Our collection of international-snack-product artifacts continues to grow, thanks to folks like Lori Katz, who bought me these lovely shelf-stable meat snacks from Germany.  I guess this is what Der Volk buy at Die Konwienientz store on the side of the Autobahn.  I ate this stuff in order to get the whole experience (much to the horror of Lori's brother, and my friend, Jeff).

      I gotta say that Carazza tasted pretty good, even if it did seem like it was grown in a lab somewhere.

     Now, the Ranger.  I like the somewhat random mix of German and English on the package.  I don't understand why they use German articles — der, mit, and und for "the", "with" & "and") — but use English for all the nouns. I suppose it helps make it seem American. My German language consultant, Mark, advised me that "Beiss' Dich Durch" means "Bite Into It!" (or literally: "Bite you through [it]!")

     This thing reminded me a bit of the beef tamale ration shown elsewhere in this gallery.  In fact, this thing looks remarkably like this U.S. military individual field ration, the Shelf-Stable Pocket Sandwich:

(2005 update). Indeed the resemblance is not a coincidence. The U.S. military ration was introduced in 1995, according to this guy, who writes that "when NATO and Israeli troops saw what the US soldiers had, they demanded the same, and with[in sic] a couple of months they were being produced by many NATO countries, as well as by Israel." Well, yep, Germany is a pretty big NATO country.

     Check out this article on how military rations often become popular foods and scroll down to see how the chicken came home to roost.

Right at home in the market: How M&Ms,
Spam and Velveeta made it to the table
San Francisco Chronicle

—Kim Severson, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, April 7, 2003

Natick, Mass. — Despite military chow's lousy reputation, many products that Northern California grocery shoppers buy every day have come from innovations created for the battlefield.

M&Ms were invented so World War II fighters could enjoy chocolate that didn't melt in the heat of the Pacific. Similarly, tins of processed Velveeta cheese and Spam became prominent parts of the American diet after thousands of World War II soldiers survived on the processed food.

Freeze-dried coffee and soup mixes, chopped and formed meat and lightweight backpacker entrees all have come from military needs. So did something called "retort packaging," a heat and water process much like canning that keeps plastic pouches of food shelf-stable for years. Even McDonald's boneless McRib sandwich came from technology developed by the Department of Defense's Combat Feeding Directorate.

"Thirty percent of the products you and I would find at the grocery store are a direct result of military innovation," said Gerald Darsch, a food scientist in the DOD test kitchens at the U.S. Army Soldier Center in Natick, Mass.

Among today's projects that might translate to civilian food chain:

— A shelf-stable pocket sandwich that can survive for three years without refrigeration. The challenge was to find fat and oxygen "scavengers" and bacteria inhibitors that keep the filling from seeping into the bread, and the bread soft and unspoiled. The product has huge potential for vending machine sales.

— The military's advanced food processing methods might put an end to conventional canning, meaning that food will taste fresher and still last for years on the shelf. Surplus howitzer tubes can become pressurized containers, where 120,000 pounds per square inch -- or as much pressure as three elephants standing on top of each other could apply -- is used to rupture the membranes of bacteria that cause food poisoning. Another food preservation method uses pulses of electricity to kill the bacteria.

— A food patch being developed that lets vitamins and nutrients be absorbed when soldiers in serious battle can't stop to eat could also work as sources of nutrition for hospital patients or other health-compromised individuals.

— Water filters using a process called "forward osmosis" to turn muddy swamp water into an energy-boosting sports drink.

— A technology that can so compress meals that a chicken, rice and bean stew big enough to feed three people can be turned into a package the size of a half-pint milk carton, weighing the same as a couple of candy bars.

— The latest prototype battlefield kitchen that packs down to an 8-by-10- foot trailer would be perfect for camping. The kitchen uses a process called thermal fluid heat transfer, which means no open flames.

— Meal packs that self-heat at the same time they cool desserts and drinks could mean that picnics will never be the same.

And now, 10 years after the army introduced its popular field ration, I can buy the Forkless Gourmet Bun Meals version at my local supermarket. Unlike their military counterparts and the Ranger, however, these aren't shelf-stable, but frozen. I didn't really like this too much actually. It was okay, but I've had better, like the ones sold by gourmet/natural-foods purveyor Trader Joe's. But don't listen to me. Get a second opinion in this over-the-top (I thought I was a meticulous and obsessive freak!) review from Scary Crayon.

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