Video: Steve1989 — who we previously watched eat a piece of actual US civil war history — has a penchant for consuming rare and obscure military rations. Recently he decided to scarf down several meals intended for the Spetsnaz (Russian special forces) for when those troops are travelling through mountains. It’s hearty. It’s weird. And there’s lots of it.
Mountaineering is hard work, so the 24-hour meal clocks in around 20,920kj, and all of it is stuffed, IKEA-style, inside a packet not much bigger than an old-model Macbook. Here’s what’s inside:
- 60g sugar
- antiseptic towelettes
- five chocolate bars
- water purification tablets
- vitamins
- two flameless ration heaters
- nut and apricot bar
- coffee and tea
- apple jelly
- minced sausage
- beef porridge
- beef goulash with potatoes
- five packs of crackers
- cherry drink mix
- chocolate hazelnut spread
- three packs muesli
- pork liver pâté
- pork brain pâté
And sorry to bury the lede there but, yeah, you read that right: Pork brain pâté. I was under the impression brain was a delicacy of sorts. But there it is, highly stabilised and vacuum-sealed. All in all, Steve1989 had nothing but nice things to say about this ration and why shouldn’t he? He got to eat like a king and didn’t need to do any of the requisite mountain-climbing beforehand.