour, but be thin enough to permeate the lower levels of the fries.


Of course, some places will use a mushroom gravy or a peppercorn sauce to cater to the vegeterians. Those can be pretty good, but for a really authentic poutine or fries and gravy experience, you need to go to a chip truck or a greasy spoon, and they will be using a meat based gravy. Don't order poutine in any place that looks fancy, they will do something untowards to it. Don't order poutine in New Brunswick, they use shredded cheese. Quebec and most of Ontario, as well as Nunavut, you can usually get a pretty reliable poutine if you go to the right places.

That was interesting....
But Gravy?....On fries?....like French (American) fries?

[tundrabadger]

Yeah, it's delicious. Surely you put gravy on your potatoes sometimes? Same idea, but the potatoes have been fried. Add cheese curds and you have poutine, which is delicious and *really* bad for you. So bonus.

[Faiaoga]

Having lived and worked in different places, I have become acquainted with different cultures and different foods. Some seem unusual, but I have learned that food preferences are really a matter of culture and upbringing. Food is food, and all is edible if you keep an open mind.
It is just for fun, and completely not politically correct, but I can think of some MRE menus that people can (I hope) laugh at. All in good humor.
Hawaiian MRE Spam and ramen noodles
Samoan MRE Taro and palusami
Korean MRE Rice and kimchee
Fijian MRE Yam and canned corned beef
Perhaps other people can add ideas, all in good humor

[hunter63]

Yeah, it's delicious. Surely you put gravy on your potatoes sometimes? Same idea, but the potatoes have been fried. Add cheese curds and you have poutine, which is delicious and *really* bad for you. So bonus.

I will take you word for it.....

Funny story that just happened....
A lady secondary insurance company, Shld. "D" said she was my case worker....

I guess after my latest adventure....they were checking up my welfare.....
I suspect it is a paid service sold to the Ins company....which we pay for.....But I digress....

At the end of the call she informed me that I qualified for 12 free TV dinners(?)....
I find that extremely funny as most I have seen hae a semblance of real food...

The TV dinners I can reall we processed foods...salty, containing all the stuff the a cardio patient isn't supposed to eat?????
Are they trying to finish me off?

I woke up thinking about the mystery meat ..Salisbury steak....LOL...WTH?

Anyway, Mre's kinda remind me of the old Swanson T dinners....including the creative names Like Apple Surprise....and mashed potatos...(paste)

We will see.

[shiftyer1]

There is a lady on you tube that has done reviews on many mre's from different countries. She does a pretty good job, I think her name is emmymadeinjapan or something similar.

Brown gravy on fries is pretty good if ya ask me. lol

[tundrabadger]

I will take you word for it.....

Funny story that just happened....
A lady secondary insurance company, Shld. "D" said she was my case worker....

I guess after my latest adventure....they were checking up my welfare.....
I suspect it is a paid service sold to the Ins company....which we pay for.....But I digress....

At the end of the call she informed me that I qualified for 12 free TV dinners(?)....
I find that extremely funny as most I have seen hae a semblance of real food...

The TV dinners I can reall we processed foods...salty, containing all the stuff the a cardio patient isn't supposed to eat?????
Are they trying to finish me off?

I woke up thinking about the mystery meat ..Salisbury steak....LOL...WTH?

Anyway, Mre's kinda remind me of the old Swanson T dinners....including the creative names Like Apple Surprise....and mashed potatos...(paste)

We will see.

Hey. Some people eat Luther Burgers.

[pete lynch]

+1 on the fries with brown gravy. Been ordering that in diners around here since I can remember( long-term memory).
Another thing I like is creamed chipped beef on steak fries. Sticks to the ribs, among other things.
Do the Canadian MREs have split-pea soup?

[Rick]

food, and all is edible if you keep an open mind.

Yeah, maybe, then there is balut and Sago grubs. Closed mind. period! (actually, that's an exclamation mark but you know what I mean)

[kyratshooter]

I am a big fan of good old "sawmill gravy" no matter what you put it on, biscuits, fries, hash browns, chicken, scrambled eggs, toast or you can just smother everything on the plate with it for all I care.

That stuff is the reason they invented cholesterol inhibitors!

[M118LR]

Balut ain't so bad, as long as it goes down beak first. If you are unfortunate enough to start feet first, well there just isn't enough San Miguel to wash it down without spending an inordinate amount of time chewing.

Haven't had a TV Dinner since I got out of the service. My spouse won't even consider serving me one since I told her that she attempted to do me in via aluminum poisoning when we first got hitched. Now when she craves the KFC pot pie, she will bring home a 5 dollar fill up grilled chicken breast for me. The closest I come to TV Dinners is the meals prepared inside of Universal at the Three Broomsticks or Leaky Calderon.

[Rick]

Re: Balut. See Post 31. If in doubt. Repeat.

[tundrabadger]

Re: Balut. See Post 31. If in doubt. Repeat.

Could be worse. Could be igunaq.

[hunter63]

Balut ain't so bad, as long as it goes down beak first. If you are unfortunate enough to start feet first, well there just isn't enough San Miguel to wash it down without spending an inordinate amount of time chewing.

Haven't had a TV Dinner since I got out of the service. My spouse won't even consider serving me one since I told her that she attempted to do me in via aluminum poisoning when we first got hitched. Now when she craves the KFC pot pie, she will bring home a 5 dollar fill up grilled chicken breast for me. The closest I come to TV Dinners is the meals prepared inside of Universal at the Three Broomsticks or Leaky Calderon.

I suspect that the Balut factor, which by the way gets brought up when ever a " major eeew" is needed to add to the story.
I also suspect that most everyone that claims they have eaten it....has done so...although there is usually a "I dare you"....or part of an initiation .....and alcohol is involved.
The same can be said for pickled turtle eggs....kinda green flat one sided ping pong balls...... As in "Who here is man enough to eat one"

I also suspect that balut is not a staple as MRE USA or Canadian may be.....nor is widely accepted as a survival food in the America's.

So bon appetite and bottom's up with you favorite adult beverage.....I can say I never tried balut....have had the turtle eggs pretty regular a young man....although most of my firnds have passed, know better, or on the Dr.'s "Don't eat any more"...list.

Just a thought?

[finallyME]

That was interesting....
But Gravy?....On fries?....like French (American) fries?

Hunter, I am surprised you haven't heard of it...being that Wisconsin is practically next door neighbors with Ontario. The only time I have had it was when an American friend of mine who lived in Ontario for a few years made some for me. I didn't really care for the gravy...different than other gravies I have had...might have been the person making it. Better than vegemite though.

Of course, it took me a good year of eating Bigos a lot before I started actually liking it. Now I love the stuff. There are definitely foods that are "cultural"... which really means "acquired".

[Faiaoga]

Could be worse. Could be igunaq.

Because I have never lived or worked with Eskimos, I had to look up "igunaq" (decomposing walrus meat) and found an interesting BBC videotape on Youtube: Eating Decomposing Walrus - world food and cooking BBC. Interesting short video because it shows the stored meat being chopped with an axe and sliced with the ulu knife. I suppose the meat is an acquired taste - like Twinkies or Hostess DingDongs or palolo worms
A man named Stefan Gates seems to be the person who filmed this. He apparently made a series called Cooking in the Danger Zone

[M118LR]

I suspect that the Balut factor, which by the way gets brought up when ever a " major eeew" is needed to add to the story.
I also suspect that most everyone that claims they have eaten it....has done so...although there is usually a "I dare you"....or part of an initiation .....and alcohol is involved.
The same can be said for pickled turtle eggs....kinda green flat one sided ping pong balls...... As in "Who here is man enough to eat one"

I also suspect that balut is not a staple as MRE USA or Canadian may be.....nor is widely accepted as a survival food in the America's.

So bon appetite and bottom's up with you favorite adult beverage.....I can say I never tried balut....have had the turtle eggs pretty regular a young man....although most of my firnds have passed, know better, or on the Dr.'s "Don't eat any more"...list.

Just a thought?

Just thought I might interject some experience from a Government Sponsored Travel Itinerary. Uncle Sam even spent hard earned taxpayer dollars to enroll me in (Short Military Acronyms to follow) AST,JEST,SERE, DWEST, and a couple of other long forgotten Survival Courses that extended the average menu of homespun Southern cooking. Coconut crab, silk worm, sugar ants, sea turtle, skate, ray, etc..etc..ad nauseam. We shall leave out the Habu Sake, Absinthe, etc local alcoholic beverages. Most of which were not as easy to palate as rations from a green can hot or cold, But with the exception of waxed chocolate and sun separated (vice time separated) peanut butter, MRE's in a water activated boil in a bag where on the connoisseur menu.

[Faiaoga]

There is a lady on you tube that has done reviews on many mre's from different countries. She does a pretty good job, I think her name is emmymadeinjapan or something similar.

Brown gravy on fries is pretty good if ya ask me. lol

The emmymadeinjapan site is interesting; she seems to be a pleasant young Asian woman who shows foods from different countries. She seems to speak Japanese well, and she showed Japan Self Deense Force rations - with rice, of course