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Description
While the Galactic Empire has a diverse culinary culture, the same cannot be said for their military. In the Imperial military, standardization is paramount, as it increases logistical efficiency. The end goal of the Imperial military's logistical divisions is to standardize to such an extent that a stormtrooper from one end of the galaxy would not be lost in a base on another end of the galaxy.

There are three classes of Imperial rations - A-Rations, B-Rations and X-Rations. A-Rations are the rations provided on Imperial military bases, both on- and off-world, and are more or less the sort of meals that are served on the worlds that base is on or orbits. These meals are made using fresh, local ingredients, and thus are often the best food an Imperial soldier can expect to eat. B-Rations are standard meal rations that are issued during a tour of duty, and are the focus of this article.

X-Rations are survival rations. These are often small, dense bars of fat, vitamins and minerals compacted together with sugar. These bars resemble shortbread in both taste and appearance, and are widely considered tasty, if monotonous. One bar provides enough nutrition and calories to keep a grown, adult human alive for 30 hours. Most X-Rations are issued in packs of several dozen, and any Imperial ship will have enough rations to last the crew at least an entire month.

In addition to rations, Imperial soldiers are allowed to purchase their own food. When on tour, this is done at great personal expense; the individual soldier not only has to pay for the food, they must also pay for the costs of transportation and storage. While prohibitively expensive for most lowborn soldiers, the nobility will normally have their families send food and other amenities over, at the expense of the family. Alcohol and recreational drugs are common in these care packages; although these are theoretically prohibited by Imperial military standards, many families are powerful enough that they can intimidate any military bureaucrat.

The ideal Imperial military ration is one that is, in order of importance, long-lasting, high-calorie, nutritious, and delicious. A long shelf life is of paramount importance, as the galaxy is a massive place; it could be reasonably expected that units will go months, even years, without reliable resupply. Disasters such as a hyperdrive failure can isolate Imperial soldiers for prolonged periods, so it is important that none of their rations go bad. Millennia of scientific study and technological advancement has allowed the Empire, and most of the civilized galaxy, to issue rations that can last indefinitely. Vacuum packaging, advanced preservatives and desiccants, and even genetic modification left over from the days First Empire have produced rations that can be eaten millennia after they were produced.

Imperial military rations must also be caloric and nutritious, even moreso than a normal, peacetime meal. Imperial soldiers are expected to expend more calories per day than a civilian, and rations are designed so that a soldier may rely on them alone for their nutritional needs. It is all too common that Imperial soldiers find themselves on worlds with no indigenous food to ingest, such as dead worlds or alien worlds, so it is necessary that the ration fills all of their nutritional needs. In this respect, all Imperial rations must meet certain standards before they are produced and issued.

While standardized, Imperial military rations are diverse, and allow even the lowliest stormtrooper or rating a choice of meals. This is not out of any particular desire on the part of the Imperial military to make the lives of their troops comfortable; it is accepted that the life of lowborn military men is hard. The diversity of meals is a necessity because of human psychology: monotony in food over prolonged periods can break down a sense of duty. The crew of the battlestar Intrepid revolted because a bureaucratic mixup issued only one set of rations for the ship's entire tour of duty. One and a half years after the mission began, the crew revolted against the officers to get access to their personal supply of food and alcohol. The Intrepid was eventually recaptured by Imperial forces, the lesson of the Intrepid was never forgotten by the Imperial Navy. Modern Imperial rations are generally well-received, with some lowborn soldiers commenting that it was better than what they regularly ate on city worlds or on civilian starfreighters.

There are four B-Ration meals available. Each is intended to serve as one meal per day, excluding breakfast, so each stormtrooper or rating is issued two per day. Every B-Ration comes with a package of wheat crackers, a tube of peanut butter, a tube of fruit jam, a small bar of dried fruit and oats, a flavored electrolytic drink mix, dried hypercaf mix, a bar of dehydrated "ice cream," napkins and moist alcohol towelettes. While older rations come with chemical heaters, it was later decided that heating onboard a starship, or on the field with a campfire or overheating equipment, can be used. Every container in a B-Ration is intended to be easy to open, are all made of plastics to lighten weight, and are durable and waterproof enough to be used as housing for environment-sensitive materials should they need to be used.

B-Rat 1 provides a tin of corned rabbit and potatoes, and a vat meat and colonial mushroom pate to be eaten with the crackers. B-Rat 2 provides a tin of vat-grown spiced sausage, and a smaller tin of anchovies in tomato sauce. B-Rat 3 is a bit more complicated - it is a rabbit burrito with beans, salsa and artificial cheese, and is intended to be assembled in the field. There are enough ingredients to make two burritos. Because B-Rat 3 is messy to assemble, particularly in zero-gravity environments, the Imperial military has considered phasing it out several times, but it remains so popular among the soldiers that it is kept on. B-Rat 4 is a rabbit stew, one that is infamous among Imperial soldiers for being too oily and bland, and tinned sow belly. While the sow belly is intended to be eaten cold, Imperial soldiers will almost always fry it, making the food resemble that ever-popular galactic delicacy - bacon.

Description
While the Galactic Empire has a diverse culinary culture, the same cannot be said for their military. In the Imperial military, standardization is paramount, as it increases logistical efficiency. The end goal of the Imperial military's logistical divisions is to standardize to such an extent that a stormtrooper from one end of the galaxy would not be lost in a base on another end of the galaxy.

There are three classes of Imperial rations - A-Rations, B-Rations and X-Rations. A-Rations are the rations provided on Imperial military bases, both on- and off-world, and are more or less the sort of meals that are served on the worlds that base is on or orbits. These meals are made using fresh, local ingredients, and thus are often the best food an Imperial soldier can expect to eat. B-Rations are standard meal rations that are issued during a tour of duty, and are the focus of this article.

X-Rations are survival rations. These are often small, dense bars of fat, vitamins and minerals compacted together with sugar. These bars resemble shortbread in both taste and appearance, and are widely considered tasty, if monotonous. One bar provides enough nutrition and calories to keep a grown, adult human alive for 30 hours. Most X-Rations are issued in packs of several dozen, and any Imperial ship will have enough rations to last the crew at least an entire month.

In addition to rations, Imperial soldiers are allowed to purchase their own food. When on tour, this is done at great personal expense; the individual soldier not only has to pay for the food, they must also pay for the costs of transportation and storage. While prohibitively expensive for most lowborn soldiers, the nobility will normally have their families send food and other amenities over, at the expense of the family. Alcohol and recreational drugs are common in these care packages; although these are theoretically prohibited by Imperial military standards, many families are powerful enough that they can intimidate any military bureaucrat.

The ideal Imperial military ration is one that is, in order of importance, long-lasting, high-calorie, nutritious, and delicious. A long shelf life is of paramount importance, as the galaxy is a massive place; it could be reasonably expected that units will go months, even years, without reliable resupply. Disasters such as a hyperdrive failure can isolate Imperial soldiers for prolonged periods, so it is important that none of their rations go bad. Millennia of scientific study and technological advancement has allowed the Empire, and most of the civilized galaxy, to issue rations that can last indefinitely. Vacuum packaging, advanced preservatives and desiccants, and even genetic modification left over from the days First Empire have produced rations that can be eaten millennia after they were produced.

Imperial military rations must also be caloric and nutritious, even moreso than a normal, peacetime meal. Imperial soldiers are expected to expend more calories per day than a civilian, and rations are designed so that a soldier may rely on them alone for their nutritional needs. It is all too common that Imperial soldiers find themselves on worlds with no indigenous food to ingest, such as dead worlds or alien worlds, so it is necessary that the ration fills all of their nutritional needs. In this respect, all Imperial rations must meet certain standards before they are produced and issued.

While standardized, Imperial military rations are diverse, and allow even the lowliest stormtrooper or rating a choice of meals. This is not out of any particular desire on the part of the Imperial military to make the lives of their troops comfortable; it is accepted that the life of lowborn military men is hard. The diversity of meals is a necessity because of human psychology: monotony in food over prolonged periods can break down a sense of duty. The crew of the battlestar Intrepid revolted because a bureaucratic mixup issued only one set of rations for the ship's entire tour of duty. One and a half years after the mission began, the crew revolted against the officers to get access to their personal supply of food and alcohol. The Intrepid was eventually recaptured by Imperial forces, the lesson of the Intrepid was never forgotten by the Imperial Navy. Modern Imperial rations are generally well-received, with some lowborn soldiers commenting that it was better than what they regularly ate on city worlds or on civilian starfreighters.

There are four B-Ration meals available. Each is intended to serve as one meal per day, excluding breakfast, so each stormtrooper or rating is issued two per day. Every B-Ration comes with a package of wheat crackers, a tube of peanut butter, a tube of fruit jam, a small bar of dried fruit and oats, a flavored electrolytic drink mix, dried hypercaf mix, a bar of dehydrated "ice cream," napkins and moist alcohol towelettes. While older rations come with chemical heaters, it was later decided that heating onboard a starship, or on the field with a campfire or overheating equipment, can be used. Every container in a B-Ration is intended to be easy to open, are all made of plastics to lighten weight, and are durable and waterproof enough to be used as housing for environment-sensitive materials should they need to be used.

B-Rat 1 provides a tin of corned rabbit and potatoes, and a vat meat and colonial mushroom pate to be eaten with the crackers. B-Rat 2 provides a tin of vat-grown spiced sausage, and a smaller tin of anchovies in tomato sauce. B-Rat 3 is a bit more complicated - it is a rabbit burrito with beans, salsa and artificial cheese, and is intended to be assembled in the field. There are enough ingredients to make two burritos. Because B-Rat 3 is messy to assemble, particularly in zero-gravity environments, the Imperial military has considered phasing it out several times, but it remains so popular among the soldiers that it is kept on. B-Rat 4 is a rabbit stew, one that is infamous among Imperial soldiers for being too oily and bland, and tinned sow belly. While the sow belly is intended to be eaten cold, Imperial soldiers will almost always fry it, making the food resemble that ever-popular galactic delicacy - bacon.