K-Rations for specialized troops
K-Rations came into existence because C-rations were inadequate for the needs of specialized troops. They were too heavy for airborne troops, too bulky for the crews of tanks and other armored vehicles, and both limitations applied for couriers and messengers. K-rations were based on emergency rations and initially provided less than 3,000 calories per day. A single K-ration consisted of three meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and included four cigarettes with each meal, thoughtfully accompanied with matches. Initially there were three, the standard K-ration and specialized Mountain and Jungle versions. The specialized versions were soon discontinued.
Many of the food items found in the K-rations were treated with repugnance by the troops who were supposed to sustain themselves on them, and simply thrown away. Pork loaf was especially despised. The refusal to eat certain items reduced their designed efficiency in providing sufficient caloric intake. Beside the entrée each K-ration meal included saltine crackers, chewing gum, and cigarettes. The remainder of the contents was dependent upon whether it was to be eaten as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The entrée was contained in a can opened with a twist key attached to its bottom, the rest of the meal was packed in cellophane.
A breakfast pack would include the canned entrée, which was always eggs and chopped ham, a dried fruit bar similar to a granola bar, instant coffee, water purification tablets, and cigarettes to enjoy after the hearty meal. Lunch entrees were pork cold cuts, cheeses, malted milk tablets (to increase caloric intake), more purification tablets, candy and gum, and a powdered drink similar to Kool-Aid. For dinner, which the Army called supper, the entrée was one of three varieties of meat, which changed as the war went on, toilet paper, chewing gum, more purification tablets, bouillion, and an energy bar of chocolate or fruit.
The K-ration was designed to be consumed for no more than fifteen consecutive meals, since its caloric intake and lack of variation in its content limited its use for healthy diet as well as its appeal to the consumer. They were universally disliked by the troops who were forced to consume them wearing American uniforms. Once again, to the Allies who received them as part of Lend-Lease, they were an improvement over their standard army fare. The Army attempted to provide everything the troops involved in an action which prevented them from receiving normal daily rations would need. This included the chewing gum being Dentyne in at least one meal per day, as an alternative to brushing the teeth.
The standard US Army combat fatigue uniform was equipped with pockets designed to carry K-rations, and paratroopers jumped accompanied by supply boxes which delivered K-rations to the drop zones, at least in theory. The rations themselves were produced by commercial food preparation companies in the United States to Army specifications. These included Heinz, Pillsbury, and the Cracker Jack Company. K-rations produced by Cracker Jack did not include a surprise in every box, but they did include five caramels in the lunch meal. After the war the millions of K-rations in stock were used to feed the starving civilians of Europe and across the Pacific.