Los Angeles Times: In the Name of National Defense, a Better Mac & Cheese Dish
[url]http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-000103200dec30.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dnation[/url]
THE NATION
In the Name of National Defense, a Better Mac & Cheese Dish
From Associated Press
December 30 2001
PULLMAN, Wash. -- The soldiers of the future will require more than
microcomputers, better body armor and lethal firearms. They also will need
macaroni and cheese.
The Pentagon wants macaroni and cheese that will remain tasty and nutritious for
three years after it is cooked.
Under a contract with the Defense Department, food scientists at Washington
State University are using microwave cooking technology to create a macaroni and
cheese dish that can be used in the field rations the military has produced for
two decades: Meals, Ready to Eat--or MREs. The WSU scientists also are trying to
create egg and fresh vegetable dishes that will meet military specifications.
"There is no macaroni and cheese or egg products in MREs," WSU researcher Juming
Tang said.
MREs are soft-sided, sealed pouches that contain complete meals--an entree, a
starch, fruit, crackers, spread and dessert--intended to sustain troops on the
battlefield. They pack more than 1,200 calories into a small package with a
three-year shelf life, even in hot, cold or filthy conditions.
MREs can be dropped without parachutes from helicopters and contain a chemical
device that can quickly heat the contents, allowing for hot meals miles from a
field kitchen.
But while beef, ham, turkey and chicken are among the two dozen entrees
available, macaroni and egg dishes are not.
The intense, bacteria-killing heat from steaming or boiling the food inside the
pouches fundamentally alters the color and consistency of pasta and of dairy
products. Eggs and cheese turn green and smell odd; macaroni gets unappetizingly
soggy.
Tang's team is using microwaves to fully cook the meals in the pouches in a
fraction of the time. The fast cooking helps preserve the integrity of the food,
he said.
The idea of cooking with microwaves has been around for a long time, but until
recently the packaging and some other technology was not up to the task of mass
producing field rations.