>During World War II, M&Ms were exclusively sold to the U.S. military.
>In March of 1941, Mars was granted a patent for his manufacturing process and production began in Newark, New Jersey. Originally sold in cardboard tubes, M&Ms were covered with a brown, red, orange, yellow, green or violet coating. After the U.S. entered the war, the candies were exclusively sold to the military, enabling the heat-resistant and easy-to-transport chocolate to be included in American soldiers’ rations. By the time the war was over and GIs returned home, they were hooked.
https://www.history.com/news/the-wartime-origins-of-the-mm
More Info:https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2016/11/10/Untold-war-stories-Mars-and-M-M-s-military-history
https://old.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/lt064l/til_that_during_world_war_ii_mms_were_exclusively/
One of those bizarre internet cross over moments where you're watching a former US Marine and serving US Army soldier try British Army rations and all of a sudden he references the Bois
https://youtu.be/a7f67jdHjoQ?t=1304
https://preview.redd.it/r1l0iz3bnjm51.png?width=1283&format=png&auto=webp&s=521822c39c545db6394dee30d37ca098b0cf89a4
I'm curious about any examples of marching/garrison rations of the Taisho, Meiji, or Edo era of military foods.
Differences in Officer vs Enlisted, Navy vs Army, even militias/regions.
I have spent a few years on and off trying to find any examples and gained even more curiosity when I was stationed in Japan. I have not really found anything other than a few museums that talked about peasant cuisine and staples. But other than that, very little on my specific quandaries.
