Alpine Aire MREs

“I looked for a thread on this, but couldn't find one even though apparently the product has been out for a couple years at least. Supposedly Alpine Aire has some pretty decent self eating meals out. At 25 food calories an ounce, I'd probably only take them for safety/comfort when I was going on a cold weather hike (esp. a winter day hike) when the heat energy would help.

http://www.aa-foods.com/inferno.cfm?insName=7”

“'self heating'? VBG

Haven't seen these... Will be on the lookout.

There was another brand a few years ago.. "Heater Meals" or similar. I wasn't going to pay shipping, but I thought I might grab one impulse-wise if the opportunity presented itself. They never turned up, though.

I had the same thoughts about something for cold weather hikes or for a winter emergency kit (we don't have many blizzards in Georgia, but WTF, *G*).”

“I am a bit curious though.... What, praytell, is a "Homestyle Chicken Booyah"? LOL”

“quote from another site: "Chicken Booyah – A super “stick to your ribs” soup-stew made with chicken. While chicken soup is universal and variations of this dish can be found in many cultures world wide, northeastern Wisconsin is the only place in the world where Chicken Booyah is found. It is a favorite at the many festivals, church picnics, bazaars, and any other large gathering in the northeast part of Wisconsin. This chicken soup is typically made in large 10 or 20-gallon batches, cooked outdoors over a wood fire, and worked on by several people at once. Restaurants have their own special recipe. Booyah is lovingly called “Belgian Penicillin.”

The first Belgian immigrants arrived in Wisconsin in 1853. These immigrants were from the French-speaking part of Belgium, with their own language called "Walloon." Walloon is not a version of French. It is a language with its own grammar and vocabulary. Even today, the area settled by these people in Wisconsin, they settled in a corner of eastern Wisconsin near Lake Michigan, is known as the Walloon area. The theory is that the uneducated Belgian could not spell, thus writing down the word he heard.

It is believed that the word “Booyah” comes from the word “bouillon.” Another theory is that the word comes from the French word “bouillir,” but also like the Walloon word "bouyu" (pronounced like "boo-yu" with a "u" between and with the French pronunciation of the letter). For years people have been trying to figure out the origination and what makes it so special. Yannick Bauthière of Gembloux, Belgium sent me the following information:

In history, Walloons spoke Walloon. Only the most educated people (counts, dukes, scholars, monks, etc.) spoke French as a second language. Our people started to learn French when Belgium was created, in 1830. And even then, Walloon remained our main language until World War II. My grand father spoke Walloon much better than French. So, most settlers coming from Wallonia hardly spoke much French. That's why, in my humble opinion, "booyah" doesn't come from French "bouillon" or "bouillir" but from Walloon "bouyon" or "bouyu". But that's just my opinion !!!!"

from same site - recipe:

"1 (4- to 5- pound) whole roasting chicken, cut into quarters
1 pound beef stew meat, bones included
1 pound pork stew meat, bones included
2 large onions, chopped and divided
4 quarts water, divided
6 carrots, diced
6 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 small bunch celery, diced
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and cut up*
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

* To easily prepare the tomatoes, use a sharp knife and cut the tomatoes while still in the can.

In a large soup pot over medium heat, add chicken, beef, pork, 1/2 of chopped onions, and 2 quarts water; cover and bring to a boil, Reduce head to low and simmer 20 to 30 minutes until chicken is tender and the meat falls from the bone; remove chicken from the pot to a large bowl and set aside to cool (when cool, take meat from the bones and cut into pieces). Refrigerate cooked chicken until ready to use.

Continue to cook beef and pork approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until tender. Remove beef and pork from the pot to a large bowl and let cool (when cool, take meat from the bones and cut into pieces). Refrigerate beef and pork until ready to use.

Strain the stock, place in refrigerator, and let cool. When cool, remove fat from surface of stock. Return cooled and strained stock to soup pot. Add remaining 2 quarts water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and add remaining onions, carrots, and potatoes; simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add chicken, beef, pork, peas, celery, tomatoes, salt and peppers; simmer until thoroughly heated. Serve in large soup bowls.

Makes 10 to 12 servings."
last edited: 5/15/07 10:46:37 AM”

“INteresting...

Around here, 'booyah' is something the rednecks yell while they watch wrasslin' on th tea vee.”

“I've tried Alpine Aire before, but the only the freeze dried "stuff". It was complete garbage; couldn't give the stuff away.”

“I agree with laqtis on the Alpine Aire freeze dried.

Why not just buy MRE's?

http://www.readymeal.com/

They are cheaper than the Alpine Aire stuff.”

“You might be right Bacpac - they do have a lot more calories at a lower price (though you can find cases for the same price as a case of the APACK).

The more traditional MRE's usually come with a lot of other extras I don't need and they usually come by the case, so I have stayed away. But maybe a case which last 3 to 5 years would\n't be too much, as long as it was decent tasting.

Bacpac: How much do those APACK MREs weigh? Any guess as to what portion of the calories come from the hot entree?

I see the case of 12 weighs 18 pounds, so the meals would be less than 1 1/2 pounds - depending on how much packaging is in the case. Then you could probably strip some uneeded items.
last edited: 5/15/07 1:52:52 PM”

“I don't have any onhand to weigh.”

“The Heater Meals mentioned were par with shelf stable Dinty Moore meals. Unless you like greasy canned food taste, don't!”

“I'll take your word for it!

Hmm, is Alpine Aire Mountain Chili the one with the corn in it? I can't really blame the chili ---- it was probably the altitude.”

“Those aa meals look an awful lot like the heater meals. I had some of those in case of emergency, really heavy, and as said before, really dinty moore like gluey consistency. We ate them before they expired, but sticking with freeze dried from now on.”

“Maybe these are a better self heating option to have on hand if needed on a cold day.

http://store.ontech.com/”

“I'll stick to my cases of military MRE's that I was given during Katrina a couple years back. They have some good stuff in em and the wheat bread is really good with some peanut butter or jalapeno cheese spread on em...or strawberry jam......”

“MRE's are great to have around. I use them to supplement my emergency food cache here at the homestead.”

“The A. A.'s taste very salty to me.”

“pedxing -

the apack mre's are ~17-20 oz. each, equating to ~65-70 cal/oz.
http://www.mreinfo.com/images/ameriqual/apack_front_small.jpg
http://www.mreinfo.com/images/ameriqual/apack_label_small.jpg

hot entrees are 230-270 cal. if you're just looking for the entree portion, you could pick them up here along with some heaters:

http://www.theepicenter.com/mre_military_meal_ready_to_eat.html

good source for info:
http://www.mreinfo.com/civilian-mres.html”

“Thanks Morph - looks like a good site. I think I'll start carrying one or two for winter trips.”