That's exactly what I was thinking as well. I just got confused because I thought the instructions read: "Salt AND one packet of tea AND coffee whitener may be added. Now, tea-flavoured mashed potatoes... THAT would've been interesting! :D Here in Germany, when you buy instant mashed potatoes in the supermarkets, there's basically two varieties: One that has "complete with milk" written on the package, so milk powder has already been added. I always buy the other version, without milk powder. You stir the potato powder into boiling salt water and then you add fresh cold milk (and a lump of butter if you like). The usual ratio is 2 or 3 parts of water and 1 part of milk.
a_spoonman Lol.. Tea in the potatoes sounds like a faux pas I'd be capable of. As for instant mash, I often prefer it to the real thing. I blame KFC for that ;-)
Well, I was going to sleep tonight, but guess what? I found your videos! Thanks so much for them. Also, your daughter is so sweet and polite. Have a great day, and "cheers" from the US :)
Fluttershy Pony agreed! just had brekkie too! (i watch these while eating... although i end up with seconds... thirds... completely full!) as to this one... i hate meatloaf... BUT in this case i may be swung to like it! lol
The coffee whitener and salt in the mash is the result of feedback from field tests. It makes the potatoes creamier, but only works if you don't want to use the whitener to make yourself a double-double (coffee with two cream and two sugar).
adding the whitener .. the whitener prob. contains milk products... like when u make mashed potatoes at home.. u add milk,butter,salt,pepper and mash. .. it prob. makes them creamier than using water alone.
+strocat25 exactly. it's likely something with soy lecithins, an emulsifier to make canned coffee or in this case, instant potatoes taste creamier and has a thicker, smoother texture.
The shortbread cookies come from one of Canada's leading cookie factories - Peak Freans. What you ate, is what would be served to the public as well. Their chocolate chip oatmeal is to die for! LOL
It originally a British company, though that ended in 1982 when Nabisco bought it. The North American brand rights are owned by Mondelez International, which was formerly Kraft.
As you were making your "sandwich" I kept thinking, PLEASE, it's not a sandwich without the mashed potatoes. You did not disappoint. You do one of the longest and slowest videos on TH-cam and I enjoy every one of them. Thank you for not insulting your viewer's attention spans.
Bobby B It seemed an unlikely filling to grace a tortilla, but tasted amazing! Thank you for mentioning video length too. I try to edit out as much 'non action, non talking' parts as I can, but still seem to end up with lengthy videos. I too enjoyed watching the longer reviews prior to making my own.
Most tea starts out green. The leaves are fermented and dried according to strict methods to get different grades of darkness and flavor. Also, leaves and buds of select age and location on the plant also make a huge difference in what emerges as the final product.
Orange Pekoe as it was listed on the tea packet refers to the cut of the tea leaves. In other words it is not an orange flavored tea. In North America information like the cut of the tea leaves are printed on the packaging.
+Einsam Fechter That is exact Einsam Fechter. The brewed tea does have an orange-like color. I am surprised Orange Pekoe tea is not known in your part of the world Kiwi Dude. It is traditionaly a very popular type of tea here in Canada, or at least in Quebec.
As a big nerd of your rations videos (as well as Gundog's and Gshultz') - I have to say that this appeared to be the most incredible individual meal ration I have seen! I went through with the basic (1980's) US MRE's while in the US Army from 85 to 94, and THIS Canadian IMP blew them ALL out of the water - and then some!
I haven't yet mentioned - but thank you for providing the content that you do - I know how much work goes into making the videos, and I genuinely appreciate it (even if it is currently only for entertainment purposes).
Smackedown Thank you for the kind words. The Boss and I really enjoy putting them together. It's been a little slow lately, but the cupboard is bursting with rations to review, so there's plenty more to come.
Man, love how positive you are, in the Canadian army now as an infantry soldier so it's funny to see a kiwi recieve this since I lived in Auckland for 4 1/2 years. Always makes me happy to hear a kiwi accent again. Love you guys down under and slightly to the right!
I'm not sure, for me it's kinda soothing watching this...like Mr. Roger's neighborhood growing up. Any way thanks to the guy who makes them, maybe someone could donate a Mexican "MRE,"...from what the Katrina victims in New Orleans said they were kinda good...compared to an M.R.E. of course.
The whitener is like powdered cream so it's like adding milk to mashed potatoes. Also you can pour the mashed potatoes into the main meal which is quite good.
I used to love getting these Canadian MRE's/IMP's when I was younger. Damn near everyone in my family is military so a whole pile of these used to end up stored at my grandparents house haha.
Good Day Kiwi Dude, Great review. I served in the CA for 37 yrs so I've eaten a lot of IMP's. Wrt the mashed potatoes (or instant rice mix) we usually mix the sauce from the entre with the instant mash potatoes (or rice) adds a nice flavor to the mash potatoes. Looking forward to your next review. Cheers!
spankmeister du weisst ja nicht in wie vielen arten du recht hast damit.. als kind hätt ich gerne es selbst zusammen "gebastelt" und auch alles probiert bzw gegessen.. aber es kam leidet ganz anders..
Whitner is basically cream, so the addition to the potatoes is like adding milk or cream or even butter to potatoes. I'd do it the homemade mashed potatoes in a pinch as Ling as its not a sweetened creamer.
Great video as always, don't know about the shiny silver packaging in the field it might be dangerous. Love the Canadian feedback sheet, so polite. Did you have enough time to eat as you were being shot at.
Jaybird196 The shiny plastic pouches and the noise that plastic wrapping makes. And yes, a dull coating would seem more appropriate. And they are made in the U.S. after all, not Canada. In foreign countries they can usually smell a North American before they see or hear them.
In the USA we call it "creamer" and in the mashed potatoes it would have acted/tasted like milk/cream would have ... Orange pekoe does not refer to flavor but rather the grade of tea leaf. As opposed to fannings/dust, you got a high grade full leaf tea which should have left little to no extra bits in your cup (Lipton tea bags are good examples of dust/fanning grade tea). Would never have thought of jelly on the cookies though - will have to try that some day
gingergargoyle Thanks. Love the attention to detail in this ration, from suggesting creamer to improve the mash, to a comments card for further improvements. Orange Pekoe threw me though, so obviously I'm no big tea drinker.
Joshua Watson Thanks, and yes - perfect fit for the tray. It did feel a little cartoonish at first (being so long) but turned out to be very good to use.
Another great review, as usual, very well done. Fifty years of eating mashed potatoes and I have never seen anybody mix coffee whitener in instant or real potatoes. It must be a local family thing. It is a edible oil product after all, not even close to milk. I am also very surprised that pretty much the whole meal is American, not Canadian. Not that I was expecting whale blubber and poutine but I guess(know) they can get everything cheaper down south. I do love when people discover there is no orange in orange pekoe. Happy New Year to you, keep those videos coming. From the ice desk in my igloo. Have to go now, my sled dogs at barking. lol
MrPlusses Lol! Cheers. I wish I'd separated some of the mash to have a side-by-side comparison both with and without creamer, but that'll have to wait for next time. Apart from some of the smaller items, most of this ration did indeed come from the U.S, and it's a real shame that Meatloaf in Cabernet Sauce isn't on the MRE menu list! Happy New Year to you too.
***** Thanks. I think it's brilliant that they cared enough to suggest adding creamer for a better experience. I'm sure the potatoes would have tasted fine without, but it's that attention to detail I love. Next time I'll do a side-by-side comparison to discover the difference with and without creamer.
Awesome review, I never really had any interest in MRE's until I came across one of your reviews a few months back. Now thanks to you I'm obsessed. I come from a military family but never really heard anything about rations. Thank you for introducing me to this new hobby. Still only tried US MRE's I need to get some international ones. Keep up the good work, I enjoy watching you more than most shows on the boob tube.
Whitner is basically powdered flavored milk substitute. It will reconstitute into the liquid and give a creamy flavor to the potatoes. As to the tea, I think they may have a few glue sniffers working there. PS, my wife and I enjoy you saying pepper, almost as much as M&M's.
Cheers. glad you and the Wife are enjoying the videos. Would have been interesting to have kept some mash aside to gauge the difference with creamer. Maybe next time.
Big, big like, Mr. Kiwi Dude! :D I discovered your channel (and others too) about this hobby, aka military food ratios. I watched some pest control hunting about squirrels, rats, magpies, so on, and at one video about pest goats hunting in New Zealand I was redirected to your channel. Good. Your channel, your videos looks the best for me (regarding this hobby). I never thought that such presentations would remind me those f****ng days back-ways in my army service (1989-1990)! And starting a new hobby! Never too old to learn.
Typical Canada, always with the orange pekoe tea. Sometimes I feel like the only Canadian who rather...dislikes orange pekoe. Give me my earl grey, damn it!
I'm glad you got to try that IMP. I have to say it is the best looking individual meal I think I have seen. The Canadians sure eat well. Blows most countries MRES away. I got full just watching you, and then you still had the pineapple to go. Sheesh.
Back when I was in the Army, we trained with the Canadian forces and us GI's would trade virtually anything for their rations over our lousy, stinking U.S rations. The Canucks really ate like human beings whereas our chow wasn't fit for pigs.......
It means "Tea and coffee whitener" (I guess you got that, and didn't think 1 packet of tea and 1 packet of coffee whitener). Usually for mashed potatoes you add butter and milk/cream, I guess adding the creamer/whitener is a way to make it more creamy? Not sure if the creamer actually adds milky flavor or not, I don't use that stuff :)
I agree, I think the whitener was supposed to emulate cream or milk. When you make mashed potatoes from scratch you add milk/cream, salt and pepper and butter.
The peanut butter and jam are meant to go with the tortilla. You're meant to squeeze the pb and j on the open tortilla then fold it in half. Keeps your fingers clean and doesn't require a knife. A energetic snack that can be dumped out of the box and into your pockets for later.
Catching up on your videos, this one definitely looks good. For the record, the "orange" on the tea is for Orange Pekoe, which is actually the type of tea leaf size, and has nothing to do with the flavor at all. Tea grading is pretty weird that way, none of the sizes make any sense. They probably spent too much time in the Ceylon Sun.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_leaf_grading
I've tried the Tarragon Chicken IMP in the past and it was excellent. We feed our troops the same things that we put on our table. Glad you enjoyed the rations!
im pretty sure meatloaf isnt on the menu anymore . past few times ive been in the field they weren't around at all. also the drink bags are awesome waterproof phone cases
Nope . And if it is I haven't heard anything Kiwi Dude. Its cheaper for us to produce our own then it is to import enough rations to feed an army (pun intended )
A place I used to work at had little tea sized soups like that for free in the break room. They were surprisingly satisfying for a little pouch of bullion and dried veggies.
Maddy Shillito Milk, cream, butter etc.. is all normal. It was the addition of powdered non-dairy creamer that seemed odd/interesting. I wish I'd kept some separate to gauge the taste difference.
Lipton instant soup mix has been around for years. Most famous is "Giggle Noodle" (chicken) marketed to make kids laugh. Americans, and most Canadians I know eat the shortbread cookies alone (dip them in the tea) and eat the jelly with the peanut butter. I will have to try jam on the cookies sometime.
Hey, Kiwi Dude! As a food engy student, I must say these reviews of rations are A MA ZING! So much food tech in it hahaha And I'd just like to leave an aswer for your question about the whitener (non-dairy creamer): it MAY contain vegetable fat and emulsifiers, which would replicate to an extent adding cream or butter (fats) to the mashed potatoes :) Keep up those amazing reviews, mate!!
As for the tea and coffee whitener its like adding milk when making Mashed potatoes. those lil packs also get added to the peaches with suger. When i was an army cadet doing so was very common. basically helps improve the consistency. surprised they don't add extra Whitener packs for that reason. tortias are a new addition Normally we ended up with a Brick of (fairly decent) compressed bread
Funny you mentioned the instructions on the mashed potatos saying to add whitener. My dad would tell me most of the guys in he was with in bootcamp for the usmc would take EVERYTHING in their mre's and mix it in one bag and eat it like that.
Orange Pekoe isn't actually orange tea, it's a leaf size designation. I wonder how many subs you're getting from Gavin talking about you in the latest rooster teeth let's play.
Canadian MRE's -- So nice --- I was looking for the word "please" somewhere on the package. They certainly spare the cost for the outer packaging. I love that they want to know the "operation number" in the meal review. The CUP A SOUP is a great idea for civilian MRE"S. I have mashed potatoes to make my own version of their mashed meal. Amazing what you can do with a vacuum sealer and your imagination. Cheers from New Hampshire, USA!
Your daughter is adorable. I'm not bragging but were from England originally and I still think as a Canadian we have better foods and palettes! However I do miss our Marks and Spencer's stores. Next time leave the whitener out its just another chemical to make the instant mashed potato turn white!!! Love your vloggs❣🇨🇦
The tea and coffee whitener/creamer is basically powdered milk, and when you make mashed potatoes, you usually put milk in them to make them creamy and fluffy. :)
***** Hi there, I've just run through the comments and saw this mentioned a few times, you couldn't do me a favour and link in the video could you? Cheers.
Kiwi Dude Sure!th-cam.com/video/QmglSBvdcjw/w-d-xo.html Gavin is the British dude, and half way through the video he mentions your channel! Edit: The time of it 26:13
Great review, that looked like a tasty meal! I was a young reservist when IMPs first came out, in 1981. The menus then were pretty basic, they sure have come a long way!
Great review, love your daughter final taste test! I used to save the fruit pouch for the morning, especially the Peaches in syrup, heat it up and have it with coffee to warm yourself up. I really did like our IMP's, including the "Lung" Also had the earlier IRP's which were commercial small cans including canned bacon, the one thing I hated in those was the powdered tea.
I won't comment on the whitener....I really do enjoy your reviews....my son wants to join the forces when he finishes school....so I really enjoy the reviews as they give me ideas of what to sent him when and if he is sent over seas....so this is where I say I am glad to be Canadian.....adore the boss....I will have to put together a goody bag for her....
The bag that holds all the contents of the IMP is actually often used as a poop bag in the field. Just a little extra info for you haha Love the reviews.
when mashing freshly boiled potatos at home its common (at least in scotland) to add some milk or butter to make the mash creamier, perhaps thats why they suggested adding the whitener? still seems a little odd though.
The whitener is simply a milk substitute. Canadians sometimes put milk or cream in mashed potatoes to make them smoother and creamier.(dunno about powdered whitener tho...)
+Mark Desjardins We also add milk etc... never thought about powdered creamer, but I guess it makes sense. I love the fact they thought to even suggest it.
+Kiwi Dude I've used whitener (creamer here in the U.S.) when I needed milk for something only to find I didn't have any. Works like powdered milk. BTW my daughter and I have been binge watching these vids. Love you and "The Boss."
10:49 ... the tea and coffee whiter gives a creamier taste to the mashed potatoes, those instruction have been on Canadian IMP rations potato for 45 years .. since the old style, mostly CANNED Individual Ration Pack (IRP), or RAT PACKS as we called them.
Whitener is non-dairy creamer for coffee and tea. Mashed potatoes typically requires milk to make more creamy, hence the recommend action of adding the creamer packet.
Regarding the tortillas splitting; I've found that if you heat the tortillas in the package for a few minutes, it lets the fats and glutens loosen up and rehydrate. That makes them more elastic and less likely to just break in half, like they do when they're cold straight from the package. Then you can spoon some of that meatloaf in the middle of a whole tortilla that is warm and soft and pliable. Top it off with a generous line of those mashed potatoes and you've got yourself a Canadian-style soft taco. If only the main had been Poutine, then you could have made some Ultimate Canadian/Mexican fusion with Poutine soft tacos.
I think the potatoes say you can add a salt packet and coffee whitener to add better flavor... The whitener is kind of like a powdered milk so it makes sense since some people add milk to mashed potatoes. I would love to hear how others make their MRE's better by added other MRE items to improve taste or make something completely different. Also Lipton is big into soup mixes in North America, mostly the instant soups like this one. "Cup of Soup" has ton of flavors to choose from...
The whitener is also called non dairy creamer, because it lends a creamy flavor to coffee. I'm guessing that's why they say you can add that (because some folks do add butter and/or milk to mashed potatoes for the same reason).
+Allan Martin the longer spoon was added as a result of feedback from the field, it was so that you don't get food on your hands from trying to dig out the remaining portions of the pouch with a short spoon.
the coffee whitener as you are calling it is no more than powdered milk or creamer as we call it in the states and when introduced to instant potatoes it gives the taste of using milk to make them like at home
First time watching your channel, well done. Liked your assistant taster, cute. Keep up the good work, will keep an eye out for your videos. Cheers, west coast responder.
Orange pekoe is a term used in the Western tea trade to describe a particular genre of black teas (orange pekoe grading). The tea industry uses the term orange pekoe to describe a basic, medium-grade black tea consisting of many whole tea leaves of a specific size; however, it is popular in some regions (such as North America) to use the term as a description of any generic black tea
Hey Kiwi! After watching all of your MRE, IMP, etc. videos, I went out and bought four MRE's. They were Ameriqual and 3/4 were amazing! Try to stay away from the Pesto Chicken Pasta MRE, as it is disgusting. I almost threw up. They were only about a year old too. The good ones were Asian Style Beef Strips, Meatballs in Marinara, and finally Spicy Turkey Chili with Beans. They weren't Military MRE's, they were for the average "Joe" to go camping. I would have sent you one, but I didn't want to give the bad one ;) Thanks for another great video and keep it up.
Heat the tortillas and have you ever tried heating the snack breads in mre's?,also the easiest way to knead the peanut butter or cheese is to hold the packet between both hands and move your hands back and forth spinning the packet in between.
Fantastic review! I love watching your videos every night and dreaming about trying an mre someday, your videos always brings a smile to my face and I wish you the best of luck my friend 😄👍👍👌
the whitener is a dairy substitute. it would be to make the potatoes creamyer. my dad adds it when he makes kraft mac and cheese when we are out of milk.
She is such a cute kid! Love your videos, as always! I can't wait for more! I've binged watched all three of your guy's videos and now I don't know what to do.
I think the beverage bags were designed to be used as make shift blood doner bags in the field. Somewhere there should be sealed valve things to insert in the bottom to be used ad Iv bags.
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In Canada we often use milk when making instant mashed potatoes, even real potatoes. The "whitener" is used in place of milk in these IMP's.
Harold Bullock Same in America
and germany^^
same here in Australia, Real Milk in Real Mash
Pretty sure everyone makes mash with milk or cream. I think Kiwi just failed to make the connection.
Bullseye supposed to make it more rich and add a little something.
I think adding the coffee whitener to the mash potatoes is probably to simulate adding milk to make them creamier..
I think you're right there. I should have kept some separate for taste test with and without creamer.
That's exactly what I was thinking as well.
I just got confused because I thought the instructions read: "Salt AND one packet of tea AND coffee whitener may be added. Now, tea-flavoured mashed potatoes... THAT would've been interesting! :D
Here in Germany, when you buy instant mashed potatoes in the supermarkets, there's basically two varieties: One that has "complete with milk" written on the package, so milk powder has already been added. I always buy the other version, without milk powder. You stir the potato powder into boiling salt water and then you add fresh cold milk (and a lump of butter if you like). The usual ratio is 2 or 3 parts of water and 1 part of milk.
a_spoonman Lol.. Tea in the potatoes sounds like a faux pas I'd be capable of. As for instant mash, I often prefer it to the real thing. I blame KFC for that ;-)
Kiwi Dude Yeah, I sometimes order mash & gravy at KFC as well, although it's not that creamy. Maybe I should ask for some coffee whitener next time :)
a_spoonman Lol!
Well, I was going to sleep tonight, but guess what? I found your videos! Thanks so much for them. Also, your daughter is so sweet and polite. Have a great day, and "cheers" from the US :)
I have one complain about this guys channel. No matter what mood I'm in, he ALWAYS makes me hungry. Other then that, fantastic channel dude!
Cheers!
Yeah , me too , mniam mniam mniam ...
Fluttershy Pony agreed! just had brekkie too! (i watch these while eating... although i end up with seconds... thirds... completely full!)
as to this one... i hate meatloaf... BUT in this case i may be swung to like it! lol
+Geoff Upton how can you hate meatloaf?! That's it, you're no longer invited over to my house for dinner!
The coffee whitener and salt in the mash is the result of feedback from field tests. It makes the potatoes creamier, but only works if you don't want to use the whitener to make yourself a double-double (coffee with two cream and two sugar).
Denis Vermeirre I love how the Canadian Military is so tuned into soldier feedback.
dont teach the filthy americans our ways (double-double)
adding the whitener .. the whitener prob. contains milk products... like when u make mashed potatoes at home.. u add milk,butter,salt,pepper and mash. .. it prob. makes them creamier than using water alone.
+strocat25 exactly. it's likely something with soy lecithins, an emulsifier to make canned coffee or in this case, instant potatoes taste creamier and has a thicker, smoother texture.
+strocat25 If the creamer is called "coffee whitener", why isn't the pepper called "food blackener?"
+Logan N haha u made my day with that comment
they cant technically call it "creamer" as there is no cream or dairy in it, while black pepper is just...well,black pepper :P
i've seen it called "lightener" as well
The shortbread cookies come from one of Canada's leading cookie factories - Peak Freans. What you ate, is what would be served to the public as well. Their chocolate chip oatmeal is to die for! LOL
It originally a British company, though that ended in 1982 when Nabisco bought it. The North American brand rights are owned by Mondelez International, which was formerly Kraft.
erwalkerca Interesting. Thanks for sharing! xo
As you were making your "sandwich" I kept thinking, PLEASE, it's not a sandwich without the mashed potatoes. You did not disappoint.
You do one of the longest and slowest videos on TH-cam and I enjoy every one of them.
Thank you for not insulting your viewer's attention spans.
Bobby B It seemed an unlikely filling to grace a tortilla, but tasted amazing! Thank you for mentioning video length too. I try to edit out as much 'non action, non talking' parts as I can, but still seem to end up with lengthy videos. I too enjoyed watching the longer reviews prior to making my own.
orange pekoe tea is not a orange flavoured tea it's just the type of tea leaves ;)
That's right...the same as adding the coffee whitener is a substitute for adding milk...
its not the type of leaves either its the way their cut all black green oolong and any other type tea comes from the same plant.
Not how they're cut. Their age. Some tea is the younger leaves. Some is the older leaves. Also, they're sometimes cured differently.
orange pekoe term refers to a grade of black tea based on the size of leaf and its location on the tea plant.
Most tea starts out green. The leaves are fermented and dried according to strict methods to get different grades of darkness and flavor. Also, leaves and buds of select age and location on the plant also make a huge difference in what emerges as the final product.
Good looking meal, nice job Kiwi Dude.. I'm glad to see you and the 'the boss' back on the job..
Orange Pekoe as it was listed on the tea packet refers to the cut of the tea leaves. In other words it is not an orange flavored tea. In North America information like the cut of the tea leaves are printed on the packaging.
+Einsam Fechter That is exact Einsam Fechter. The brewed tea does have an orange-like color. I am surprised Orange Pekoe tea is not known in your part of the world Kiwi Dude. It is traditionaly a very popular type of tea here in Canada, or at least in Quebec.
+Rangersly ontario too they just call it black tea over there
+Dangermoose In my area of ontario, its Orange Pekoe.
As a big nerd of your rations videos (as well as Gundog's and Gshultz') - I have to say that this appeared to be the most incredible individual meal ration I have seen! I went through with the basic (1980's) US MRE's while in the US Army from 85 to 94, and THIS Canadian IMP blew them ALL out of the water - and then some!
Smackedown I was really impressed too. Great attention to detail.
I haven't yet mentioned - but thank you for providing the content that you do - I know how much work goes into making the videos, and I genuinely appreciate it (even if it is currently only for entertainment purposes).
Smackedown Thank you for the kind words. The Boss and I really enjoy putting them together. It's been a little slow lately, but the cupboard is bursting with rations to review, so there's plenty more to come.
Glad our Canadian MRE stood up to your tastes buds!
MrRazmuss It had me wanting for more. Very good rations!
MrRazmuss besides the fact that all the main courses were made in the US 😂 🤘 party on Wayne
Man, love how positive you are, in the Canadian army now as an infantry soldier so it's funny to see a kiwi recieve this since I lived in Auckland for 4 1/2 years. Always makes me happy to hear a kiwi accent again. Love you guys down under and slightly to the right!
why are people obsessed with these .. why am I watching these
I'm not sure, for me it's kinda soothing watching this...like Mr. Roger's neighborhood growing up. Any way thanks to the guy who makes them, maybe someone could donate a Mexican "MRE,"...from what the Katrina victims in New Orleans said they were kinda good...compared to an M.R.E. of course.
rhn94 This is why:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_sensory_meridian_response
Leroy Jenkins give me facts, not hypothesis'
You want a fact? Fine: people like watching other people do things. The theory for why that is was already posted. Get over yourself.
kirbyboie lol, I love the saltiness of people who have cognitive dissonance
The whitener is like powdered cream so it's like adding milk to mashed potatoes. Also you can pour the mashed potatoes into the main meal which is quite good.
I used to love getting these Canadian MRE's/IMP's when I was younger. Damn near everyone in my family is military so a whole pile of these used to end up stored at my grandparents house haha.
The Healthy Nerd You lucky thing!
Good Day Kiwi Dude, Great review. I served in the CA for 37 yrs so I've eaten a lot of IMP's. Wrt the mashed potatoes (or instant rice mix) we usually mix the sauce from the entre with the instant mash potatoes (or rice) adds a nice flavor to the mash potatoes. Looking forward to your next review. Cheers!
Gerry Miharija Cheers Gerry. The IMP ranks very highly with me. Great rations!
@16:16 Are you licking the teabags again?? Lol
The Boss most certainly stole the show - her enjoyment of the biscuit with peanut butter and jam was priceless
Feeding your kids military rations is probably a good way to teach them not to be fussy eaters.
spankmeister du weisst ja nicht in wie vielen arten du recht hast damit..
als kind hätt ich gerne es selbst zusammen "gebastelt" und auch alles probiert bzw gegessen..
aber es kam leidet ganz anders..
Whitner is basically cream, so the addition to the potatoes is like adding milk or cream or even butter to potatoes. I'd do it the homemade mashed potatoes in a pinch as Ling as its not a sweetened creamer.
Great video as always, don't know about the shiny silver packaging in the field it might be dangerous. Love the Canadian feedback sheet, so polite. Did you have enough time to eat as you were being shot at.
It (the packaging) isn't very "stealth".
Jaybird196 neither are MREs.
MrPlusses In what way are you referring? I was making reference to the silvery packaging of one of the items in this meal.
Jaybird196 The shiny plastic pouches and the noise that plastic wrapping makes. And yes, a dull coating would seem more appropriate. And they are made in the U.S. after all, not Canada. In foreign countries they can usually smell a North American before they see or hear them.
MrPlusses oooooooooo kill em
Love your channel. This one looks like one of the best MRE`s you had tested so far.
In the USA we call it "creamer" and in the mashed potatoes it would have acted/tasted like milk/cream would have ... Orange pekoe does not refer to flavor but rather the grade of tea leaf. As opposed to fannings/dust, you got a high grade full leaf tea which should have left little to no extra bits in your cup (Lipton tea bags are good examples of dust/fanning grade tea). Would never have thought of jelly on the cookies though - will have to try that some day
gingergargoyle Thanks. Love the attention to detail in this ration, from suggesting creamer to improve the mash, to a comments card for further improvements. Orange Pekoe threw me though, so obviously I'm no big tea drinker.
gingergargoyle Lipton tea should just be banned, terrible stuff that is.
Colin Park Lipton is garbage.
I enjoy how perfectly the spoon fits in the utensil space on the tray. Also, love the videos. Keep them going.
Joshua Watson Thanks, and yes - perfect fit for the tray. It did feel a little cartoonish at first (being so long) but turned out to be very good to use.
Another great review, as usual, very well done.
Fifty years of eating mashed potatoes and I have never seen anybody mix coffee whitener in instant or real potatoes. It must be a local family thing. It is a edible oil product after all, not even close to milk.
I am also very surprised that pretty much the whole meal is American, not Canadian. Not that I was expecting whale blubber and poutine but I guess(know) they can get everything cheaper down south.
I do love when people discover there is no orange in orange pekoe.
Happy New Year to you, keep those videos coming.
From the ice desk in my igloo. Have to go now, my sled dogs at barking. lol
MrPlusses Lol! Cheers. I wish I'd separated some of the mash to have a side-by-side comparison both with and without creamer, but that'll have to wait for next time. Apart from some of the smaller items, most of this ration did indeed come from the U.S, and it's a real shame that Meatloaf in Cabernet Sauce isn't on the MRE menu list! Happy New Year to you too.
***** Thanks. I think it's brilliant that they cared enough to suggest adding creamer for a better experience. I'm sure the potatoes would have tasted fine without, but it's that attention to detail I love. Next time I'll do a side-by-side comparison to discover the difference with and without creamer.
Just at note;
The whitener's real product name is "non-dairy creamer" or "non-dairy whitener".
Maybe its just to add fat to the mashed potatoes? Taking the place of butter, it may have improved it a bit.
what is orange pekoe
So glad I found out about this channel. I'm on to watch many more, and your daughter is adoreable!
TheAllstar22 Welcome to the channel!
Wow. Canadian rations look pretty good.
Awesome review, I never really had any interest in MRE's until I came across one of your reviews a few months back. Now thanks to you I'm obsessed. I come from a military family but never really heard anything about rations. Thank you for introducing me to this new hobby. Still only tried US MRE's I need to get some international ones. Keep up the good work, I enjoy watching you more than most shows on the boob tube.
Rick Simons Cheers Rick, glad you're enjoying the videos! If you only try one international ration, I'd highly recommend the French 24hr RCIR.
Thanks dude, I Will try to find one.
Whitner is basically powdered flavored milk substitute. It will reconstitute into the liquid and give a creamy flavor to the potatoes. As to the tea, I think they may have a few glue sniffers working there.
PS, my wife and I enjoy you saying pepper, almost as much as M&M's.
Cheers. glad you and the Wife are enjoying the videos. Would have been interesting to have kept some mash aside to gauge the difference with creamer. Maybe next time.
Big, big like, Mr. Kiwi Dude! :D I discovered your channel (and others too) about this hobby, aka military food ratios. I watched some pest control hunting about squirrels, rats, magpies, so on, and at one video about pest goats hunting in New Zealand I was redirected to your channel. Good. Your channel, your videos looks the best for me (regarding this hobby). I never thought that such presentations would remind me those f****ng days back-ways in my army service (1989-1990)! And starting a new hobby! Never too old to learn.
Orange Pekoe is the name of a leaf on the tea plant, it's not orange flavoured tea.
Jason Lucien I definitely demonstrated my tea ignorance here!
Kiwi Dude lol. It's all good, glad you enjoyed the Cdn MRE
Typical Canada, always with the orange pekoe tea. Sometimes I feel like the only Canadian who rather...dislikes orange pekoe. Give me my earl grey, damn it!
I'm glad you got to try that IMP. I have to say it is the best looking individual meal I think I have seen. The Canadians sure eat well. Blows most countries MRES away. I got full just watching you, and then you still had the pineapple to go. Sheesh.
Awesome ration. I was feeling totally full and content, thinking how awesome it was, then the Pineapple was still to come!
Back when I was in the Army, we trained with the Canadian forces and us GI's would trade virtually anything for their rations over our lousy, stinking U.S rations. The Canucks really ate like human beings whereas our chow wasn't fit for pigs.......
Heat your tortillas in the package, there's a good chance they won't split.
Your very good at these reviews, thanks for doing them.
It means "Tea and coffee whitener" (I guess you got that, and didn't think 1 packet of tea and 1 packet of coffee whitener). Usually for mashed potatoes you add butter and milk/cream, I guess adding the creamer/whitener is a way to make it more creamy? Not sure if the creamer actually adds milky flavor or not, I don't use that stuff :)
lol this ration was suprisingly packed full of great foods, i wish MRE's would incorporate parts of canadian rations.
I agree, I think the whitener was supposed to emulate cream or milk. When you make mashed potatoes from scratch you add milk/cream, salt and pepper and butter.
I wish I'd kept some separate for a taste test both with and without creamer.
DetectingCaliforniaHD I think this entrée would be a hit on U.S. Menus. It's made by Wornick too, so shouldn't be any dramas just giving it the tick.
The peanut butter and jam are meant to go with the tortilla. You're meant to squeeze the pb and j on the open tortilla then fold it in half. Keeps your fingers clean and doesn't require a knife. A energetic snack that can be dumped out of the box and into your pockets for later.
Catching up on your videos, this one definitely looks good. For the record, the "orange" on the tea is for Orange Pekoe, which is actually the type of tea leaf size, and has nothing to do with the flavor at all. Tea grading is pretty weird that way, none of the sizes make any sense. They probably spent too much time in the Ceylon Sun.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_leaf_grading
I've tried the Tarragon Chicken IMP in the past and it was excellent. We feed our troops the same things that we put on our table. Glad you enjoyed the rations!
Rifat Syed Another IMP has just arrived and I'm really looking forward to it. Go Canada!
im pretty sure meatloaf isnt on the menu anymore . past few times ive been in the field they weren't around at all. also the drink bags are awesome waterproof phone cases
ArrowSmith95 I've heard a rumour that the Canadian forces are switching to U.S. MRE's. Is that true?
Nope . And if it is I haven't heard anything Kiwi Dude. Its cheaper for us to produce our own then it is to import enough rations to feed an army (pun intended )
ArrowSmith95 How do you find the Cdn rations?
they are great ... i mean its not like i have a choice . im in the canadian army hahaha
ArrowSmith95 LOL! Very true. It looks like they are feeding you guys well which is good to hear. Thank you for serving. :)
A place I used to work at had little tea sized soups like that for free in the break room. They were surprisingly satisfying for a little pouch of bullion and dried veggies.
We put milk in potato mash in our family it was weird to me it being weird to you cause i would of thought everyone did it to make it creamy
Maddy Shillito Milk, cream, butter etc.. is all normal. It was the addition of powdered non-dairy creamer that seemed odd/interesting. I wish I'd kept some separate to gauge the taste difference.
Lipton instant soup mix has been around for years. Most famous is "Giggle Noodle" (chicken) marketed to make kids laugh.
Americans, and most Canadians I know eat the shortbread cookies alone (dip them in the tea) and eat the jelly with the peanut butter. I will have to try jam on the cookies sometime.
I never knew that potatoes in french is pomme de terre. Earth apples
Frank Alviar that this official translation. but most of the time we say ''patate''
+Frank Alviar Great, sometimes when friends of mine try to speak english they just translate litteraly French to English xD
Even in some parts of Germany it was called "Erdäpfel" = Earth apples. It's an old dialect word .
+Frank Alviar In Dutch it's the same "aardappel"- directly translated earth apple. :)
TheWaterMinx And "Kartofel"? :OOO
Hey, Kiwi Dude!
As a food engy student, I must say these reviews of rations are A MA ZING! So much food tech in it hahaha
And I'd just like to leave an aswer for your question about the whitener (non-dairy creamer): it MAY contain vegetable fat and emulsifiers, which would replicate to an extent adding cream or butter (fats) to the mashed potatoes :)
Keep up those amazing reviews, mate!!
put your tortillas in boiling water for 5 minutes to steam them and they tend not to break (or break less)
+Christyne Long I'll have to give it a shot.
+Kiwi Dude Why is it so amusing seeing you eat a M.R.E
New subscriber here! Coming over from gshultz's channel. I like how you review more varied MRE's. Looking forward to more videos!
ImWutzPopular Welcome to the channel! Lots of awesome rations in the cupboard to be reviewed. Should be a great year.
Hooray for metric!
As for the tea and coffee whitener its like adding milk when making Mashed potatoes. those lil packs also get added to the peaches with suger. When i was an army cadet doing so was very common. basically helps improve the consistency.
surprised they don't add extra Whitener packs for that reason.
tortias are a new addition Normally we ended up with a Brick of (fairly decent) compressed bread
An almost four year old MRE looks a lot better than school lunch!
Ashley Gonzalez It looks better than some of the dinners here at home, but shhhh - don't tell the Wife ;-)
Kiwi Dude
Lol.
Funny you mentioned the instructions on the mashed potatos saying to add whitener. My dad would tell me most of the guys in he was with in bootcamp for the usmc would take EVERYTHING in their mre's and mix it in one bag and eat it like that.
The numbers are just packaging codes
With instant mashed potatoes often they recommend adding milk. I suppose adding the non-dairy creamer to the package is the field substitute for that.
Mc Swabin Absolutely. Nice of them to consider it, I thought.
Orange Pekoe isn't actually orange tea, it's a leaf size designation. I wonder how many subs you're getting from Gavin talking about you in the latest rooster teeth let's play.
Snowpaw Studios Thanks for that. Can you please link the video for me? I haven't seen it.
Canadian MRE's -- So nice --- I was looking for the word "please" somewhere on the package. They certainly spare the cost for the outer packaging. I love that they want to know the "operation number" in the meal review. The CUP A SOUP is a great idea for civilian MRE"S. I have mashed potatoes to make my own version of their mashed meal. Amazing what you can do with a vacuum sealer and your imagination. Cheers from New Hampshire, USA!
Cabernet Sauce...how fancy...
Strong flavours in that sauce, really nice.
Your daughter is adorable. I'm not bragging but were from England originally and I still think as a Canadian we have better foods and palettes! However I do miss our Marks and Spencer's stores. Next time leave the whitener out its just another chemical to make the instant mashed potato turn white!!! Love your vloggs❣🇨🇦
Those canadians know whats up
The sure do!
The tea and coffee whitener/creamer is basically powdered milk, and when you make mashed potatoes, you usually put milk in them to make them creamy and fluffy. :)
Go Canada!
This is so satisfying to watch ! Great review !
Prince Lozano Thank you.
the only kid that ate all the military food from all over the world... aint that cool! LOL
Why are mre videos so satisfying.
Gavin Free anyone?
Yep
***** Hi there, I've just run through the comments and saw this mentioned a few times, you couldn't do me a favour and link in the video could you? Cheers.
Kiwi Dude Sure!th-cam.com/video/QmglSBvdcjw/w-d-xo.html
Gavin is the British dude, and half way through the video he mentions your channel!
Edit: The time of it 26:13
***** Cheers for that.
Great review, that looked like a tasty meal! I was a young reservist when IMPs first came out, in 1981. The menus then were pretty basic, they sure have come a long way!
Great review, love your daughter final taste test! I used to save the fruit pouch for the morning, especially the Peaches in syrup, heat it up and have it with coffee to warm yourself up. I really did like our IMP's, including the "Lung" Also had the earlier IRP's which were commercial small cans including canned bacon, the one thing I hated in those was the powdered tea.
Colin Park Cheers. Loved this IMP!
The Boss looked like the most professional ration tester in the world. What a cutie Kiwi!
Thank you :-)
I won't comment on the whitener....I really do enjoy your reviews....my son wants to join the forces when he finishes school....so I really enjoy the reviews as they give me ideas of what to sent him when and if he is sent over seas....so this is where I say I am glad to be Canadian.....adore the boss....I will have to put together a goody bag for her....
Glad you're enjoying the videos. Best of luck for your Son joining the services, I know he'll be fed well!
The bag that holds all the contents of the IMP is actually often used as a poop bag in the field. Just a little extra info for you haha Love the reviews.
+BrettDrumming And all this time I was putting trash in that bag and pooping into a trench dug with my trench tool (folding shovel).
+BrettDrumming Brings it to you, then takes it back. It's the circle of life man
Nobody poops in the fucking bag
These videos always make me want to cook.
when you make instant potatoes at home you generally add milk and butter. :-)
IMP! I have to say that this ration is in the top of my Wishlist! Hope to get them one day!
They're very good mate!
I thought I'd seen all your videos and yet I missed this one. A delicious looking one at that. :)
troberts1 Love those IMP's!
when mashing freshly boiled potatos at home its common (at least in scotland) to add some milk or butter to make the mash creamier, perhaps thats why they suggested adding the whitener? still seems a little odd though.
I LOL'd when you got to the feedback form.
The whitener is simply a milk substitute. Canadians sometimes put milk or cream in mashed potatoes to make them smoother and creamier.(dunno about powdered whitener tho...)
+Mark Desjardins We also add milk etc... never thought about powdered creamer, but I guess it makes sense. I love the fact they thought to even suggest it.
+Kiwi Dude I've used whitener (creamer here in the U.S.) when I needed milk for something only to find I didn't have any. Works like powdered milk. BTW my daughter and I have been binge watching these vids. Love you and "The Boss."
+Mark Desjardins We ALWAYS put milk from our milk bags in our mashed potatoes.
10:49 ... the tea and coffee whiter gives a creamier taste to the mashed potatoes, those instruction have been on Canadian IMP rations potato for 45 years .. since the old style, mostly CANNED Individual Ration Pack (IRP), or RAT PACKS as we called them.
Nice review. The date format is YYDDD.
I often put milk or cream in mashed potatoes as it makes it creamier and it's more to my taste than if I'd just left it on its own
Whitener is non-dairy creamer for coffee and tea. Mashed potatoes typically requires milk to make more creamy, hence the recommend action of adding the creamer packet.
Ed Yulo I'd never thought of adding powdered creamer before, but I guess it makes perfect sense. I love the mere fact that they even suggested it.
Regarding the tortillas splitting; I've found that if you heat the tortillas in the package for a few minutes, it lets the fats and glutens loosen up and rehydrate. That makes them more elastic and less likely to just break in half, like they do when they're cold straight from the package. Then you can spoon some of that meatloaf in the middle of a whole tortilla that is warm and soft and pliable. Top it off with a generous line of those mashed potatoes and you've got yourself a Canadian-style soft taco. If only the main had been Poutine, then you could have made some Ultimate Canadian/Mexican fusion with Poutine soft tacos.
I think the potatoes say you can add a salt packet and coffee whitener to add better flavor... The whitener is kind of like a powdered milk so it makes sense since some people add milk to mashed potatoes. I would love to hear how others make their MRE's better by added other MRE items to improve taste or make something completely different. Also Lipton is big into soup mixes in North America, mostly the instant soups like this one. "Cup of Soup" has ton of flavors to choose from...
grumpy150 Thanks. It was very thoughtful of them to suggest adding the creamer to improve the taste. Great attention to detail!
The whitener is also called non dairy creamer, because it lends a creamy flavor to coffee. I'm guessing that's why they say you can add that (because some folks do add butter and/or milk to mashed potatoes for the same reason).
I use to hate the long imp plastic spoon and only used my issued kfs spoon instead. I cut the side of the entrée pouch and not from the top.
+Allan Martin the longer spoon was added as a result of feedback from the field, it was so that you don't get food on your hands from trying to dig out the remaining portions of the pouch with a short spoon.
That's why you cut the ration pack on its side, memories lol
the coffee whitener as you are calling it is no more than powdered milk or creamer as we call it in the states and when introduced to instant potatoes it gives the taste of using milk to make them like at home
First time watching your channel, well done. Liked your assistant taster, cute. Keep up the good work, will keep an eye out for your videos. Cheers, west coast responder.
The longer videos the better in my opinion. This one looks awesome, the boss looks so cute :)
Melissa Fleming Thanks Melissa. Glad you enjoyed it.
Orange pekoe is a term used in the Western tea trade to describe a particular genre of black teas (orange pekoe grading). The tea industry uses the term orange pekoe to describe a basic, medium-grade black tea consisting of many whole tea leaves of a specific size; however, it is popular in some regions (such as North America) to use the term as a description of any generic black tea
Pierre Chen Thanks. As you can tell, I'm no tea expert ;-)
Hey Kiwi! After watching all of your MRE, IMP, etc. videos, I went out and bought four MRE's. They were Ameriqual and 3/4 were amazing! Try to stay away from the Pesto Chicken Pasta MRE, as it is disgusting. I almost threw up. They were only about a year old too. The good ones were Asian Style Beef Strips, Meatballs in Marinara, and finally Spicy Turkey Chili with Beans. They weren't Military MRE's, they were for the average "Joe" to go camping. I would have sent you one, but I didn't want to give the bad one ;) Thanks for another great video and keep it up.
Cooper Peterson Hey, great to hear you tried some MRE's. I've got the Pesto Chicken in the cupboard waiting for review. Uh oh! Lol.
Heat the tortillas and have you ever tried heating the snack breads in mre's?,also the easiest way to knead the peanut butter or cheese is to hold the packet between both hands and move your hands back and forth spinning the packet in between.
Good to see a IMP reviewed on youtube!
the tea and coffee whitener "creamer' is like a powdered cream in canada so like adding cream
I know in US MRE's that the gum they give you has a laxative in it since the foods designed to plug you up since you're in the field.
Fantastic review! I love watching your videos every night and dreaming about trying an mre someday, your videos always brings a smile to my face and I wish you the best of luck my friend 😄👍👍👌
Riley Stubbs Thanks heaps, glad you're enjoying them! Good luck with trying a ration yourself one day. Let me know how you get on.
The whitener is to make a bit sweet because some people like that way is nice that they said you could do it if you want to
the whitener is a dairy substitute. it would be to make the potatoes creamyer. my dad adds it when he makes kraft mac and cheese when we are out of milk.
Thanks. I wish I'd kept some separate to see what difference it made.
She is such a cute kid! Love your videos, as always! I can't wait for more! I've binged watched all three of your guy's videos and now I don't know what to do.
Great review! Looking forward to seeing more!
Cheers Phil, Happy New Year mate.
I think the beverage bags were designed to be used as make shift blood doner bags in the field. Somewhere there should be sealed valve things to insert in the bottom to be used ad Iv bags.
Joesph Corley Sounds plausible given the shape and bag material. I wish I'd kept the bag to look at it now.