Document Friday: The Military’s (26 Page) Brownie Recipe.

But can these ones be "stored it in a stifling hot warehouse, dropped {} out of an airplane, dragged {} through the mud, left {} out with bugs and vermin, and {eaten} three years later?"

If you can read all the way through today’s hot doc, it has the potential to be tasty.  It’s the 26-page recipe for the military specification brownies that our troops eat.  This one has been bouncing around the internet for the past week or so, but it was just too potentially delectable not to post.

The primary reason for the recipe’s length is that it contains an expansive list of quality specifications for the ingredients and preparation.  For example, here’s the explanation for what eggs can be used:

3.2.6 Whole eggs, liquid or frozen. Whole eggs may be liquid or frozen and shall have been processed and labeled in accordance with the Regulations Governing the Inspection of Eggs and Egg Products (7 CFR Part 59). The whole eggs shall be egg whites and egg yolks in their natural proportions as broken directly from the shell eggs as evidenced by a USDA Egg Products Inspection Certificate. For liquid whole eggs, the USDA certificate shall state the date and time of pasteurization. Liquid whole eggs shall be held at a temperature of 400F or lower and shall be held for not more than 72 hours from the time of pasteurization until the start of formulation of the product in which they are used. Frozen whole eggs shall be held at 100F or lower and used within 120 days from the date of production. The whole eggs shall be free from off-odors and off-flavors, such as sulfide-like, fruity, sour, musty, or metallic, and shall be free from foreign materials.

Considering the huge amounts of brownies made, it’s probably a good thing the military uses such rigid specification for its product.  The recipe also instructs the baker on: “chocolate coating preparation,”  “net weight inspection,” “filled and sealed bag examination,” and “palatability.”

The actual brownie recipe can be found on page seven:

So are the brownies tasty? I haven’t got around to baking any yet (if you have extras, ship em over to the Archive!!), but they certainly hold up in the field. Jeremy Whitsitt, with the Department of Defense Combat Feeding Directorate, told National Public Radio,

One thing we like to say is, ‘What would happen if you cooked a meal, stored it in a stifling hot warehouse, dropped it out of an airplane, dragged it through the mud, left it out with bugs and vermin, and ate it three years later?’

I’d probably gobble it up.

Happy Memorial Day!