Cup Noodles
Also known as: Cup Noodle, Cup O'Noodles, CupNoodles, カップヌードル
Cup Noodles is Nissin's range of instant noodles in a cup, the first of its kind in the world: sales began on 18 September 1971 in Tokyo.
Cup Noodles is Nissin's range of instant noodles in a cup, the first of its kind in the world. Sales began on 18 September 1971 at the Isetan department store in Shinjuku, Tokyo; a cup cost 100 yen, while ordinary bagged noodles cost 25.
Momofuku Ando got the idea in 1966 on a trip through Europe and the US. At the office of a US supermarket chain, buyers broke Chicken Ramen blocks into paper cups, poured over hot water and ate them with forks. Ando's key insight was to turn the noodle block upside down and slide the cup over it from above, which made filling the cup reliable. The new noodles were sold through hot-water vending machines, about 20,000 of them installed within a year, and at tastings in Ginza. In the US they appeared in 1973 as Cup O'Noodles.
The ingredients depend on the flavour and country. Dry Cup Noodles Chicken from the US contains enriched wheat flour, palm oil, salt, potassium and sodium carbonates, dried vegetables and seasoning; 100 g provide 453 kcal and 4.53 g of salt.
Facts
| Year founded | 18 September 1971, Tokyo |
|---|---|
| Country | Japan |
| Nutrition | 453 kcal and 4.53 g salt per 100 g of dry product (Chicken, US) |
How it connects to Noodles
Cup Noodles → made from → Wheat flour ← made from ← 🍜 Noodles
Links
- Made from
- Wheat flour
- What is used
- Noodle brands, Frying and drying instant noodles
- What it contains
- Kansui
- Part of
- Nissin Foods, Instant noodles
- Similar and different
- Ramyeon, Maruchan, Chicken Ramen, Maruchan Instant Lunch, Top Ramen, Demae Iccho, Nissin Yakisoba U.F.O., Maggi, Indomie, Lucky Me!, Maruchan Ramen
Frequently asked questions
How do you read Cup Noodles, and why is it a "cup"?
Say it as written: instant noodles in a cup, the first of its kind.
When and where did Cup Noodles go on sale, and for how much?
In September nineteen seventy-one at the Isetan store in Shinjuku, a hundred yen a cup.
How did Ando come up with the cup?
In America buyers broke noodle blocks into paper cups; he turned the block upside down and slid the cup over it.
What was it first called in the US?
Cup O'Noodles, from nineteen seventy-three.
Is it true that Cup Noodles have the same recipe everywhere?
No, the ingredients depend on flavour and country; the US chicken one has wheat flour, palm oil, salt, vegetables and seasoning.
What to read next
- Maruchan — Maruchan is an instant-noodle brand that began with a Japanese company founded in 1953; noodles under the name have been made in the US since 1977.
- Ramyeon — Ramyeon is the Korean name for instant noodles: the first ramyeon, Samyang Ramen, was launched by Samyang in September 1963.
- Maruchan Instant Lunch — Maruchan Instant Lunch is Maruchan's US line of instant noodles in single-serve cups: you just add hot water, and the line has 13 flavours.
- Noodle brands — Noodle brands are the marks under which instant and other noodles are made: Nissin, Indomie, Nongshim, Samyang, Mama, Maruchan, Lucky Me!. Most grew out of Asian companies between the 1950s and the 1980s.
- Kansui — Kansui is an alkaline additive of potassium and sodium carbonates or phosphates that is kneaded into the dough of Chinese noodles and ramen to make them yellow and springy.
Similar
Top Ramen · Nissin Yakisoba U.F.O. · Chicken Ramen · Demae Iccho · Maggi 2-Minute Noodles · Lucky Me! Pancit Canton
What it includes
Sources
- Nissin Foods: Founder Momofuku Ando
- Nissin Foods: History
- Open Food Facts: Nissin Cup Noodles Chicken Flavor (0070662030035)