Greetings from Ukraine) There are different types of borscht, but even cold properly prepared borscht with sour cream is excellent. but the canned one... oh, I don’t know, I would be afraid to eat it unheated, I can imagine how it stinks when opened, which is typical for such a rich soup. To be honest, I don’t quite understand whether it’s really a good idea to put it in your packed lunch.
NEVER, NEVER ever eat cold borshch!!! You ruined your first impression of greatest ukrainian dish, 1st impression is what you can never change! But tnx for the content. Ukraine is here. Slava Ukraini!
I served in UA military in 2022-2023 until I was injured. You prepare everything right (at least the same way I did it). But we usually opened one for 3-5 peaople. One takes brakfast, another - supper and so on. Plus usually you don't feel hunger in trenches. Yeah, it doesn't taste good, but I love those rations. They are nicely packed and they do give you energy. Regarding those cookies/crackers and bread. They are very hard, but they are my favourite, because it's very easy to eat them: easy to open and if an assault on your position starts you just put the leftovers in the pocket and eat them later.
Ukrainian soldier here. This is one of the menus (i think there are 7 in total). We don't eat it cold. The easiest way to warm it up in the field is to throw the package into a bowl of water and boil the water with gas
I used to work with an American, a PC volunteer. Coming back home after 2 years he really missed borshch. He even tried to cook it, but was disappointed failing to find tasty vegetables in the USA. Come to Ukraine - and you'll enjoy our borshch wich is UNESCO heritage❤
Ukraine have a lot of natural honey, and its very cheap. How it looks and taste like depend of what flowers your bees "eat". Hard bread didnt mean to be eaten like you do, you have to hydrate it by puting in in coffe, tea, water, or borsh. This MRE should be eaten while you hungry, try not to eat few days, it will taste better. Heating food should help a litle. Good mood comes not from sweets but when mike jonson stop preventing Ukraine from getting weapons and shells support from US.
loool, well said! that little weasel is really annoying. if he spent half is much time worrying about serious stuff as he does coiffing his hair.... the world would be a better place.
@varusteleka you ain't lying. People ask me all the time if a certain type of fish is good to eat. My response is always, "it depends on how hungry you are". Edible has levels
We usually have field kitchens. and we eat what they cook. + the state gives us fresh products (meat, vegetables, fruits, fish, cereals, sweets, etc.) from which we cook whatever we want. MRE used only in very difficult cases when it is impossible to bring fresh food or when you are deep behind enemy lines. also due to limited resources, including money. we even have to save on food. approximately 2,250,000 MRE are used per year. if you add a pack of Skittles to each of them. then for this amount one could buy 3,750 FPV Drones. Thank you very much for your review. As a Ukrainian, I want to thank you very much. Your videos lift our spirits and make us understand that the world has not forgotten about us.❤❤❤ P.S. sorry for my bad English😅
Sir, I want to salute you and your comrades for all that you're doing to defend YOUR country from the occupiers. The resilience, the sprit, the positive attitudes, love, support, and hope that Ukrainians have has made a huge impact on me, as I've been following the war every single day since 2/24/2022 and seen what's happening to you and your compatriots. Other than the Chernobyl disaster, I never knew anything about Ukraine or Ukrainians in general. Over the past two+ years I have become obsessed with Ukraine and the absolute hearts your people. I've shed tears for you, I've shared glorious moments of your triumph with you by watching combat videos and reading literally every article that is published concerning the war, and I've also shared the absolute hatred of the occupiers for what they have done to your beautiful country and beautiful people. I have donated and will continue to donate to your cause because unfortunately right now, there are a few, select, incredibly stupid morons who are blocking the crucial aid that you guys need to fight this war. I have really never felt disgust for my own country until now. It is absolutely pathetic and disgraceful that our government will not pass an aid bill because literally, a few cretins, are trying and succeeding in keeping Ukraine from getting the armament and weapons you need to win this war. It is my opinion that if the US would have given you the weapons capable of completing critical tasks, specifically long-range weapons and artillery, you guys would have already won the war and kicked the occupiers from your land once and for all. Your soldiers are MUCH more competent, willing, hard-working, and smarter than the russki's and overall, a hell of a better army than the Russian armed forces. You're actually the most experienced and strongest army in the world at the moment. The only advantage the occupiers have is numbers and ammunition. For the most part they are incompetent, horribly trained (if trained at all), brainwashed lemmings that expected you folks to welcome them with open arms when they invaded. How absolutely and pitifully stupid are these russki's? What country, other than russia of course, empties their prisons and basically forces prisoners, foreigners and migrant workers, ethnic minorities, and even handicapped citizens to fight a war? The sheer lack of moral and ethical principles is egregious. It is a repeat of WWII and what's even crazier is that the majority of people around the world are blind to this or choose not to see the atrocities and genocide being committed in Ukraine. I truly apologize for my county's lack of intelligence and outright hypocrisy. It is the most insane and disheartening shit in the world right now that you are almost out of weapons and facing a critical situation. Keep fighting. Keep the hope. Keep loving your country and its citizens, and most of all, keep your sprits high and your hearts in the right place. Hopefully, the aid bill that will allow you to defeat russia is coming soon...I have hope that the F-16s will make quite a difference in deterring the occupiers glide bombs and missles. It will take time, but Ukraine will prevail! Slava Ukraine!!! The world has not forgotten you! You've got this, just keep on keeping on! ❤👃👊🤙
It is *extraordinarily* seldom to see this attitude. Honestly, for 99% of "Western" soldiers, the rations simply have to be better, otherwise morale will drop. Because people don't think about the "bigger picture". That's exactly why, in my eye, Ukraine deserves controlling their destiny 10x more than anybody else. Two uprisings where protesters have been shot and now a war where even the "small grunt" forgoes a lot of their "benefits", incl. rations, for the greater good. Inspiring. And making our lack of support even more embarassing.
@hatter3153 Your English is great! This is something I've encountered with SO many Ukrainians, you always think your English is awful when it's actually really great! I'm teaching English in Kyiv, and just so many of my students underestimate their current skill!
Skittles are not expensive and its not an extra cost, it replaces other items so you save money there, if anything replacing suppers second salty meal with jam would be cheaper and less bland and its less sodium.
Hello from Ukraine, I recently started learning English, in free time I often watch your channel as practice to understand military topics in English. My ass just exploded when I heard the word “ration”, it sounded like "russian" to me :D
Звісно твого чоловіка годують з польової кухні бо нема війни MRE потрібно на війні для того щоб людині було що їсти коли противник в 100 метрах від твого окопу сидить в іншому окопі :) Ніхто тобі свіжу їжу не буде тягнути на нуль а якщо привезти польову кухню то її одразу знищать 🌚
As I see, its "Daily field food set number 8" - "Добовий польовий набір продуктів ДПНП-Р варіант №8" "Dehydrated" bread is called "suhari". In Ukraine, we do not eat first/second dishes like borsch, soup, potatoes and other without bread. Therefore, there are a lot of its types in the ration. For example, cookies without taste are called "galety". We use them like bread. Also, this MRE does not have a flameless heater for some reason.
There are 2 versions of MREs one that are supposed to be cooked on the front lines - they do have a heater. And second, that is usually cooked on training, which always has a heating source
subscribed to your channel. In my opinion, your videos are the best among all military related channels. Genuine, not fake outrage, no overreaction, respectful etc. Great job!
Hahaha, thanks mate, I was smiling throughout the whole video :D How much MRE do we eat? I dunno about my comrades, but for me the MRE like that is kept my stomach full for 48 (sometimes 72 hours)😄 I really appreciate your support for my country! Take care and stay safe! God Bless America! Long Life the King! Glory to the Ukraine! P.S. sorry for my English :))
@@xGoodOldSmurfehx I understand that) just a friendly advice if there is a chance to try/cook this dish. No doubt MRE has poor quality in compression to actual food) maybe one day the guy will visit to Kyiv, who knows, who knows
Dude, if borsh (you pronounce it perfectly, btw) smells that bad, it's no longer borsh, for heaven's sake feed it to the tualet! Brave soul you are... Red borsh you eat hot, green borsh can be eaten cold, though I still prefer it warm. And Thank You for your continuous support. 💛💙
I like cold borshch too, I cook red borshch almost without fat, so it's pretty nice even cold)) Especially it is cool to eat it cold in summer. )) Or when you're too lazy/hungry to heat it))
@@helgiyoshyolenko4721 люблю холодний червоний борщ. а ще холодний червоний вчорашній борщ). а недавно виявила, що в карпатах готують якийсь білий борщ і тепер нема мені спокою))).
this is MRE desinded to be used when one can set up basic heating. All those meals supoosed to be eaten hot and cracers supoosed to be dipped into tea or coffee. rye onces are supossed to be dipped in hot! borsh(as it was mentioned you never eat borch cold, unless it is spesial type of borch). there is MRE called "special forces MRE" that has chemical heater supplyed it also lighter and has higer meat ratio, as well as more sweets
This Daily field food set #8 is truly one of the worst. Especially if you eat it cold. It was made at the very beginning of a full-scale invasion, when they didn’t bother much about taste, the main thing was to get the calories the soldiers needed. I saw a newer ration, there was no borscht, but there was pea soup, which everyone praised. Instead of one of the porridges there was a vegetable stew with meat. Each bag also contained sweets - chocolate/dried apricots/honey and chewing gum. All packages contained chemical heaters.
Ukrainian MREs (IDK what version, must've been newer ones made after 2014 or 2022 maybe even?) will ever stay in my memory because I remember a review video and the Ukrainian MRE had like bodywash cleaning towels that gave you a chance to clean yourself. Most other Western MREs didn't have this or handle the topic some other separate way. I was kind of astounded by this but I suppose it's a good morale boost if you have an easy way to clean yourself up if you are holed up in trenches or basements for a prolonged while and can stay somewhat clean with those regularly without necessarily needing other utensils.
In Ukraine we don't have such thing as 'lunch', we have breakfast at 7-8 am, dinner at 3-5 pm and supper at 7-9 pm, this words we learn at school, we also learn about lunch but that is very weird for us.
Обід в нас о 13-14 годині приблизно, як потом їжі. А як час доби це 12 година. І ми кажемо " по обіді" тобто після обіду, після полудня. Є ще прийом їжі - полуденник. А ти чогось пишеш, що немає@@choboltovski
That’s the difference between Ukrainians and russians. Ukrainians know and love to cook and love their comfort wherever they are. Well, not all of us obviously, but it’s mostly in our DNA.
The honey is most likely "raw" honey. This just means it hasn't been filtered and pasteurized. If you're a big fan of honey like me, eating raw honey as opposed to commercially bought ultrafiltered honey is analogous to eating a beautiful dry-aged filet mignon versus eating a skirt steak thrown on a flat iron with no seasoning. Raw honey is hella good tasting and nutritionally it is really good for you because it contains so many antioxidants, along with strong anti-bacterial components, and anti-inflammatory properties that would definitely help soldiers on the front line that are constantly sore and banged up. You can even survive off of honey by itself for about a week without succumbing to the effects of malnutrition or losing too much body mass. It's full of carbohydrates (sugars) and a tablespoon contains about 60 calories, which means it's chock-full of energy and can keep you going when very exhausted. Sorta like natures little energy drink.
I am from ukraine (as half of the comment section is) and i want to thank you for trying our ration. Not a big thing, but depending where you bought it from you could have just saved a life or two. Дякую друже!
Hi Bro) I'm from Ukraine. Oh my goodness, guy these dishes need to be eaten hot! ))) These dishes need to be heated. Especially borscht! ))) I have no idea how these dishes taste cold))) At the expense of hard bread - this is for an amateur But if bread is soaked in hot borscht, it is another matter.
These food from MRE taste really not cool when cold. All that food had to be heated, then it changes. My opinion. :) But as for me, any good food has to taste ok even cold, if not - neah, that is not the best food in the world.
А замерзший борщ з такого сухпайка хто їв? У 2022 році, з Північно - Східної сторони Бахмута у окопах ми гризли такий борщ. Ми навіть в галетах знаходили якийсь смак))) Самим смачним були джем і звісно мед. Мед натуральний без хімічних добавок. Кава одразу кажу, просто жахлива. Так українським сухпайкам не вистачає солодощів. Навіть у ворога є шоколад. Але таке собі.
Ukrainian soldier here. I've tried a lot of different MREs, domestic, US and other Europeans. So my take is yeah, you're right that our rations are really poor in terms of the variety of snacks and sides. It's really nice having sweets or pepperoni bites, energy bars etc. I would really like to see this in ukrainian mres, but main dishes are pretty decent in term of calories and protein. And borshch is probably not for your pallet, as you've said (at least cold one), the smell you've been put off by is most likely cabbage. In an enclosed retort I see it could develop a strange smell. But for my taste it's still good. What is really god like in UA mre for me, is beans with beef - super tasty and full or caloeries and protein💪
As for baked goods, it may sound strange, but these biscuits should be dipped in tea/coffee and eaten afterwards, plus jam is absolutely necessary. This is a "tradition" from the time of the Soviet occupation, people made jam themselves, because it was almost the only sweet that could be obtained, and such tasteless cookies do not spoil for a long time, because people did not always have the opportunity to buy them, so when such an opportunity arose, people bought a lot at once, for several months. The question is why, after 30 years of de-occupation, we still produce such food, especially for our heroes-defenders...
Because our people mostly will non eat any borshch or kasha without bread, but it's pretty hard to save any bread fresh in that packages for months)) That's why this idea came.
Hey, Ukrainian here. Not the one in the military, but I am quite familiar with older daily rations and I can tell what is different in this one you had. First of all, pre-war rations had much smaller packaging for main dishes. Each portion (breakfast, dinner, supper) had one flameless heater packed in, which allowed to heat the stuff without any issues (except for dinner, which also had two dishes and just one heater). I assume this change has something to do with limited imports and necessity to produce significantly more rations at the moment. Next, there was only one portion of rusks (but still three portions of hardtacks) which is supposed to be consumed with the soup you have on the menu. There's much more than just one borsch - pea soup, some rice variation, and so on. Now, for some unknown reason, there's two, presumably to provide additional calories or carbohydrates and meet daily standard at low cost. And lastly, yes, these are still quite rarely seen on the front lines currently. Soldiers nearly always organize some sort of field kitchen and cook fresh food whenever such possibility exists. As such, these rations are kind of last available option to get any nutrients, so imo taste and snacks are not that important when you literally have no choice. P.S. Oh, and eating borsch cold is definitely not the best option. Since it's heavily based on broth, it has a lot of fat in it, and all fat floats on top when the dish is cold. I can also assume that storing conditions (before you received the ration) were not the best, which significantly affected sensations. P.P.S. It is ALWAYS illegal to export military stuff here, even if it's just a meal :)
Hi! Thank you for a video! It`s intersting to get to know what you as American think about this specific food. You aren`t supposed to do anything with dry bread. We eat it like it is, but usually it`s sweet dry brad, with raisins, or without. We name it "suhari" (Сухарі солодкі з родзинками) It goes well with tea, and I like it because of crunchiness) also there is a practical use - dry bread last longer. And you sad, that you wasn't expected cherry jam to be sour. It could be because we in Ukraine usually do jams and pastry fillings with sour cherries. We call than berry "wyshnya" (вишня) and translate it just "a cherry" without word "sour", like it's expected for cherry to be sour. But in USA people call "a cherry" another berry - sweet and with denser peel. We call that "Chereshnya". I noticed that when I searched for pie recipes. So that's why I guess )) We sand a lot of sweet treats, candys, bars to our solders. And homemade pickles - cucumbers, some homemade sauces like Ajika, zucchini and tomato sauces. And so on.
I saw ukrainians from "Хлопці з лісу" channel rewying similar MRI and there was 4 chemical heaters in it (for each meal). So they added a meal to a separate plastic bag, than some water and a heater, and it started to boil. Weird it doesn't have these here Also you should've try to heat the borscht and soak a biscuits in it 😊
I'm from Ukraine and I was very interested to see your reaction.. thanks for the feedback! in fact, I would never eat these dishes cold.. temperature is very important and greatly changes the taste.. eating all this cold is the same as drinking hot beer.. and you’re absolutely right about sweets - I often don’t have them enough🥰😍
I can’t even imagine how they preserve borsht, but you definitely shouldn’t eat it cold lol. Nice pronunciation btw. And you should try fresh and properly cooked borsht, it great! Thanks for the video!
I was first introduced to your channel when I was working on the translation of your conversation with Andriy (mate "Darwin", platoon commander of the Third Assault Brigade). Since then I’ve watched some of your videos that I found interesting. I appreciate that you’re staying in the loop of our war, covering it for your large audience. But, when I got to watch this video, frankly, it left me with strongly negative feelings. This comment might turn out to be a long-read, but, hopefully, it’ll keep someone out of trouble in terms of international relations and being respectful to other cultures. In general, I’m not going to say anything about the matter of taste, since that is individual and, clearly, you were not expected to like and compliment just about every item on that ration. However, you did a few things that any Ukrainian would find offensive. First off, I really didn’t get that overreaction about borshch at all. It may not have been the best borshch possible (I guess it was far from that, actually) since it was made to be preserved in a sealed package for a long time, and borshch is surely not something that is supposed to be stored and eaten like that. It’s meant to be served steaming hot and consumed fresh. So, if you ever get to taste a real borshch that’s cooked in basically every Ukrainian family, you’ll definitely see and feel the difference. Nevertheless, that ration-edition borshch is still borshch and a many centuries old traditional Ukrainian dish, so you should’ve known that your comments and overall reaction to it would be perceived offensive to Ukrainians and our culture. No matter how bad it might’ve been, still you weren’t eating literal 💩 to make a face and remarks like that. Secondly, at 28:28, comparing bread to dust from the floor… Really? People in the west may not know this, but we lost nearly 15 million Ukrainians in 4 Holodomors (man-made famines), organized and carried out by bolshevik russia in the 20th century. They were taking away all the food they could find, primarily bread, down to the last crumbs. They would shoot people to death for sneaking a handful of wheat grains left on the ground in a field at night. Our people would make "bread" out of grass, leaves and other things in order to feed their children. Those parents who had many children faced a terrible choice - which one of their children would be sacrificed so that others could survive (you know what I mean here). As a kid, I would watch my great grandmother, who had lived through the severest Holodomor of 1932/33, carefully and reverently collect bread crumbs from the dining table and sometimes even from the floor into her handkerchief to the rest of her life. She would tell me a lot of things about what she and other people from her village had to go through during those horrifying years. Even today, our existential enemy is trying to organize another Holodomor by targeting our grain depots, agricultural facilities, and workers, as well as littering our soils with explosives. Today, as in those times, our grain is grown not only on the sweat, but also on the blood of our people. Bread is sacred for Ukrainians. And so is grain. It’s in the genetic memory of our Nation. It’s passed through generations. And making those kind of comments about bread and throwing it on the floor like you did at 29:09… Me, personally, I wouldn’t tolerate anyone doing that and, in case someone did that in front of me, I’d definitely not be nice to that person. Out of all western nations perhaps only Irish people can understand us in this regard, because they had to live through the same horror in their history. I hope my comment was informative and helpful, and I hope that it will save you and perhaps someone else from getting into unpleasant situations because of such words and actions in the future.
The dinner/supper distinction likely comes from British English. By definition, dinner is the main meal of the day and can be had either at midday or in the evening. Supper means evening meal. It gets a bit confusing, but if you have dinner at midday, then your evening meal is supper. If you have dinner in the evening, then your midday meal is lunch. But breakfast/dinner/supper in British English can be "translated" to breakfast/lunch/dinner in American English if you prefer, though it would not be entirely accurate due to the above caveat of timing.
Like most people in Ukraine take food three times a day, so only breakfast, dinner and supper. Also when I was in school, thats exactly how we were teached, also teacher did mention, that in england they eat like 4 times and have lunch 😅
A Ukrainian Army friend of mine says they always heat the water with a portable electric waterheater and put these rations in there to warm up before eating. Because when it cold its realy terrible. Also they bring them a lot of Snickers and other sweets that you can eat in addition to MRE.
I’m a USMC OIF/OEF vet who was born and raised in Ukraine. I also served in the Legion for a few months in 2022. Not sure if this is still the case, but back then these MREs were a super premium item-we only distributed them to guys going on days-long missions. Nobody actually liked them, and most of the time we had access to hot and fresh food, but when we didn’t-they were a whole lot better than nothing. There is mess kit issued to most of the Ukrainian military, and most of this stuff is *supposed* to be eaten hot. That said, it’s not always feasible (almost never for us because we mostly did recon). There was nothing wrong with your technique, except that you’re supposed to be mad hungry when you eat this stuff-makes it a whole lot easier going down :) PS you do a great job pronouncing Ukrainian words. Both “Andriivka” in the pt.1 video and “borsch” in this one were flawless.
the borsch is basically the equivalent of the pizza mre every body wants it. but borsch is basically just beef stew , and just like stew you most definitely do not want it cold or where the fat in the broth is in a jelly state
Freshly made hot borscht is delicious. The one I had was made with beef broth, red cabbage, beetroot, potatoes and carrots 😊 (plus garlic, herbs and spices)
In Ukraine we have some really hard cookies, like couple variants, also we tend to eat dried flavored bread with beer. So like the cookie you mentioned you must take a sip of tea/coffee to melt it in your mouth, it's not ment to be just eated like separate dish, but possible.
Hi! Im from Ukraine. Your suggestions are right: things you suggested to be heated and hydrated - should be heated and hydrated. Cold Borsh - is the worst thing ever but heated and correctly made - should be the best one thing in the world. I suggest you to visit UA sometimes and re-impress yourself in our restaurants, im sure you will have another kind of experience.
I’m surprised that Americans could be so surprised by the just dried bread. It’s a cultural norm here and it’s delicious, cheap and it doesn’t grow moldy in the trenches.
Those dry snacks and crackers are good to go with tea or coffee. Its more of culture difference cause its common for us to eat dry snacks not in mre only but in civil lufe as well. We call most of such bread origin dry snacks by the word сухарі/сухарики - suhari which in translation would be smth like drylings. Also we have them both salty and sweet. Salty ones are good with beer
OMG, that was HILARIOUS! Firstly, you were such a good sport! Secondly, that in NO WAY resembled borscht. I also found your disdain for the crisp bread (not the crackers) interesting and amusing. While this is a cheap home-made staple in most Ukrainian households, store-bought in North America it's generally a lot more expensive than regular bread. Something to also keep in mind about the rations, Ukraine is literally one of the poorest countries in Europe, and while it's receiving considerable help now if that ration is from early 2022, that still reflects the minimal funds the country was working with. Taking that into consideration, I think the ration as unappealing as it was, was still rather impressive overall.
Thanks for your fair opinion!❤ Testing of our Ukrainian MRE is might be tasty not for everyone. Our traditional food means a lot of pork meat and fat, vegetables, such as cabbages, beеtrootes, potatoes, onions and carrots, mushrooms, beans. And of course, different cereals.😊 I am not a combatant, I am civilian paramedic. But I can assure you, in ordinary cold winter day you would eat this entire MRE! And I agree - there's not enough sweets in those packages!
Hello. Thank you for your video and for support my country. I've been watching you for a long time. You are very sincere. Your videos helps me to learn English. Greetings from Ukraine ♥️
It's the funniest ration video I saw! I laughed to tears! I happen to understand both cultures and the interrogations you have and at the same time the reasons why those rations are made this way. So this cultures' collision made my day! Thanks. 2.5 were still generous of you viewpoint
17:00 You're not supposed to rehydrate this bread. My grandma often makes them, they're called suchars (ukr - сухарі), it's done to preserve bread for much longer, i think it was often done in USSR, when people bought as much bread as possible, and then seved it for longer. You can also soften it by holding it in warm liquid (often done with soup). Much of it is my experience and thoughts tho.
Сухарі люди робили з давніх давен для того, аби зберігати хліб як найдовше. Якісні сухарі повинні бути дуже сухими, тоді вони настільки тверді що крихкі і тоді їх можна вживати відкускючи маленькими шматочками. Або розламуючи та кидаючи до страв (ось саме до борщу й додають) тоді вони не сильно але розмокають й становляться такими собі дещо хрусткими частинками у борщі 😊 це дуже прикольно, іноді буває що не дуже хочеш їсти, але з сухариками борщ йде на ура 😅. Галєти - зазвичай їх мокають у напої але не на довго, аби вони трішки набралися води. Тоді вони смачніші😊. До речі, сушені хлібні вироби за відсутності води можуть лежати дуже дуже довго. Але для цього в них не повинно бути багато сахару. Моя прабабуся пережила голод, і вона до самої смерті робила завжди сухарі з хлібу що залишався. Я як був малий завжди радів ним, бо хліб що додатково просушується стає дещо приємнішим на смак. Та це був такий собі перекус, бо ніби багато не з'їв але не голодний й у шлунку не бовтається багато їжі.
Yeah, that borshch has to be served hot. It just doesn't work work any other way. There's a Lithuanian cold version, but it has to be prepared with that in mind. Not just gobbled up as served. Always read the how to prepare manual. And that honey is probably the natural, real stuff. Ukraine makes lots of honey with OG bee farms.
LOL WRT honey - this is real honey, it crystallizes. I'm sad that it seems US citizens mostly confuse 10% honey, 90% syrup with actual honey. Yeah, I know, it's generalizing and a bit condescending, but whenever "Americans" try honey, they think it's real good. And whenever I taste US honey, it's usually bad (just sweet). Plus, research backs this up. Which *does not* mean that the US doesn't have good honey - it just seems it's rare in supermarkets.
The Borsch actually is good thing. You just don't need to eat it cold And you need to know that this borsch in the package is a "fake" Fresh borsch from home is crazy You have to try real borsch, not "soldier"
This dried bread can save your life in critical situation, also it's like an additional calories that you can add to any drink/dish. All this staff isn't restaurant level obviously, but consist of all nutrients that you need. Also, this MRE is peaty natural.
as a ukrainian I believe that hard bread was supposed to be added to borsch. Though agree that is bad. I eaten this rations too. Food for extremal situation where you have nothing else really.
Now that I’ve fully watched the video, I’d like to add that the real Borshch, not this MRE bullshit you had to try, is really tasty and should always be consumed heated. Thanks for your video ❤️
From the start - it's a USA and global marketing which completely ruined morning meal. It supposed to be a PROPER meal. Secondly - bread should go with borsch (and there was a lot of coments about it being cold), also not sure whether their packed version of borsch is any good. There was 3rd point, but didn't write it right away, so forgot about it :)
Regarding cookies, those can be super hard to bite and chew, we do dip them in the tea tho..Regardless, they looked stale 😢. With borscht, I'm sure the stink came from the cabbage 😮 Thanks for the review 😊
''For breakfest I expected sugar, not porridge with chicken and vegetables'' - wow, US medicine must do miracles on diabetes :) Each of those meals were supposed to be eaten hot.
Ah, he eats cold borscht! I got traumatized by watching it)
😆
Borscht is still tasty even when it's cold, but yeah 😅
Greetings from Ukraine) There are different types of borscht, but even cold properly prepared borscht with sour cream is excellent. but the canned one... oh, I don’t know, I would be afraid to eat it unheated, I can imagine how it stinks when opened, which is typical for such a rich soup. To be honest, I don’t quite understand whether it’s really a good idea to put it in your packed lunch.
I'll do it again too! (Just kidding, I'm also traumatized)
even more - he`s tasting jam brfore borshch lol
NEVER, NEVER ever eat cold borshch!!! You ruined your first impression of greatest ukrainian dish, 1st impression is what you can never change! But tnx for the content. Ukraine is here. Slava Ukraini!
Its true ))
Oopsie 🙈
@@CombatArmsChannelif you really want to get acquainted with Ukrainian cuisine, if possible, you should visit the Veselka restaurant
@@CombatArmsChannel ha-ha.
I haven't seen such reaction to ukrainian borshch)))
You should find ukrainian resturant and order traditional one.
@@CombatArmsChannel there are versions of this mre with heating bags or smth like that
I served in UA military in 2022-2023 until I was injured. You prepare everything right (at least the same way I did it). But we usually opened one for 3-5 peaople. One takes brakfast, another - supper and so on. Plus usually you don't feel hunger in trenches.
Yeah, it doesn't taste good, but I love those rations. They are nicely packed and they do give you energy. Regarding those cookies/crackers and bread. They are very hard, but they are my favourite, because it's very easy to eat them: easy to open and if an assault on your position starts you just put the leftovers in the pocket and eat them later.
Thank you for defending our country 💛💙
Дякую вам!
Thank you!
Ukrainian soldier here. This is one of the menus (i think there are 7 in total).
We don't eat it cold. The easiest way to warm it up in the field is to throw the package into a bowl of water and boil the water with gas
+
Нормально наших ЗСУ годують бо двоє на війні родичів
@@НаталіяШкіра-Федорів не знаю, що саме ви хотіли мені цим сказати))
Слава Україні! Будьте сильні, друзі мої. Мої думки та молитви з вами щодня. 💙💛 Вітання зі Сполучених Штатів Америки!💪🙏🌻
@@minty_Joe дякую!
I used to work with an American, a PC volunteer. Coming back home after 2 years he really missed borshch. He even tried to cook it, but was disappointed failing to find tasty vegetables in the USA. Come to Ukraine - and you'll enjoy our borshch wich is UNESCO heritage❤
Ukraine have a lot of natural honey, and its very cheap. How it looks and taste like depend of what flowers your bees "eat".
Hard bread didnt mean to be eaten like you do, you have to hydrate it by puting in in coffe, tea, water, or borsh.
This MRE should be eaten while you hungry, try not to eat few days, it will taste better. Heating food should help a litle.
Good mood comes not from sweets but when mike jonson stop preventing Ukraine from getting weapons and shells support from US.
loool, well said! that little weasel is really annoying. if he spent half is much time worrying about serious stuff as he does coiffing his hair.... the world would be a better place.
Hunger is the best condiment
Dude nice to meet you here :)
@@MrPetryks ;)
@varusteleka you ain't lying. People ask me all the time if a certain type of fish is good to eat. My response is always, "it depends on how hungry you are". Edible has levels
We usually have field kitchens. and we eat what they cook. + the state gives us fresh products (meat, vegetables, fruits, fish, cereals, sweets, etc.) from which we cook whatever we want.
MRE used only in very difficult cases when it is impossible to bring fresh food or when you are deep behind enemy lines.
also due to limited resources, including money. we even have to save on food. approximately 2,250,000 MRE are used per year. if you add a pack of Skittles to each of them. then for this amount one could buy 3,750 FPV Drones.
Thank you very much for your review. As a Ukrainian, I want to thank you very much. Your videos lift our spirits and make us understand that the world has not forgotten about us.❤❤❤
P.S.
sorry for my bad English😅
Sir, I want to salute you and your comrades for all that you're doing to defend YOUR country from the occupiers. The resilience, the sprit, the positive attitudes, love, support, and hope that Ukrainians have has made a huge impact on me, as I've been following the war every single day since 2/24/2022 and seen what's happening to you and your compatriots.
Other than the Chernobyl disaster, I never knew anything about Ukraine or Ukrainians in general. Over the past two+ years I have become obsessed with Ukraine and the absolute hearts your people. I've shed tears for you, I've shared glorious moments of your triumph with you by watching combat videos and reading literally every article that is published concerning the war, and I've also shared the absolute hatred of the occupiers for what they have done to your beautiful country and beautiful people.
I have donated and will continue to donate to your cause because unfortunately right now, there are a few, select, incredibly stupid morons who are blocking the crucial aid that you guys need to fight this war. I have really never felt disgust for my own country until now. It is absolutely pathetic and disgraceful that our government will not pass an aid bill because literally, a few cretins, are trying and succeeding in keeping Ukraine from getting the armament and weapons you need to win this war. It is my opinion that if the US would have given you the weapons capable of completing critical tasks, specifically long-range weapons and artillery, you guys would have already won the war and kicked the occupiers from your land once and for all.
Your soldiers are MUCH more competent, willing, hard-working, and smarter than the russki's and overall, a hell of a better army than the Russian armed forces. You're actually the most experienced and strongest army in the world at the moment. The only advantage the occupiers have is numbers and ammunition. For the most part they are incompetent, horribly trained (if trained at all), brainwashed lemmings that expected you folks to welcome them with open arms when they invaded. How absolutely and pitifully stupid are these russki's? What country, other than russia of course, empties their prisons and basically forces prisoners, foreigners and migrant workers, ethnic minorities, and even handicapped citizens to fight a war? The sheer lack of moral and ethical principles is egregious. It is a repeat of WWII and what's even crazier is that the majority of people around the world are blind to this or choose not to see the atrocities and genocide being committed in Ukraine.
I truly apologize for my county's lack of intelligence and outright hypocrisy. It is the most insane and disheartening shit in the world right now that you are almost out of weapons and facing a critical situation. Keep fighting. Keep the hope. Keep loving your country and its citizens, and most of all, keep your sprits high and your hearts in the right place. Hopefully, the aid bill that will allow you to defeat russia is coming soon...I have hope that the F-16s will make quite a difference in deterring the occupiers glide bombs and missles. It will take time, but Ukraine will prevail! Slava Ukraine!!! The world has not forgotten you! You've got this, just keep on keeping on! ❤👃👊🤙
It is *extraordinarily* seldom to see this attitude. Honestly, for 99% of "Western" soldiers, the rations simply have to be better, otherwise morale will drop. Because people don't think about the "bigger picture". That's exactly why, in my eye, Ukraine deserves controlling their destiny 10x more than anybody else. Two uprisings where protesters have been shot and now a war where even the "small grunt" forgoes a lot of their "benefits", incl. rations, for the greater good. Inspiring. And making our lack of support even more embarassing.
Your English is pretty good 👍
Slava Ukraini!
@hatter3153 Your English is great! This is something I've encountered with SO many Ukrainians, you always think your English is awful when it's actually really great! I'm teaching English in Kyiv, and just so many of my students underestimate their current skill!
Skittles are not expensive and its not an extra cost, it replaces other items so you save money there, if anything replacing suppers second salty meal with jam would be cheaper and less bland and its less sodium.
We joke in Ukraine that if you eat too much sweet stuff, your ass may stick together. )))))
Golden words! 😂😂😂
haha never heard that xd
True
@@peres9559haha, really?) I hear it since I was a child 😂 it's the most popular phrases to say somebody that you it too much sweets)
Hello from Ukraine, I recently started learning English, in free time I often watch your channel as practice to understand military topics in English. My ass just exploded when I heard the word “ration”, it sounded like "russian" to me :D
No, nobody consume field russians
Same...
А сейчас пукан бомбанет? Слава России!
My husband is in the military. They rarely eat those MRE.
They have a field kitchen with fresh looked meals.
Звісно твого чоловіка годують з польової кухні бо нема війни MRE потрібно на війні для того щоб людині було що їсти коли противник в 100 метрах від твого окопу сидить в іншому окопі :)
Ніхто тобі свіжу їжу не буде тягнути на нуль а якщо привезти польову кухню то її одразу знищать 🌚
Такий розумний прям капець.Експерт де є війна і де нема. Не дають їм MRE і води немає на позиціі, все що приніс з собою те й їси і пʼєш 5 днів.
@@corpse7645а польова кухня тільки коли ти відпочиваєш пару днів перед чергуванням.
@@corpse7645 бльооооо, ну чувааак
As I see, its "Daily field food set number 8" - "Добовий польовий набір продуктів ДПНП-Р варіант №8"
"Dehydrated" bread is called "suhari". In Ukraine, we do not eat first/second dishes like borsch, soup, potatoes and other without bread. Therefore, there are a lot of its types in the ration. For example, cookies without taste are called "galety". We use them like bread.
Also, this MRE does not have a flameless heater for some reason.
There are 2 versions of MREs one that are supposed to be cooked on the front lines - they do have a heater. And second, that is usually cooked on training, which always has a heating source
Maybe they need to take the heaters out for shipping. He's in the US after all...
subscribed to your channel.
In my opinion, your videos are the best among all military related channels. Genuine, not fake outrage, no overreaction, respectful etc. Great job!
Hahaha, thanks mate, I was smiling throughout the whole video :D How much MRE do we eat? I dunno about my comrades, but for me the MRE like that is kept my stomach full for 48 (sometimes 72 hours)😄 I really appreciate your support for my country! Take care and stay safe! God Bless America! Long Life the King! Glory to the Ukraine!
P.S. sorry for my English :))
As a Ukrainian, I can say that this borscht from a package is bad something, not borscht - real borscht is a very cool thing)
Yes, nothing can beat homemade borscht prepared by a Ukrainian grandmother.
I live in an area of Canada with a rich Ukrainian history, and that was something else. Borscht is one of my favorites.
Man, I wish you one day try authentic home-made borsch) but please, try the red one, with tomatoes))
Guys military rations are generally not high quality get over it
Theres a reason why no soldier prefers rations over actual food
@@xGoodOldSmurfehx I understand that) just a friendly advice if there is a chance to try/cook this dish. No doubt MRE has poor quality in compression to actual food) maybe one day the guy will visit to Kyiv, who knows, who knows
Dude, if borsh (you pronounce it perfectly, btw) smells that bad, it's no longer borsh, for heaven's sake feed it to the tualet! Brave soul you are...
Red borsh you eat hot, green borsh can be eaten cold, though I still prefer it warm. And Thank You for your continuous support. 💛💙
I like cold borshch too, I cook red borshch almost without fat, so it's pretty nice even cold)) Especially it is cool to eat it cold in summer. )) Or when you're too lazy/hungry to heat it))
@@helgiyoshyolenko4721 люблю холодний червоний борщ. а ще холодний червоний вчорашній борщ). а недавно виявила, що в карпатах готують якийсь білий борщ і тепер нема мені спокою))).
this is MRE desinded to be used when one can set up basic heating. All those meals supoosed to be eaten hot and cracers supoosed to be dipped into tea or coffee. rye onces are supossed to be dipped in hot! borsh(as it was mentioned you never eat borch cold, unless it is spesial type of borch). there is MRE called "special forces MRE" that has chemical heater supplyed it also lighter and has higer meat ratio, as well as more sweets
Your pronunciation of “Borshch” is cool cool. Like a Ukrainian diaspora in Canada ) on spot
+++
This Daily field food set #8 is truly one of the worst. Especially if you eat it cold. It was made at the very beginning of a full-scale invasion, when they didn’t bother much about taste, the main thing was to get the calories the soldiers needed.
I saw a newer ration, there was no borscht, but there was pea soup, which everyone praised. Instead of one of the porridges there was a vegetable stew with meat. Each bag also contained sweets - chocolate/dried apricots/honey and chewing gum. All packages contained chemical heaters.
Ukrainian MREs (IDK what version, must've been newer ones made after 2014 or 2022 maybe even?) will ever stay in my memory because I remember a review video and the Ukrainian MRE had like bodywash cleaning towels that gave you a chance to clean yourself. Most other Western MREs didn't have this or handle the topic some other separate way. I was kind of astounded by this but I suppose it's a good morale boost if you have an easy way to clean yourself up if you are holed up in trenches or basements for a prolonged while and can stay somewhat clean with those regularly without necessarily needing other utensils.
imagine how he would taste holodets (meat jelly) or krovyanka (bloody sausage)😂
In Germany we have Blutwurst "blood sausage" as well but few people eat it and it's so controversial that you couldn't possibly put it in a MRE.
You’re supposed to put rye bread in the soup aka croutons.
In Ukraine we don't have such thing as 'lunch', we have breakfast at 7-8 am, dinner at 3-5 pm and supper at 7-9 pm, this words we learn at school, we also learn about lunch but that is very weird for us.
Не пизди, обед это дефолт, Я вообще впервые такое слышу если честно. В МРЕ даже написано Обiд
@@xunixxunix5736 If you have such meal as обед/обід at 10-12 am, then you're strange
Обід в нас о 13-14 годині приблизно, як потом їжі. А як час доби це 12 година. І ми кажемо " по обіді" тобто після обіду, після полудня. Є ще прийом їжі - полуденник. А ти чогось пишеш, що немає@@choboltovski
I rarely see Ukrainian rations bc they always have fresh food being cooked in almost every trench position video I've seen.😂
That alone is a big thing for troop morale and probably convinced quite a few Russians to surrender so they could have some lol
Yeah, i have seen the samething rather wild to see this but i kinda enjoy these videos of the different MRE's.
That’s the difference between Ukrainians and russians. Ukrainians know and love to cook and love their comfort wherever they are. Well, not all of us obviously, but it’s mostly in our DNA.
@@TheASSedoTV Nonetheless, the Ukrianinan videos of them cooking and eating, they seem to be eating well.
@@RamblingRodeo that only adds to what I just said 😊
The honey is most likely "raw" honey. This just means it hasn't been filtered and pasteurized. If you're a big fan of honey like me, eating raw honey as opposed to commercially bought ultrafiltered honey is analogous to eating a beautiful dry-aged filet mignon versus eating a skirt steak thrown on a flat iron with no seasoning.
Raw honey is hella good tasting and nutritionally it is really good for you because it contains so many antioxidants, along with strong anti-bacterial components, and anti-inflammatory properties that would definitely help soldiers on the front line that are constantly sore and banged up.
You can even survive off of honey by itself for about a week without succumbing to the effects of malnutrition or losing too much body mass. It's full of carbohydrates (sugars) and a tablespoon contains about 60 calories, which means it's chock-full of energy and can keep you going when very exhausted. Sorta like natures little energy drink.
Hi from UA, Kyiv, thk for support!
I am from ukraine (as half of the comment section is) and i want to thank you for trying our ration. Not a big thing, but depending where you bought it from you could have just saved a life or two. Дякую друже!
Hi Bro) I'm from Ukraine.
Oh my goodness, guy these dishes need to be eaten hot! ))) These dishes need to be heated.
Especially borscht! )))
I have no idea how these dishes taste cold)))
At the expense of hard bread - this is for an amateur
But if bread is soaked in hot borscht, it is another matter.
These food from MRE taste really not cool when cold. All that food had to be heated, then it changes. My opinion. :) But as for me, any good food has to taste ok even cold, if not - neah, that is not the best food in the world.
I think every MRE has this same style dishes what should be eaten mixed with boiled water
А если еще к борщу да черного хлеба да сала с чесноком...😁
@@helgiyoshyolenko4721 i don't know why all these people in shock, i like cold borsHch)))
They are taste of my childhood. I big love them all. Slava Ukraine from Latvia. ✌️
А замерзший борщ з такого сухпайка хто їв? У 2022 році, з Північно - Східної сторони Бахмута у окопах ми гризли такий борщ. Ми навіть в галетах знаходили якийсь смак))) Самим смачним були джем і звісно мед. Мед натуральний без хімічних добавок. Кава одразу кажу, просто жахлива. Так українським сухпайкам не вистачає солодощів. Навіть у ворога є шоколад. Але таке собі.
Він там такий, що краще б не було. Ну але реально могли яких печенюшок покласти
Кофе обычно растительный, поэтому невкусный
@@verner2695 Нормльна там кава,просто дешева прострочена
Дякую вам за стійкість!
Разве в нашем нет шоколада совсем?😮 Петя мог бы делать батончики для армии, жлоб
Ukrainian soldier here. I've tried a lot of different MREs, domestic, US and other Europeans. So my take is yeah, you're right that our rations are really poor in terms of the variety of snacks and sides. It's really nice having sweets or pepperoni bites, energy bars etc. I would really like to see this in ukrainian mres, but main dishes are pretty decent in term of calories and protein. And borshch is probably not for your pallet, as you've said (at least cold one), the smell you've been put off by is most likely cabbage. In an enclosed retort I see it could develop a strange smell.
But for my taste it's still good. What is really god like in UA mre for me, is beans with beef - super tasty and full or caloeries and protein💪
Stay safe brother.
By the way your pronunciation of "borshch" is very good. Thank you for support
As for baked goods, it may sound strange, but these biscuits should be dipped in tea/coffee and eaten afterwards, plus jam is absolutely necessary. This is a "tradition" from the time of the Soviet occupation, people made jam themselves, because it was almost the only sweet that could be obtained, and such tasteless cookies do not spoil for a long time, because people did not always have the opportunity to buy them, so when such an opportunity arose, people bought a lot at once, for several months. The question is why, after 30 years of de-occupation, we still produce such food, especially for our heroes-defenders...
Because our people mostly will non eat any borshch or kasha without bread, but it's pretty hard to save any bread fresh in that packages for months)) That's why this idea came.
Hey, Ukrainian here. Not the one in the military, but I am quite familiar with older daily rations and I can tell what is different in this one you had.
First of all, pre-war rations had much smaller packaging for main dishes. Each portion (breakfast, dinner, supper) had one flameless heater packed in, which allowed to heat the stuff without any issues (except for dinner, which also had two dishes and just one heater). I assume this change has something to do with limited imports and necessity to produce significantly more rations at the moment.
Next, there was only one portion of rusks (but still three portions of hardtacks) which is supposed to be consumed with the soup you have on the menu. There's much more than just one borsch - pea soup, some rice variation, and so on. Now, for some unknown reason, there's two, presumably to provide additional calories or carbohydrates and meet daily standard at low cost.
And lastly, yes, these are still quite rarely seen on the front lines currently. Soldiers nearly always organize some sort of field kitchen and cook fresh food whenever such possibility exists. As such, these rations are kind of last available option to get any nutrients, so imo taste and snacks are not that important when you literally have no choice.
P.S. Oh, and eating borsch cold is definitely not the best option. Since it's heavily based on broth, it has a lot of fat in it, and all fat floats on top when the dish is cold. I can also assume that storing conditions (before you received the ration) were not the best, which significantly affected sensations.
P.P.S. It is ALWAYS illegal to export military stuff here, even if it's just a meal :)
MREs are in fact a last resort, because even in such harsh conditions of war, soldiers usually eat fresh food prepared in field kitchens
Hello from Ukraine Смачного !
Thank you very much for the video from Odesa, Ukraine
Hi! Thank you for a video! It`s intersting to get to know what you as American think about this specific food.
You aren`t supposed to do anything with dry bread. We eat it like it is, but usually it`s sweet dry brad, with raisins, or without. We name it "suhari" (Сухарі солодкі з родзинками) It goes well with tea, and I like it because of crunchiness) also there is a practical use - dry bread last longer.
And you sad, that you wasn't expected cherry jam to be sour. It could be because we in Ukraine usually do jams and pastry fillings with sour cherries. We call than berry "wyshnya" (вишня) and translate it just "a cherry" without word "sour", like it's expected for cherry to be sour. But in USA people call "a cherry" another berry - sweet and with denser peel. We call that "Chereshnya". I noticed that when I searched for pie recipes. So that's why I guess ))
We sand a lot of sweet treats, candys, bars to our solders. And homemade pickles - cucumbers, some homemade sauces like Ajika, zucchini and tomato sauces. And so on.
growing up in Wales it was Breakfast - Dinner - Tea or supper. with Tea being a meal not the stuff you drink.
I heard some British lady talking about tea as if it were a meal in a video and was a little confused, now it makes perfect sense 😊
Дякую за підтримку друже💪🏻
I saw ukrainians from "Хлопці з лісу" channel rewying similar MRI and there was 4 chemical heaters in it (for each meal). So they added a meal to a separate plastic bag, than some water and a heater, and it started to boil. Weird it doesn't have these here
Also you should've try to heat the borscht and soak a biscuits in it 😊
Different MREs have different content))
This dude is so gentle)))
😄
I'm from Ukraine and I was very interested to see your reaction.. thanks for the feedback! in fact, I would never eat these dishes cold.. temperature is very important and greatly changes the taste.. eating all this cold is the same as drinking hot beer.. and you’re absolutely right about sweets - I often don’t have them enough🥰😍
Mike johnson havent send us skitles and m&m. He literaly took candy off..
I can’t even imagine how they preserve borsht, but you definitely shouldn’t eat it cold lol.
Nice pronunciation btw. And you should try fresh and properly cooked borsht, it great!
Thanks for the video!
I have canned borscht before and it was great, I have frozen it before,too, and the texture of potatoes was ruined.
I was first introduced to your channel when I was working on the translation of your conversation with Andriy (mate "Darwin", platoon commander of the Third Assault Brigade).
Since then I’ve watched some of your videos that I found interesting. I appreciate that you’re staying in the loop of our war, covering it for your large audience. But, when I got to watch this video, frankly, it left me with strongly negative feelings. This comment might turn out to be a long-read, but, hopefully, it’ll keep someone out of trouble in terms of international relations and being respectful to other cultures.
In general, I’m not going to say anything about the matter of taste, since that is individual and, clearly, you were not expected to like and compliment just about every item on that ration. However, you did a few things that any Ukrainian would find offensive.
First off, I really didn’t get that overreaction about borshch at all. It may not have been the best borshch possible (I guess it was far from that, actually) since it was made to be preserved in a sealed package for a long time, and borshch is surely not something that is supposed to be stored and eaten like that. It’s meant to be served steaming hot and consumed fresh. So, if you ever get to taste a real borshch that’s cooked in basically every Ukrainian family, you’ll definitely see and feel the difference. Nevertheless, that ration-edition borshch is still borshch and a many centuries old traditional Ukrainian dish, so you should’ve known that your comments and overall reaction to it would be perceived offensive to Ukrainians and our culture. No matter how bad it might’ve been, still you weren’t eating literal 💩 to make a face and remarks like that.
Secondly, at 28:28, comparing bread to dust from the floor… Really? People in the west may not know this, but we lost nearly 15 million Ukrainians in 4 Holodomors (man-made famines), organized and carried out by bolshevik russia in the 20th century. They were taking away all the food they could find, primarily bread, down to the last crumbs. They would shoot people to death for sneaking a handful of wheat grains left on the ground in a field at night. Our people would make "bread" out of grass, leaves and other things in order to feed their children. Those parents who had many children faced a terrible choice - which one of their children would be sacrificed so that others could survive (you know what I mean here). As a kid, I would watch my great grandmother, who had lived through the severest Holodomor of 1932/33, carefully and reverently collect bread crumbs from the dining table and sometimes even from the floor into her handkerchief to the rest of her life. She would tell me a lot of things about what she and other people from her village had to go through during those horrifying years. Even today, our existential enemy is trying to organize another Holodomor by targeting our grain depots, agricultural facilities, and workers, as well as littering our soils with explosives. Today, as in those times, our grain is grown not only on the sweat, but also on the blood of our people. Bread is sacred for Ukrainians. And so is grain. It’s in the genetic memory of our Nation. It’s passed through generations. And making those kind of comments about bread and throwing it on the floor like you did at 29:09… Me, personally, I wouldn’t tolerate anyone doing that and, in case someone did that in front of me, I’d definitely not be nice to that person. Out of all western nations perhaps only Irish people can understand us in this regard, because they had to live through the same horror in their history.
I hope my comment was informative and helpful, and I hope that it will save you and perhaps someone else from getting into unpleasant situations because of such words and actions in the future.
The dinner/supper distinction likely comes from British English. By definition, dinner is the main meal of the day and can be had either at midday or in the evening. Supper means evening meal. It gets a bit confusing, but if you have dinner at midday, then your evening meal is supper. If you have dinner in the evening, then your midday meal is lunch.
But breakfast/dinner/supper in British English can be "translated" to breakfast/lunch/dinner in American English if you prefer, though it would not be entirely accurate due to the above caveat of timing.
Like most people in Ukraine take food three times a day, so only breakfast, dinner and supper. Also when I was in school, thats exactly how we were teached, also teacher did mention, that in england they eat like 4 times and have lunch 😅
You learn something new every day 😊
@@setone28ua it's one way I can tell if a Ukrainian has learned English from school and certain text books vs movies and online apps.
@@ПаніПончик nice to hear it, good method 😊
Praying for Ukraine 🇺🇦 🙏 ❤️
AHAHAH bro, i like this video, i from Ukraine , thx for support
A Ukrainian Army friend of mine says they always heat the water with a portable electric waterheater and put these rations in there to warm up before eating. Because when it cold its realy terrible. Also they bring them a lot of Snickers and other sweets that you can eat in addition to MRE.
I’m a USMC OIF/OEF vet who was born and raised in Ukraine. I also served in the Legion for a few months in 2022.
Not sure if this is still the case, but back then these MREs were a super premium item-we only distributed them to guys going on days-long missions.
Nobody actually liked them, and most of the time we had access to hot and fresh food, but when we didn’t-they were a whole lot better than nothing.
There is mess kit issued to most of the Ukrainian military, and most of this stuff is *supposed* to be eaten hot. That said, it’s not always feasible (almost never for us because we mostly did recon).
There was nothing wrong with your technique, except that you’re supposed to be mad hungry when you eat this stuff-makes it a whole lot easier going down :)
PS you do a great job pronouncing Ukrainian words. Both “Andriivka” in the pt.1 video and “borsch” in this one were flawless.
the borsch is basically the equivalent of the pizza mre every body wants it. but borsch is basically just beef stew , and just like stew you most definitely do not want it cold or where the fat in the broth is in a jelly state
The biscuits - we usually call them dry or dip in coffee or tea for a sec
Thank you for support straight from Kyiv!
The borshch segment is pure comedy
Freshly made hot borscht is delicious. The one I had was made with beef broth, red cabbage, beetroot, potatoes and carrots 😊 (plus garlic, herbs and spices)
lol You ate everything wrong
Give him a break))
In Ukraine we have some really hard cookies, like couple variants, also we tend to eat dried flavored bread with beer. So like the cookie you mentioned you must take a sip of tea/coffee to melt it in your mouth, it's not ment to be just eated like separate dish, but possible.
Hi! Im from Ukraine. Your suggestions are right: things you suggested to be heated and hydrated - should be heated and hydrated. Cold Borsh - is the worst thing ever but heated and correctly made - should be the best one thing in the world. I suggest you to visit UA sometimes and re-impress yourself in our restaurants, im sure you will have another kind of experience.
Honey in Ukraine is the best and cheapest in the world. But the USA does not want to import it into its stores.
Наш козак!🦅
Борщ - pronouncing was perfect!!💭
I’m surprised that Americans could be so surprised by the just dried bread. It’s a cultural norm here and it’s delicious, cheap and it doesn’t grow moldy in the trenches.
Those dry snacks and crackers are good to go with tea or coffee. Its more of culture difference cause its common for us to eat dry snacks not in mre only but in civil lufe as well. We call most of such bread origin dry snacks by the word сухарі/сухарики - suhari which in translation would be smth like drylings. Also we have them both salty and sweet. Salty ones are good with beer
I am sorry but you don't have the chemical package for warm up the packages. It's a crime to eat all this food for cold😢
OMG, that was HILARIOUS! Firstly, you were such a good sport! Secondly, that in NO WAY resembled borscht. I also found your disdain for the crisp bread (not the crackers) interesting and amusing. While this is a cheap home-made staple in most Ukrainian households, store-bought in North America it's generally a lot more expensive than regular bread. Something to also keep in mind about the rations, Ukraine is literally one of the poorest countries in Europe, and while it's receiving considerable help now if that ration is from early 2022, that still reflects the minimal funds the country was working with. Taking that into consideration, I think the ration as unappealing as it was, was still rather impressive overall.
Thanks for your fair opinion!❤ Testing of our Ukrainian MRE is might be tasty not for everyone. Our traditional food means a lot of pork meat and fat, vegetables, such as cabbages, beеtrootes, potatoes, onions and carrots, mushrooms, beans. And of course, different cereals.😊
I am not a combatant, I am civilian paramedic. But I can assure you, in ordinary cold winter day you would eat this entire MRE! And I agree - there's not enough sweets in those packages!
Glory to Ukraine Glory to USA thank you so much for this video ❤❤❤
Hello. Thank you for your video and for support my country. I've been watching you for a long time. You are very sincere. Your videos helps me to learn English. Greetings from Ukraine ♥️
LOL I have that exact brand of tea in my cup right now, it's actually really decent tea 🥰🙂 And the honey here in Ukraine is a WHOLE experience! 😋😋😋
It's the funniest ration video I saw! I laughed to tears!
I happen to understand both cultures and the interrogations you have and at the same time the reasons why those rations are made this way. So this cultures' collision made my day! Thanks. 2.5 were still generous of you viewpoint
Great viewing video get to see a different side of you 😅😅😅 had to re-watch a few of the bags 😅 made me day 😅
You must try Borshch with a sour cream, garlic and Borodinsky bread in the Ukrainian restaurant, you will change your mind 🫡
17:00 You're not supposed to rehydrate this bread. My grandma often makes them, they're called suchars (ukr - сухарі), it's done to preserve bread for much longer, i think it was often done in USSR, when people bought as much bread as possible, and then seved it for longer. You can also soften it by holding it in warm liquid (often done with soup). Much of it is my experience and thoughts tho.
Сухарі люди робили з давніх давен для того, аби зберігати хліб як найдовше. Якісні сухарі повинні бути дуже сухими, тоді вони настільки тверді що крихкі і тоді їх можна вживати відкускючи маленькими шматочками. Або розламуючи та кидаючи до страв (ось саме до борщу й додають) тоді вони не сильно але розмокають й становляться такими собі дещо хрусткими частинками у борщі 😊 це дуже прикольно, іноді буває що не дуже хочеш їсти, але з сухариками борщ йде на ура 😅.
Галєти - зазвичай їх мокають у напої але не на довго, аби вони трішки набралися води. Тоді вони смачніші😊.
До речі, сушені хлібні вироби за відсутності води можуть лежати дуже дуже довго. Але для цього в них не повинно бути багато сахару.
Моя прабабуся пережила голод, і вона до самої смерті робила завжди сухарі з хлібу що залишався. Я як був малий завжди радів ним, бо хліб що додатково просушується стає дещо приємнішим на смак. Та це був такий собі перекус, бо ніби багато не з'їв але не голодний й у шлунку не бовтається багато їжі.
Вітаю усіх з України 🇺🇦 тримай лайк 👍 Слава Україні 💙💛
99% of Ukrainian cuisine is built on eating food hot. But i can agree with you about croutons and crackes, it really sucks. Best wishes from Kyiv!)
regarding meal names, in Ukraine mostly we learn English British version, means it is breakfast, dinner (US lunch), supper (US dinner)
Yeah, that borshch has to be served hot. It just doesn't work work any other way. There's a Lithuanian cold version, but it has to be prepared with that in mind. Not just gobbled up as served. Always read the how to prepare manual.
And that honey is probably the natural, real stuff. Ukraine makes lots of honey with OG bee farms.
Beetroot soup (kholodnik) - cold borscht.
Bro, thank you for this video 🇺🇦❤️🇺🇸
when you are at the front for three days without provisions, then this
better than any restaurant
LOL WRT honey - this is real honey, it crystallizes. I'm sad that it seems US citizens mostly confuse 10% honey, 90% syrup with actual honey. Yeah, I know, it's generalizing and a bit condescending, but whenever "Americans" try honey, they think it's real good. And whenever I taste US honey, it's usually bad (just sweet). Plus, research backs this up. Which *does not* mean that the US doesn't have good honey - it just seems it's rare in supermarkets.
The Borsch actually is good thing.
You just don't need to eat it cold
And you need to know that this borsch in the package is a "fake"
Fresh borsch from home is crazy
You have to try real borsch, not "soldier"
All these main dishes should be eaten hot. Flameless heaters are available separately for heating food.
This dried bread can save your life in critical situation, also it's like an additional calories that you can add to any drink/dish. All this staff isn't restaurant level obviously, but consist of all nutrients that you need. Also, this MRE is peaty natural.
because that bread can handle 7.39 caliber lol
as a ukrainian I believe that hard bread was supposed to be added to borsch. Though agree that is bad. I eaten this rations too. Food for extremal situation where you have nothing else really.
I was laughing all video. I actually knew I gonna laugh even before watching this.
Your "Borshch" pronunciation is on point👌
Now that I’ve fully watched the video, I’d like to add that the real Borshch, not this MRE bullshit you had to try, is really tasty and should always be consumed heated.
Thanks for your video ❤️
From the start - it's a USA and global marketing which completely ruined morning meal. It supposed to be a PROPER meal. Secondly - bread should go with borsch (and there was a lot of coments about it being cold), also not sure whether their packed version of borsch is any good. There was 3rd point, but didn't write it right away, so forgot about it :)
Also, just you to know. We usually take separately some chocolate and sweets, to eat it between meals. For example on the duty.
Thanks for your support dude.
you have a rear set. everything in the bags needs to be heated, you can immerse it in boiling water directly in the bag.
Never eat borscht cold😁 Be sure to try the borscht somewhere in the restaurant, I’m sure you’ll like it! Thanks for the review and support❤
I love your pose in the thumbnail; "I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?" 😂
Im guessing those green packets are heat resistant and you just stick em in boiling water for a bit before opening?
I do believe that you are right that "diner" is usually lunch although in modern parlance it often ends up being "a meal that is not "breakfast"..
Regarding cookies, those can be super hard to bite and chew, we do dip them in the tea tho..Regardless, they looked stale 😢. With borscht, I'm sure the stink came from the cabbage 😮
Thanks for the review 😊
Rule one... Never eat cold borscht... EVER.
Nice video. It was very funny to me. Especially with borscht. Thanks for the good video. Greetings from Ukraine
You have a new subscriber 😊
Don't feel bad, my husband eats cold borscht sometimes and he's not completely crazy 🤣
''For breakfest I expected sugar, not porridge with chicken and vegetables'' - wow, US medicine must do miracles on diabetes :) Each of those meals were supposed to be eaten hot.
Lunch is referred to as supper in Europe
In Ukrainian lunch is lunch (pronounced obid) 😊
Thanks for your video 😊👌✌🇺🇸🇺🇦
I hope you'll try traditional Ukrainian borsch in actually Ukraine one day