Nutrition for military personnel in the Russian army. What do they feed in the army: daily norm and sample menu Army menu for the week

A three-course lunch, a salad bar, compotes and “homemade” pastries - this is how a soldier is now fed. Using the example of the 100th support regiment, we figured out how the new food system in the army works. Before reading the material, we recommend having some food - everything looks very appetizing!

835 canteens of the Russian Ministry of Defense have already switched to organizing meals for personnel with buffet elements. The new system allows the serviceman to make an independent choice from dishes prepared by qualified chefs.

Lunch includes two ready-made salads, a salad bar, two soups to choose from, three hot dishes to choose from, also three side dishes, compote or juice. But the main change is the variety of food. The salad bar is in great demand. Previously, when he was not there, soldiers often did not eat salads, because the finished dish could contain something that they did not like and did not eat. And now they have the opportunity to choose the ingredients themselves.

Nina Vlasova, technologist

The portions are large, and according to DMT (deficit body mass) standards, they are simply huge.

The energy value of the main combined arms ration is 4374 kcal. At the same time, the norm in food and energy for young people aged 18 to 29 years doing military service is 4200-4400 kcal. This calorie content is achieved due to the optimal ratio between proteins, fats and carbohydrates. For comparison, in the US Army the calorie content of a similar ration is 4255 kcal, Germany - 3950 kcal, England - 4050 kcal, France - 3875 kcal.

Photo: Andrey Luft/Defend Russia

Meat dishes are served for lunch, fish is provided for dinner - these are also military norms, and not the whim of the cooks. It rarely happens that soldiers completely refuse, for example, fish. But it still happens. In such cases, senior ranks can intervene and, by order, the soldiers will take what they are entitled to according to the norm. This is especially true for DMT. But even in this case, no one will stand above them. “They’ll give it to a friend if you really don’t want to,” laugh the girls working in the canteen.

The menu is adjusted depending on the time of year and the preferences of military personnel. For example, pearl barley is almost never cooked because soldiers don’t eat it. According to the canteen employees, what the military like best is buckwheat with cutlets. Needless to say, a predictable choice. They also say that soldiers love dumplings and sausages. Both are given a couple of times a week.

Photo: Andrey Luft/Defend Russia

If previously food in the army was organized according to the principle “what you give is what you eat,” now the soldier himself goes through the distribution line and chooses what he likes and wants.

Today, about 1,400 salad bars have been delivered to the troops. They allow the military to make their own salad, seasoning it with sauce or just oil. You can choose from pickled or salted vegetables, several types of cabbage, olives, fresh herbs, bell peppers, radishes, canned legumes, green peas, corn and other ingredients.

Photo: Andrey Luft/Defend Russia

The soldiers' food became much better. We have a very large selection of dishes and snacks. The military decides what they eat. Lecho, canned corn, and sauerkraut are always available. We provide fresh vegetables once a week in winter, and, of course, more often in summer.

Photo: Andrey Luft/Defend Russia

The menu is updated daily. According to the canteen staff, there are no “extra” prepared dishes left. Such that all the soldiers would take, for example, meat, but no one would eat chicken - no. Moreover, if a soldier wants both a piece of chicken and a piece of meat, they will give it to him. Naturally, observing the required norms and proportions. A military man can eat two side dishes. The serving size will not change, but it will consist of two different halves. There is a portion control for both main courses and the salad bar.

Photo: Andrey Luft/Defend Russia

Speaking of control, there is always an attendant on duty in the dining room. The dining room routine now is not to peel potatoes, but to make sure that everything is in accordance with the rules and regulations. Not the hardest job, although undoubtedly responsible. There are also advantages: the dining room is warm, light, and the friendly female team probably feeds the soldiers, although they didn’t admit it to us. There are five such people on duty in total. They are appointed by order and change in shifts.

Photo: Andrey Luft/Defend Russia

In general, the organization of food for soldiers has become much better. Having choice is always good. As for the established standards, with the transition to the new system they were not only preserved, but also increased. The quality of food preparation and the culture of eating have improved, and the assortment has increased. We have a review book, and from it we can see that the servicemen like everything.

Deputy unit commander for logistics Vladimir Flegontov

Photo: Andrey Luft/Defend Russia

Thanks to the involvement of third-party organizations on an outsourcing basis, personnel are no longer distracted from combat training activities. Now the soldier’s task is to come, take a tray, eat, give the tray back and move on. The quality of food has significantly improved, the range of dishes has expanded, and the energy value and chemical composition of food rations consistently meet regulatory requirements.

We have daily photo reports for each dish. We provide them to our organization, and if you wish, you can always check whether everything complies with the rules and regulations.

Inna Gribanova, canteen manager

Photo: Andrey Luft/Defend Russia

Daily reports are important not only for the military, but also for us. As a technologist, I can always check if everything was in order when I was away. I mean weekends, holidays. You can look and make, for example, a comment or advise something. But in general there is no such need. The chefs who work here undergo strict selection; they are all very qualified.

Nina Vlasova, technologist

It is known that monotonous food reduces appetite and digestibility of food. Therefore, food service specialists are constantly working to expand the range of products and dishes.

When there is a variety of dishes, it is more interesting for the chef to work. True, it’s difficult to prove yourself here, everything is strict here, and deviations from the rules are prohibited. On the other hand, the same set of products prepared by different chefs turns into a unique dish. It even depends on the cut. We are very pleased when the military thank us when we hear positive feedback.

Valentina Lysenko, cook

Photo: Andrey Luft/Defend Russia

The most interesting things happen behind the scenes. Huge pots, stoves, everything hisses and crackles. They take food preparation seriously: carrots, for example, are stewed separately so that the keratin is preserved. Separate rooms for storing bread, for cutting meat, fish, a vegetable shop and, most importantly, a shop where buns are baked. “Our own” baked goods are on the menu every day - for breakfast and dinner. They say it is in great demand.

By the way, inflation did not affect the dining room in any way. The products remained the same - everything was domestic, farm-grown.

Photo: Andrey Luft/Defend Russia

The menu always includes vegetable soup, which is especially important during Lent. Vegetarians can also adjust their diet, but the canteen staff have never encountered anything like this before. On holidays, apples, sweets and cookies are added to the usual number.

In his free time, a soldier can drink tea or coffee; for this purpose, more than 5,700 tea rooms are equipped in soldiers’ barracks and dormitories.

Photo: Andrey Luft/Defend Russia

In terms of nutrition, there is a huge difference from what it was before. Everything here is delicious, clean, and always neat. There are fresh vegetables. This is also better from a medical point of view. Since July, since the beginning of the new nutrition system, we have not had any outbreaks of intestinal infections, and this is already an indicator.

I really like the way they cook here. I personally take a sample from each dish. And if earlier, when soldiers came with a complaint, they could say that “you don’t eat there, so you don’t know,” now I eat at least a spoonful from every pot.

Tatyana Muravyova, warrant officer of the medical service

Photo: Andrey Luft/Defend Russia

Anastasia Voskresenskaya

Introduction.I served as a conscript in the mid-80s and I can say that during these 30 years in logistics support, it was as if an era had changed. Although complaining then is a sin. But now there is progress. For example, the task of the kitchen order has been significantly simplified (clause 14 of Order 888); in many cases, soldiers have stopped being distracted by kitchen work altogether, supply standards have been humanized, and variety in nutrition has appeared.

The first impression when entering the Soviet Army was precisely from the feeding - it seemed that this food could not be eaten. Naturally, hunger took its toll and we ate everything that was given to the canteen. For several months the conscripts walked around half-starved. There were cases when particularly hungry soldiers, getting on duty in the kitchen, ate leftovers. Almost all “greens” lost weight for the first time for 2-4 months. This was especially noticeable on guys who were initially overweight - their primary set of clothes dangled like a scarecrow, they had to be sewn up, or, if there was a normal commander, changed to a much smaller size. Then, of course, the body humbled itself, rebuilt itself, and by the end of the first year, taking into account the physical exertion, the soldiers turned out to be wiry “mules,” and by the end of the second, “jocks” were leaving for demobilization.

But all the time during the service, I remembered simple childhood joys - juice, milk, candy, cookies, coffee... Partially, these desires were compensated by a visit to the “chapka” (teahouse), located on the territory of the unit. But the soldier’s allowance was symbolic, so it was difficult to get away with it.

This outfit is daily. Moreover, during the process of carrying it, the squad had practically no free time. It was hardly possible to find more than two or three hours of sleep. Then, in the Soviet era, the tasks of the outfit were: receiving food from the warehouse, cleaning vegetables, setting tables (one could say “setting”, but that would be too much), cleaning tables, clearing dishes from scraps, taking them out as slopping at the pigsty, washing dishes and boilers. And all these processes happen 3 times a day and in a strict rhythm - minute by minute. Add that for 2 soldiers of the squad there were a hundred or more eaters and all the work was done by hand in dirt, water, humidity and the picture will be formed as a whole. After dressing up, the soldier returned squeezed like a lemon. And if he was still working peeling potatoes, then he would have numb fingers with burst calluses, because... There were about 2-3 bags of potatoes per person. There was a peeling apparatus, but it was Soviet-made, either broken or very poor at peeling.

Therefore, when in military films you hear from the screen a commander’s phrase to a guilty subordinate: “1,2 or 3 orders out of turn,” then keep in mind that for a soldier this is a real punishment. Guard duty, different variants of duty in comparison with the Soviet army outfit in the canteen - like a change of scenery. But despite “all the hardships and deprivations of military service,” that time is remembered with warmth, as one big adventure.

Dining outfit or washing potatoes in the army VIDEO

(recorded from the Internet, but identical to the Soviet period), author Valery Pleskach dated February 18. 2014

Nutrition in the Russian Army in recent years

In the Russian Army, there are 3 meals per day. A soldier's breakfast ration often consists of 1 or 2 dishes, depending on the day of the week. Often in the morning, army canteens serve one of several types of boiled cereal with a meat product, such as a cutlet or sausages. Sometimes cereals and meat are replaced with dumplings or dumplings. Also, the morning diet of a Russian soldier must include milk. It is mainly distributed in 200-gram packages, but 2 or 3 days a week milk is presented in the diet in the form of milk oatmeal or rice porridge. Also an integral attribute of any army breakfast is black coffee with sugar or condensed milk. The drink is simply necessary for military personnel to cheer up after, often, a short sleep.

For lunch in the dining room there are from 6 to 8 containers with first and second courses of Russian cuisine. For the first course - borscht, solyanka, cabbage soup, pea and vermicelli soups, pickle soup. For the main course, soldiers rely on side dishes and several varieties of boiled and fried meat: boiled beef, pork chops, chicken fillet and legs, liver, gravy. The only drawback of such a rich diet is the inability to make a choice - the line moves extremely quickly, and any requests or conversations in the dining room lead to immediate disciplinary action. Lunch also includes a bag of crackers, an extra salad and a drink – compote or jelly.

For dinner - fish menu. Every evening, in addition to stewed cabbage, rice with vegetables, buckwheat, boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes, there are 1-2 types of fish - fried, boiled or stewed. Evening drinks – a mug of tea and a bag of juice. On especially lucky days, soldiers are also entitled to a bun.

The menu of the above-mentioned snack salads also constantly varies depending on the days of the week, the main dishes and the specific meal. For breakfast there is usually sauerkraut and fresh cabbage, pickled cucumbers and tomatoes, and lecho is almost always served with dumplings. At lunch and dinner, trays with salads usually contain fresh vegetables - sliced ​​cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as various canned vegetables, mainly legumes.

HOW THE SOLDIER'S MESS IS SETUP IN THE RF AF

So at least one stereotype about the Russian army can be safely discarded. The food in the Russian Armed Forces is no worse than at home, and sometimes even better. The products, although not the most expensive, are certainly of high quality. And the cooks are now professional (previously they were often chosen from among the green conscripts).

Not by bread alone

The reform of the Armed Forces affected many aspects of army life, including the food supply of military personnel. By 2013, the cost of food for one serviceman approached 195 rubles/day. Catering has been completely outsourced; moreover, most garrisons have organized a buffet for military personnel. Thanks to it, soldiers will be able to choose their own lunch: 2-3 types of soups, side dishes and drinks, and the number of approaches to distribution will not be limited. In addition, the diet itself has changed qualitatively; products such as processed cheese, cookies, lard, and coffee have appeared in it.

Changing diets

When developing new diets, the military devoted a lot of time to cadets, Suvorov and Nakhimov students. In 2009, new ration standards for future military personnel were improved and introduced. This may seem strange, but only now, unlike previous standards, age criteria were taken into account: for grades 5-8 and grades 9-11, respectively. In order to reduce carbohydrates in the diet, as well as replenish the deficiency of animal proteins necessary for the formation of the body’s structure, increase organic and polyunsaturated acids, vitamins and minerals, the new standards reduced the supply of bread, cereals, and potatoes from 600 to 450 grams. At the same time, the norm for dispensing milk was increased by 100 g, cottage cheese - by 30 g, vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, beets, tomatoes, onions, herbs) - by 105 g, fresh fruit - by 100 g. (for grades 5–8) and 200 gr. (for grades 9–11), vegetable oil – 10 g. In addition, juice (200 grams), sausages (25 grams) and canned vegetable snacks: beans, corn, green peas (50 grams) were introduced into the diet.

Diets used in conditions where cooking hot food for some reason is not possible have also been revised. The main goal was to bring their composition in terms of energy, nutritional and biological value to scientifically based standards for food rations, as well as to expand opportunities for continuous use. As a result of these changes, new diets were developed. The main one was individual.

Individual diet - modern dry rations

The created unified diet makes it possible to replace the two norms that existed before 2009: the individual everyday diet (IRP-P) and the individual combat diet (IRP-B). Moreover, the first of them was significantly inferior to the new one in terms of product composition and energy value, and the second in peacetime was used only to refresh emergency reserves. The new IRP includes 44 items of various products and components, while previously IRP-B included 27 and IRP-P included 12 product items. In total, 15 new diets were introduced and modernized, a number of which were developed for the first time, for example, mountain diets or for crews of surface ships in stormy conditions.

The energy value of the daily diet in the army reached 4,400 kcal - more than in the armies of the USA, Great Britain, Germany and France. For comparison: the calorie content of daily food in the American army is 4,255 kcal, in Great Britain - 4,050 kcal, in Germany - 3,950 kcal, in France - 3,875 kcal.

As practice shows, given the current loads due to sports and intensive combat training, soldiers eat these 4,400 kcal for their dear soul, and some come for more.

Daily diet of a modern Russian soldier in numbers

Today, the daily diet of a Russian soldier who eats in regular army canteens includes (with the exception of spices):

Meat - 250 gr. Fish - 120 gr. One egg Cheese - 10 gr. (for a sandwich) Milk - 150 ml. (glass) Vegetable oil – 30 gr. Butter - 45 gr. Cereals and legumes - 120 gr. Wheat flour (1 grade) – 50g. Sugar (8 spoons) - 65 gr. Salt – 20 gr. Premium pasta - 30 gr. Potatoes and fresh vegetables - 900 gr. (potatoes – 600 gr., cabbage – 120 gr., beets – 30 gr., carrots – 40 gr., onions – 50 gr., cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkin, zucchini – 60 gr.) Bread (loaf) – 650 gr. . Tea - 1 gr. (per cup) Coffee (instant) - 1.5 g. Fruit juice - 100 gr. Dried fruits - 10 gr. Multivitamins “Hexavit” – 1 pc.

In addition, pilots, submariners, sailors and the wounded can count on a special ration, which, in addition to the above, includes: smoked meats, sausages, poultry, herring, sour cream, cottage cheese, jam, fruit and an increased dose of coffee (submariners 5 cups, pilots 1 ,5).

Below for comparison you can see daily allowance standards in the Soviet Army, operating in the second half of the 80s for soldiers and sergeants of conscript service of the ground forces.

Meat – 150 gr. Fish – 100 gr. Bread – 750 gr. (rye-wheat – 350 gr., wheat – 400 gr.) Chicken eggs – 2 pcs. per week Butter – 20 gr. Animal fat (margarine) – 20 gr. Vegetable oil – 20 gr. Various cereals (rice, millet, buckwheat, pearl barley) – 120 gr. Wheat flour (premium or 1st grade) – 10g. Sugar – 65 gr. Salt – 20 gr. Pasta – 40 gr. Vegetables – 900 gr. (potatoes – 600 gr., cabbage – 130 gr., beets – 30 gr., carrots – 50 gr., onions – 50 gr., cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs – 40 gr.) Tea leaves – 1.2 gr. Dry jelly or dried fruits – 30/120 gr. Multivitamins “Hexavit” – 1 pc.

As we can see, there have been no fundamental changes in nutritional standards. But... This “but” hides the main nuances. In the new diet, the proportion of meat products, fish, butter has been increased, eggs are provided daily, rather than twice a week. Cheese, milk, juice, coffee appeared in the diet, plus the share of foods high in carbohydrates decreased: baked goods and pasta. At the same time, the main thing remains not the numbers in the rations, but what actually reaches the dinner tables of military personnel. I would like to believe that nutritional standards in the units are being met.

Modular dining room

At large-scale exercises of rear forces, which took place as part of the large-scale Vostok-2010 maneuvers, journalists were shown a mobile module that contained a kitchen, a dining room, and rest areas for cooks. This module provides for complete electrification of food preparation, reception and distribution areas using autonomous power sources. It has also become possible to use electrified nozzles in kitchen heating units instead of manual ones.

All modules were equipped with not only heating systems, but also air conditioning systems. Which in itself is not bad and reduces the risk of acute intestinal infections. But the most interesting thing is that all this management was run by civilian specialists. At the same time, the young staff of the “contractor” worked harmoniously and professionally.

The army will also improve the way it supplies units with food. Today, as one of the areas of optimization, the organization of direct supplies to base military camps (brigade deployment points) is considered here, bypassing individual logistics complexes of military districts or fleets. Even in the procurement of potatoes and vegetables, changes have occurred. Today, in order to avoid spoilage of seasonal products, storage of vegetables and potatoes in the military is carried out only for the period of guaranteed preservation of their quality (until January 1). The rest of the products (up to 40-50% of the requirement) are stored with suppliers and supplied by them in parts as needed.

Not by bread alone

In the future, improving the methods of storing materiel, as well as the food supply system for the army, will significantly optimize the warehouse infrastructure. It is planned to replace the existing network of bases with modern complexes for the storage and processing of material and technical resources.

Another promising area of ​​activity is the introduction of automated accounting systems (ACS) for material assets in the army. The introduction of automatic control systems in the army at food service facilities using bar coding allows:

— reduce the number of warehouse personnel,

— ensure real-time control over the availability of material resources and the conduct of all types of departmental control and inventory,

— conduct an analysis of the compliance of the supplied material assets with the terms of government contracts, as well as the legality of operations for their movement, to exclude deliberate distortion of accounting data,

- reduce the time for receiving and shipping food,

— automatically track the condition of food,

— optimize the loading of warehouse space.

The organization of catering and food supply standards in the RF Armed Forces are determined on the basis of Order of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation dated June 21, 2011 N 888, Moscow “On approval of the Guidelines for food supply for military personnel of the RF Armed Forces...” and Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2007 N 946, as amended by March 19, 2015 “On food supply for military personnel...”

P.S. Appeal to officers who have served in the last 2 years or are currently serving: Share the realities of your experience - how food is organized in the modern RF Armed Forces.

Before going to serve, many worry about whether and what they are fed in the army. After all, at home you can only choose something tasty, only what you love. Mothers begin to worry in advance about how their beloved child will live for a year without home-cooked food, and whether she will lose weight.

What has changed, myths and reality

Military reform changed not only the structure of the Armed Forces, but also the conditions of service. The soldier will no longer be on duty in the kitchen. There are highly qualified chefs for cooking. Now you can choose the dish you like, buffet style.

Nowadays, food in the army:

• has become more diverse and richer;
• includes sausages, dumplings, coffee with milk, dumplings;
• organized in such a way that you can choose from 2 soups, several side dishes;
• continues to include porridges, both pearl barley and millet.

Don't think that there is a buffet in every part. In some elite units maybe. But in small compounds, most often everything is arranged the old fashioned way. But the conscript will not starve; he will receive his own amount of calories.

What is outsourcing

If in the 90s soldiers often went hungry, now they note an improvement in nutrition in the army. The outsourcing system, which Russian units have switched to since 2012, makes it possible to prepare high-quality food with the help of civilian cooks. And the products are supplied by Voentorg suppliers.

In large cities and elite units, the situation with food is better than in connections located on the periphery. After all, it is more difficult to find culinary professionals there. The allowance per conscript has increased. Food costs 195 rubles a day.

A Russian soldier receives 4,400 calories worth of food every day. This is more than in the USA. They increase nutrition when soldiers travel many kilometers and are additionally stressed during exercises and during physical training. They are fed more densely in the cold season. The calorie content of food is higher among paratroopers and sailors.

Recently, the number of underweight conscripts has increased. They are fed intensively at first, with reduced physical activity. When they return to normal, they are transferred to a normal diet.

Basic norms

The food supply for soldiers in the army in 2020 consists of:

• rye and white bread (300–350 grams);
• meat (250);
• fish (12);
• eggs (1 pc.);
• cheese (10);
• milk (150);
• vegetable and butter oils (30–45);
• granulated sugar (65);
• legumes and cereals (120);
• pasta (30).

Include vegetables in your daily diet: potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions, cucumbers, zucchini. Drinks on the table include tea, coffee, dried fruit compote, and juices.

Recruits are also given spices. They are regularly given multivitamin complexes. Special rations are intended for those who serve in the navy in underwater and surface combat arms. They are received by soldiers who have been wounded. The menu includes lard, sausage, herring, jam, and fruit.

In the army you can choose a salad to taste

What's being cooked

A soldier is entitled to three meals a day, which he receives in the canteen. Most often, a certain set of dishes is set for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which rarely changes.

In the morning

Breakfast begins in the military unit after exercise and hygiene procedures. The soldiers are offered to refresh themselves in the morning:

• a side dish of porridge or boiled pasta and a cutlet;
• chicken or sausage with side dish;
• coffee or cocoa with milk;
• bun with butter and cheese.

Rye or white wheat bread is provided at each table. Food portions for soldiers meet the standards.

At lunch

The canteen awaits military personnel after they have spent time in classes and training. Lunch is an important part of nutrition in the army. Therefore, plates with:

• soup, often borscht, pickle;
• meat dish with side dish;
• vegetable salads, vinaigrette.

For dessert, recruits receive compote or berry juice. Plenty of bread is given.

In the evening

Dinner is not as high in calories as lunch and breakfast. The menu usually consists of:

• mashed potatoes or porridge;
• dumplings;
• vegetable stew;
• stewed or fried fish;
• tea or compote.

Menu selection is done by specialists who try to diversify the diet so that food in the army is both nutritious and tasty.

In the morning in the army you need to eat well

When do you give dry rations?

I wonder what they eat in the army when soldiers are in the field. This is where rations come to the rescue, replacing the soldier’s basic diet. The peculiarities of drawing up a ration are that it:

• did not consist of perishable products;
• heated up or cooked quickly;
• easily absorbed by the soldier’s body;
• had enough calories and vitamins.

They provide canned stew, vegetable stew in jars, dry and freeze-dried soups, condensed and powdered milk, and biscuits as individual dry rations. Additionally, the package contains dry fuel, wet wipes, disposable tableware, and matches. All products for soldering are certified.

The field kitchen is deployed during exercises, forced marches, and campaigns. If you ate a variety of food in the unit, then the menu here will be the same.

What about in other countries?

In the American army, there are general nutrition rules for everyone. The food for military personnel is varied, since a special institute is developing the diet. The amount of fats, proteins and carbohydrates is calculated for a particular soldier with his weight and height. But the maximum calories are 3300 per day, which is less than in the Russian army.

In Israel, soldiers receive similar dishes for dinner and breakfast. They offer recruits soups, main courses, and salads. Vegetarians eat according to their culinary preferences. Private companies prepare food for soldiers.

Standardized army rations for French recruits. It is similar to our menu, but they eat as much cheese and fruit as they want. The worst food situation is in the Indian Army. There they get scones and tea for breakfast. Lunch is more nutritious.

Parents should not worry about how the conscript eats. The recruit will not go hungry. He will receive as many calories as he expends during the day of service. This will allow you to perform your official duties to the fullest. And conscripts can afford tasty things when they are on leave or receive a parcel from their mother.

Reforms have also reached army kitchens. In units where more than 150 people serve, it is no longer the soldiers themselves who prepare the training; this important task is entrusted to professionals. For example, in the village of Alabino near Moscow, there are as many as 8 cooks for 2 thousand soldiers and officers. There is modern equipment here that allows you to bake, boil, and steam so that more nutrients are retained in the food.

Miracles of technology can also be found in the canteens themselves. For example, biometric access systems have been installed in some places. The soldier puts his finger on the reader, and a page with his data is displayed on the screen. The serviceman can immediately indicate on which days he will not come to the canteen, for example, due to dismissal or leaving for training, there is no need to cook for him. As for the choice of dishes, in some parts, according to the Western model, they even introduced a buffet system, for example, for lunch there are 2 soups to choose from, 3 types of hot dishes and a salad bar, where you can assemble whatever you like from various vegetables and pickles.

As the “” program found out, experts simply call the information that something was always added to army food to reduce reproductive instincts. This purpose is perfectly served, for example, by physical exercise, which is so exhausting that the soldiers have practically no thoughts, no time, no energy left for anything other than food and sleep.

They try to make food for fighters tasty and nutritious. Every day a soldier is provided with fish and meat, almost a kilogram of vegetables, one egg, fresh or dried fruit, pastries, and caramel. In the autumn-spring period, garlic, onions and multivitamins are added to the diet, and those who are underweight should be given additional products. The calorie content of the Russian military’s diet, by the way, is higher than in many other countries - 4374 kilocalories per day.

But in America, for example, they prepare halal, kosher and vegetarian food if at least 10% of the employees of a particular unit require it. In France, every meal includes pate and cheeses. However, elements of gourmetism are also found here. For example, submariners are given chocolate, red caviar and wine every day - 100 grams of dry red wine per day.

True, only special troops are fed this way. And not all parts have a buffet from professional chefs. Where there are fewer than 150 people serving, the soldiers themselves cook in the old fashioned way. They are trained in schools for military cooks; there are only two of these in Russia now. In addition to general military training, there are theoretical classes and constant practice in the kitchen. Here, as elsewhere in the army, accuracy is important, but creativity is also valued. For some cadets, cooking later becomes a matter of life.

“Kirza”, “shrapnel”, “fraction 16” - these words can hardly be attributed to culinary dishes. Not at all! Soldiers know exactly what it is, because they tried it more than once while in the army. Food in the Russian army - the latest and most complete information on this topic is presented in this article.

Don't cry, mom! I'll be full!

Parents, and especially mothers, are sometimes more worried about what conscripts are being fed in the army than the conscripts themselves. They think that during the long 12 months of service, their sons will face heavy physical exertion and at the same time a very meager menu. We hasten to reassure such caring parents: the food in the modern army, although not varied, is certainly nourishing, healthy and, most importantly, high in calories.

Do you eat what they give you or a buffet?

You might be surprised, but both options can be found in the Russian army today. Of course, everything depends on the military unit where the conscript will serve. There are even places where you can see a salad bar, and the choice of salads will not only pleasantly surprise you, but will surprise you very much!

Recently, Russian Defense Minister S. Shoigu paid a working visit to one such communications unit in Chekhov near Moscow. The minister, of course, did not show that he was surprised by such a variety of dishes, they say, there are many such places in our army, but the members of the delegation were slightly shocked.

Sample soldier menu for every day

Conscripts are served three meals a day - breakfast, lunch and dinner. Let us give an example of the nutrition of one day in the life of an ordinary ordinary soldier.

Breakfast

A bowl of oatmeal with a piece of sausage, sausage or cutlet (or dumplings stuffed with pork);

• A glass of hot cocoa;
• A sandwich with butter and cheese, often given with condensed milk.

Agree, it’s a pretty decent breakfast that will give you the necessary supply of energy for the first half of the day. Let's be honest, not all people eat like this in everyday life - due to lack of time or appetite, or a sufficient amount of material resources.

Dinner

The second meal is usually the most satisfying. A typical soldier's lunch might look something like this:

1. Be sure to have soup - cabbage soup made from fresh or sauerkraut, borscht with meat, rassolnik, vermicelli;
2. A hot dish can be beef goulash with a side dish (mashed potatoes, boiled pasta, the same porridge), chicken chop, fried pork, meatballs, chopped cutlets, fried liver;
3. The side dish will be complemented by fresh seasonal vegetables or the savior of any lunch - stewed cabbage. All this will be nicely washed down at the end with a glass of dried fruit compote or delicious jelly.

Dinner

The last meal is something between breakfast and lunch:

• It can be fish in any form with a side dish of pearl barley or rice porridge;
• Either dumplings with peas or corn;
• For dessert, tea or juice with pastries will be offered (on weekends).

This is the average menu of an ordinary soldier. You can’t call it meager and of little use. In addition to the above, 1 pc. is also added to the daily ration of a soldier. chicken eggs, dry biscuits, white and gray bread, butter.

When composing the menu, the chef will always take into account, if not the wishes, then certainly the preferences of the soldiers. Pearl barley porridge rarely enjoys a stir among anyone, even though it is on the list of the healthiest cereals. Barley can be seen in soldiers' canteens no more than once a week. But buckwheat or oatmeal can appear on the table several times a week.

How they feed the army in Russia depends very much on the location where the military unit is located. If this is a city, albeit small, where there is a meat processing plant, there will definitely not be a shortage of meat dishes in the soldiers’ diet. And if it is quarantined due to the discovery of swine fever or any other livestock diseases, the soldiers will have meat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If some of it is in hard-to-reach places, stewed cabbage or barley may cause heartburn.

Daily Standard Value

Here's what the daily standard norm looks like for one soldier:

Packed rations

If an exercise is announced for tomorrow, the soldiers will be given dry rations. It will not contain perishable products - fresh fruits, mayonnaise, cooked meat. It will include only those products that do not require cooking:

• Stew - porridge or meat (beef or pork);
• Instant soups;
• Condensed milk;
• Rusks, crackers;
• Single-use tea or coffee bags;
• Single serving spice packets.

The packed lunch will definitely include disposable tableware and wet wipes. In a word, it will contain all those food products and things that you would prudently take with you on a hike.

Who are the cooks?

Recently, a trend has emerged, and the country’s military leadership supports it, that work in the army kitchen is carried out not by soldiers, but by civilians. They began to be involved relatively recently, and the reason for this was the decision not to distract military personnel from their direct duties. If only it would be like this with clearing the parade ground of snow in winter and leaves in autumn!

One hundred percent advice! You have to be friends with the chef! Especially if it's a woman. Compassionate, they often see how those who have just joined the service suffer, and it happens that they can secretly prepare something more “homemade” for such poor fellows. It happens that some recruits do not eat certain types of meat, for example, pig, for personal reasons. In this case, a cook friend can help out and secretly add a piece of chicken.

When food is more than food

Food in the army in Russia is not just a meal, but also a time for relaxation from duties. An opportunity to be alone with your thoughts for a few minutes, to digest not only the incoming proteins, fats and carbohydrates, but also everything that has accumulated inside at this moment. Some people value their time visiting the dining room only for this opportunity for a short rest.

Top 5 craziest military dishes

A survey was conducted among old-time military personnel on the topic of what army dishes they remember with horror to this day (we still hope that this is how they were fed in the army before). We present to your attention the most popular answers.

1. 5th place. Potato liquid. This is how soldiers affectionately call mashed potatoes, during the preparation of which, for unknown reasons, they forgot to remove the excess amount of broth. This puree looks almost transparent in a plate. But, what can you do: hunger is not a problem, but potatoes are not pearl barley even in Africa!
2. 4th place. Pea explosion. Pea porridge, which is prepared for more than a thousand people, by default cannot be perfectly cooked. You need to be able to prepare it at home too. And in the army, this dish requires more than one pair of eyes. As a result, the end result looks like a stale kulesh; such a dish does not look entirely edible, but after an exhausting cross-country cross-country it goes to waste with a bang.
3. 3rd place. Vegetable stew. According to eyewitnesses who used to work in the kitchen, this work of art (and you can’t call it anything else!) was prepared from all the leftover vegetable dishes that were not eaten at lunch. It never came to meat.
4. 2nd place. Sauerkraut. Sometimes not sour, sometimes spoiled, but always stewed! Soldiers remember this cabbage for the rest of their civilian life. It happened that I had to crush the cabbage with boots and turn it over with an ordinary agricultural fork.
5. 1 place. “Gold” goes to “fraction 16” porridge. It is so unusually called because of the similarity of a shot of this size to pearl barley. Crumbly - this is not about army barley porridge. Sometimes it can be a whole piece of cereal mash. Some soldiers refuse such dinner or breakfast, preferring to remain hungry rather than feel attempts to return the swallowed piece to its place. Well, you understand what we're talking about!

Note that such trump dishes appear less and less often on tables in army canteens. The chefs strive to come up with new, interesting, satisfying and tasty dishes so that the soldiers leave the canteen full and satisfied.

hazing

Everything that is not included in the food menu established by the state for military personnel is called civilian food or “non-statutory food.” All the same caring parents give money to their children so that they can buy themselves “something tasty” at the nearest store or grocery kiosk. Such food is valued by soldiers in a completely different way and here's why.

“Government food” is free, you can not finish it, drop it on the floor, throw yourself at your friends for fun. You don’t choose this kind of food, no matter how much you spoil it on purpose, tomorrow they will bring the same amount. You don’t mind it like you would a soda, a candy bar, or even sunflower seeds. In those units where the buffet has not yet been introduced, and, accordingly, there is no choice there at all, the soldiers perceive the opportunity to buy what you want yourself, and not what is slipped to you, as something special, as part of a free life on citizen.

Important! According to the Internal Service Charter, eating is permitted only in places specially designated for this. If you take purchased treats alone, in bed under the covers, you can run into negativity from older colleagues who can start a showdown. The sergeant major has no need for such a showdown at all. Because of them, he can organize a total search of all non-statutory items that the soldiers might have hidden under the mattress.

Drinking alcohol in the army is strictly prohibited. However, there are brave souls who, while on leave, can buy a well-known alcoholic drink and bring it with them to the barracks. What will happen after the foreman discovers this during a search or for natural reasons is better not to find out by personal example. Sometimes you can get away with it, but in most cases, punishment will be inevitable, for everyone.

How they feed in foreign armies

In the US Army, menus for soldiers are developed by a specially created culinary center. Taking into account the different gastronomic preferences of individual military personnel, food can be ordinary, kosher for Jews, vegetarian for adherents of healthy food. Holy cow, they even give out Coca-Cola to the soldiers!

Food in the Ukrainian army can be called meager, if not pitiful. The daily norm is 25 hryvnia per soldier, a loaf of bread costs 10 hryvnia.

In Israel, the conscript's menu includes omelets, yoghurts, natural juices, and a large selection of vegetarian dishes.

In neighboring Estonia, they decided to feed soldiers 5 times. Just like at school camp.

What did soldiers feed during the Great Patriotic War?

During the war, the cook was the second person after the commander. If he was suddenly wounded or killed, everyone was left without lunch. Front-line cooking was not distinguished by its refinements in preparing beautiful dishes. For obvious reasons, food at the front was very, very scarce. Basically, it was a dry ration consisting of canned meat and crackers. The soldier always had an aluminum spoon with him; it was hidden in his boot. Often they would scrawl their details on it and throw away the ID card.

Purely military dishes are still worth mentioning.

Carrot tea. The carrots were finely grated, fried and poured with boiling water, adding a little chaga.

Soldier's porridge. This is pearl barley, which is stewed with meat and onions. This porridge is often prepared on May 9th on the streets or in parks, in places of mass celebrations.

Buckwheat porridge. It was cooked with onions fried in lard and stewed meat was added.

Kulesh according to a 1943 recipe. Veteran tank crews who have survived to this day say that this dish was first prepared in 1943 before the start of the Battle of Kursk. The main ingredients were meat, millet and potatoes, which were all boiled together in a large cauldron over an open fire. They say that the taste of such kulesh is unsurpassed.

Conclusion

Thus, having considered such a relevant question for all times, what is fed in the army, we can safely say that it is better than before, and much more varied and healthy than during the war. Moms and dads, don’t worry unnecessarily, your sons will receive 3500-4000 calories every day of service. They will not remain hungry, and some will even gain weight.