Self-heating meals, similar to MREs, are becoming popular for travel, camping, and disaster preparedness. They use an exothermic reaction to heat the food and have a shelf life of 3-5 years. Price and taste are still considerations, but they can be useful in emergency situations.
The self-heating meal is becoming the latest rage in quick food preparation. When you’re traveling, camping, or stocking a cabinet of disaster supplies, you may want to consider whether the self-heating meal is right for you. These meals, similar to MREs (ready-to-eat meals) made by the US military, give you access to a hot dinner or dishes like soup or stew, without any heating source.
Foods are double wrapped and surrounded by a heating bag or “bladder”. This case often holds saltwater and an aluminum wafer and has a tab or pull tab. When the tab is pulled, the aluminum hits the water causing what is called an exothermic reaction. Within a few minutes the water had heated to approximately 190 degrees F (87.78 degrees C). After about fifteen minutes the food is ready to eat and fully reheated. Some of the meals require you to place your food in a special heating pack, while others are in a standalone pack that only requires you to pull a tab.
There are a number of companies now producing self-heating meal varieties. Although the popularity of these portable products first started in Europe, an increasing number of American companies are now producing such meals. Typical offerings include things like beef stew, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken and noodles, or chicken, beans and rice. The average shelf life of these meals is around 3-5 years and there is no need to store them in the refrigerator or freezer.
Price and quality are still considerations with the self-heating meal. Grocery stores expect to carry these for about $6-7 USD per meal, and they can cost even more at campsites or surplus stores. Many argue that because microwaves abound, the self-heating meal is still too expensive to make it worth the purchase. There is also varied opinion about how good these meals are. Some argue that some products or vendors taste “pretty good” and others vow never to eat another self-heating meal again. Also, fifteen minutes can be a long time for a meal, especially if you have access to a microwave. While they may be marketed to people in offices, most people don’t have the luxury of lunchboxes that will allow them to wait that long before their meal is completely hot.
On the other hand, in a disaster situation or where you don’t have access to any source of heat, taste and cost may be minimal considerations. Being able to have a hot meal despite the difficult conditions could be a considerable advantage. If you’re gathering supplies for disaster preparedness, you might want to add some self-heating meals. Prudence suggests you try some first to make sure they taste at least tolerable.
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