Ham and Lima Beans

Food storage has come a long way. I was thinking back to the old C-rations that dated back to the Vietnam War. There were a lot of them kicking around back in the 70s. My dad got hold of cases of the stuff for the old hunting camp. They made good emergency supplies.

For some reason my Boy Scout troop also got a good supply. My troop did a lot of camping back in those days. Opening up those old rations was always interesting. The cakes were super heavy. Chocolate tasted weird. The crackers were edible, but always seemed just a tad off. The main courses were always a gamble.

Anything with eggs in them were pretty bad, but the most hated ration was the ham and lima beans. That is, hated by most people. For some strange reason I liked them. I was probably the only one who did. Everyone was willing to trade for anything I had to get ride of them. People who grew up eating real ham and lima beans hated them. Maybe that's why I found them satisfactory. I'd never eaten lima beans so had no expectation what they were supposed to really taste like.

One thing sticks out in my mind back from my old Boy Scout days. Those ration packs came with cigarettes. The adult leadership made sure we always turned them in. After the Scouts were sent to bed, the leadership would sit around the campfire smoking those government issued cancer sticks. Funny what you remember.

Modern dehydrated foods are a lot better than those old rations. I guess the best that could be said for them is that they would keep you alive.

-Sixbears