 Chicken flavor packages of Top Ramen | |
| Produced by | Nissin Foods |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1970 |
| Markets | Instant noodle |
Top Ramen is an American brand ofinstant ramennoodles introduced in 1970 byNissin Foods.[1]: 163
Instant noodles were invented in 1958 byMomofuku Ando, the Taiwanese-born founder of theJapanese food companyNissin. He usedChicken Ramen as the first brand of instant ramen noodles.[2]
By the late 1960s, Ando desired to enter the US markets, but discovered that most people in the United States did not have ramen-sized bowls or chopsticks. During a business trip to the US, he observed a grocery store manager prepare ramen by placing the block of noodles in a paper cup and pouring boiling water over them, inspiring him to develop theCup Noodles brand.[2][3] In 1970, Nissin formed a US subsidiary, and opened their first factory in the US in 1973 inLancaster, Pennsylvania.[4] Top Ramen became a major corporate force in the international noodle market which was dominated byMaggi.[5]: 27
Despite ramen being stereotyped as a "poverty food" which makes up the bulk of a typical US college student's diet,[6][7] Top Ramen was considered an expensive luxury item when it was initially released.[2] In 1958, it sold for¥35 (US$0.32), which was comparable to the cost of eating Chinese noodles at a restaurant[8] and several times more than the price ofudon noodles at the grocery store. At first many stores were skeptical of Top Ramen's potential to succeed and hesitant to stock it, but by end of the year the product was ubiquitous and stores had difficulty keeping pace with the demand.[3]
Food reviewers' opinions of Top Ramen vary widely, from The Ramen Rater rating the noodles alone 3.25/5 stars and 5/5 stars with some turkey and an egg added,[9] to Douglas Kim, the owner and chef ofJeju Noodle Bar, describing it as tasting "commercial" and "very instant" and rating it 1/5 stars.[10] Andy Kryza ofThrillist ranked Top Ramen as the fourth best instant noodle brand, particularly appreciating its "overpowering beefy/salty suckerpunch," although he said that eating it while sober "doesn't seem right."[11] Consumer Reviews criticized Top Ramen's "bland broth and too-soft, almost mushy, noodles," but rated Cup Noodles more favorably, noting that "the food bits are so well done that we can overlook the subpar noodles."[12]
Media related toTop Ramen at Wikimedia Commons| Variants |
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