U.S. Army Creates Two-Year Sandwich, Likely Discovers One-Year Heartburn

December 8th, 2011 by: Conner Flynn

Tweet Pin It

Apparently the military industrial complex has never heard of the Twinkie, so they have been looking into ways to make a soldiers food last forever. And now they have perfected a sandwich that lasts for two years.

Instead of the nasty MREs that the military currently serves, this sandwich has meat, cheese, and lettuce inside of bread. It’s a lot like a Hot Pocket. Supposedly, it even tastes good. For food to rot, you need oxygen and water. This two year sandwich uses preservation techniques to keep the H2O in check.

Take jam for instance. It has a high water content and stays fresh because the sugar locks in the moisture and the container is air-tight. They’ve done the same thing here. The two-year sandwich has sugar and a packet of iron fillings in its vacuum-sealed wrapping. The iron draws in excess moisture, converts it into rust, and traps it. So you have a sandwich that stays fresh. This means that we can feed soldiers a better meal in the field, even if it’s been sitting around for years.

[BBC via Popsci via Geek]