Cup noodle container and method for manufacturing cup noodles

Abstract

To provide a cup noodle and a manufacturing method thereof, capable of facilitating determination of the intake amount of salt content by an eater.SOLUTION: A cup noodle container 10 includes a first indication part 2 showing an indication of a hot water amount to be poured and a second indication part 4 positioned downward of the first indication part 2. A volume ranging from a bottom part 5 to the second indication part 4 is 20% or more and 70% or less as many as that from the bottom part 5 to the first indication part 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cup noodle container and a method for producing cup noodles. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, cup noodles containing instant noodles have been known. In recent years, people have become particularly concerned about their salt intake, and ramen bowls have been proposed that indicate the acceptable salt content in order to reduce salt intake (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 6-48473 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with the ramen bowls made using the above-mentioned conventional technology, even if salt intake was determined based on the amount of soup remaining after eating, the accuracy was very poor because the salt intake differed depending on the amount of noodles and soup before eating, i.e., the amount of noodles and soup served.

[0005] Furthermore, even if the amount of noodles and soup in ramen can be kept constant immediately after cooking, the amount of soup that has soaked into the noodles varies depending on the type of noodles and the amount of time that has passed since cooking, making it difficult to accurately determine salt intake.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide cup noodles that solve the problems associated with the above-mentioned conventional techniques and allow consumers to easily and accurately determine their salt intake, as well as a method for producing the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is characterized in that the cup noodle container has a first guide portion that indicates the amount of water to be poured and a second guide portion located below the first guide portion, and the volume from the bottom to the second guide portion is 20% to 70% of the volume from the bottom to the first guide portion.

[0008] In this case, the volume from the bottom to the second indicator portion may be 20% or more and 55% or less of the volume from the bottom to the first indicator portion. The second indicator portion may be formed by a recess extending along at least one of the inner circumference and the outer circumference. The second indicator portion may be drawn on at least one of the inner circumference and the outer circumference. The second indicator portion may be provided on both the inner circumference and the outer circumference.

[0009] The present invention is also characterized in that the method for manufacturing cup noodles includes the steps of preparing a cup noodle container having a first guide portion indicating the amount of water to be poured and a second guide portion located below the first guide portion, and wherein the volume from the bottom to the second guide portion is 20% to 55% of the volume from the bottom to the first guide portion, placing fried noodles in the cup noodle container, and attaching a lid to the top end of the cup noodle container to seal it.

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the method for producing cup noodles includes the steps of preparing a cup noodle container having a first guide portion indicating the amount of water to be poured and a second guide portion located below the first guide portion, and wherein the volume from the bottom to the second guide portion is between 20% and 70% of the volume from the bottom to the first guide portion, placing non-fried noodles in the cup noodle container, and attaching a lid to the top end of the cup noodle container to seal it.

[0011] In these methods for producing cup noodles, the second guide portion may be formed by a recess extending along at least one of the inner and outer peripheries of the cup noodle container, or may be drawn on at least one of the inner and outer peripheries of the cup noodle container. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The present invention can provide cup noodles that allow consumers to easily and accurately determine their salt intake, as well as a method for producing the same. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a cup noodle container according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a cup noodle container. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cup noodle container according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 10 is a schematic diagram of a cup noodle container according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (First embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a cup noodle container according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the cup noodle container. The cup noodle container 10 according to this embodiment is made of polystyrene foam, and is designed to hold instant noodles (not shown) inside and have a paper lid (not shown) attached to the opening 1 to seal it.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 1, the cup noodle container 10 has a hot water supply line (first guide portion) 2 formed on the upper part of the inner surface to indicate the amount of hot water that should be poured. As shown in Fig. 2, this hot water supply line 2 is engraved to form a substantially V-shaped recess that extends along the inner periphery of the cup noodle container 10. The hot water supply line 2 is formed substantially parallel to the back surface 3 of the cup noodle container 10, so that when the cup noodle container 10 is placed on a horizontal surface, the hot water supply line 2 is also positioned to spread out horizontally.

[0016] In the cup noodle container 10, a reference line (second guideline) 4, which serves as a criterion for determining the recommended salt intake, is located below the hot water supply line 2. This reference line 4 is formed by engraving or by printing. Like the hot water supply line 2, the reference line 4 according to this embodiment is engraved to form a generally V-shaped recess that extends along the inner periphery of the cup noodle container 10. Because the reference line 4 is formed by a recess with the same shape as the hot water supply line 2, when a consumer views the cup noodle container 10 from the outside, the positional relationship between the hot water supply line 2 and the reference line 4 can be easily grasped, and the position of the surface of the soup remaining in the cup noodle container 10 relative to the hot water supply line 2 and the reference line 4 can be easily grasped. The reference line 4 may also be formed by engraving or by printing on the outer periphery of the cup noodle container 10.

[0017] The reference line 4 is formed approximately parallel to the rear surface 3 of the cup noodle container 10, so that when the cup noodle container 10 is placed on a horizontal surface, the reference line 4 is also positioned so as to extend horizontally. In other words, the reference line 4 is positioned in an imaginary plane parallel to the imaginary plane in which the hot water supply line 2 extends.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, the cup noodle container 10 also has a reference mark (second guide portion) 6 drawn on its outer periphery. This reference mark 6 is drawn at the same height as the reference line 4 and is drawn by printing on the outer periphery of the cup noodle container 10. The reference mark 6 is not limited to a line, but may be a mark such as an arrow, and in this embodiment, it is a downward-pointing arrow. This reference mark 6, which is an arrow mark, is drawn inside the logo area 7 along the edge of the logo area 7, on which the product name of the cup noodle and other information are drawn. This makes it easy for the consumer to find the reference mark 6, as it comes into view simply by looking at the logo area 7.

[0019] The salt intake amount is determined using the reference line 4 or the reference mark 6 based on the difference between the salt content of the ramen as a whole when it is cooked and ready to eat by pouring hot water up to the hot water supply line 2 into the cup noodle container 10 containing the noodles, soup base (powdered soup or liquid soup), and toppings, and the salt content of the soup when the soup remaining after eating has accumulated up to the reference line 4 or the reference mark 6.

[0020] The salt intake amount when the remaining soup after eating reaches the reference line 4 or the reference mark 6 is printed on the outer periphery of the cup noodle container 10, for example.

[0021] The instant noodle container 10 according to this embodiment is designed to use non-fried noodles that are steamed rather than fried in oil. The reference line 4 and reference mark 6 are positioned so that the volume from the bottom 5 of the instant noodle container 10 to the reference line 4 is 20% to 70% of the volume from the bottom 5 of the instant noodle container 10 to the hot water supply line 2, and more preferably 26% to 59% of the volume. That is, if the weight of the noodles before cooking is 55 g and the volume at the hot water supply line 2 is 425 cc, the volume at the reference line 4 and the reference mark 6 is 85.0 cc to 297.5 cc, and more preferably 110.5 cc to 250.8 cc. When boiling water is poured into an instant noodle container 10 containing 55 g of non-fried noodles and having a volume of 425 cc at the hot water supply line 2 and cooked for four minutes, the weight of the cooked noodles is 140 g and the weight of the cooked soup is 240 g.

[0022] During cooking, the hot water evaporates and is released outside the instant noodle container 10, so the volume of the cooked ramen, i.e., the volume of the noodles and soup after cooking, is somewhat reduced compared to the volume of the noodles and soup before cooking. This also occurs while the eater is eating the cooked ramen, and the salt concentration of the soup continues to increase as the soup evaporates depending on the time it takes to eat it.

[0023] Furthermore, while a consumer is eating cooked ramen, the soup is absorbed by the noodles over time, increasing the water content of the noodles, while salt dissolves from the noodles into the soup.

[0024] Therefore, considering these complex conditions, it is not easy to find the appropriate positions of the reference line 4 and the reference mark 6, and it is particularly effective to determine salt intake by positioning the reference line 4 and the reference mark 6 within the above-mentioned ranges. In other words, considering the time it takes for a typical eater to eat, if the positions of the reference line 4 and the reference mark 6 are higher or lower than the above-mentioned ranges, it will not be possible to determine salt intake with high accuracy.

[0025] The method for producing cup noodles will be described below. When producing cup noodles, the manufacturer first prepares a cup noodle container 10 on which a reference line 4 and a reference mark 6 are formed at a position that is 20% to 70% of the volume from the bottom 5 to the hot water supply line 2.

[0026] After preparing the cup noodle container 10, the manufacturer places non-fried noodles into the cup noodle container 10.

[0027] After placing non-fried noodles in the cup noodle container 10, the manufacturer attaches a lid to the top end of the cup noodle container 10 to seal it, and the cup noodles are complete.

[0028] The cup noodle container 10 of this embodiment has a hot water supply line 2 that indicates the amount of hot water to be poured, and a reference line 4 and a reference mark 6 located below the hot water supply line 2, and the volume from the bottom 5 to the reference line 4 or the reference mark 6 is 20% or more and 70% or less of the volume from the bottom 5 to the hot water supply line 2. This allows the eater to know their salt intake simply by finishing eating when there is soup remaining up to reference line 4 or reference mark 6, making it possible to easily and accurately determine their salt intake.

[0029] (Second embodiment) 3 is a perspective view showing a cup noodle container according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, only the parts that differ from the first embodiment will be described, and the same reference numerals will be used for the components that are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment in the drawings, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0030] The instant noodle container 20 according to the second embodiment is made of paper, and as shown in Fig. 3, it differs from the first embodiment in that it does not have a reference line on the inner periphery of the instant noodle container 20, and a reference mark (second guide portion) 6 is drawn only on the outer periphery. More specifically, the instant noodle container 20 has a recessed portion that is the hot water supply line 2 that extends along the inner periphery of the instant noodle container 20, but the reference mark 6 is drawn by printing only on the outer periphery of the instant noodle container 20. This reference mark 6, which is an arrow mark, is drawn in a position along the edge of the logo area 7, in which the product name of the instant noodle and the like are drawn. This position may be any position as long as it is along the edge of the logo area 7, and in this embodiment, it is drawn outside the logo area 7.

[0031] (Third embodiment) 4 is a schematic diagram of a cup noodle container according to a third embodiment of the present invention. This figure shows the state as seen from the front, with the left side showing a cross-sectional view of the cup noodle container 30 and the right side showing a front view of the cup noodle container 30, separated by line A. Note that in the third embodiment, only the parts that differ from the first embodiment will be described, and the same reference numerals will be used for components that are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0032] The cup noodle container 30 according to the third embodiment is made of polystyrene foam, but may also be made of paper. This cup noodle container 30 differs from the first embodiment in that, as shown in Fig. 4, in addition to the reference line 4 formed on the inner periphery of the cup noodle container 30, a reference line (second guide line) 8 is also drawn on the outer periphery of the cup noodle container 30. More specifically, in the cup noodle container 30, the reference line 4 formed by a recess is engraved and extends along the inner periphery of the cup noodle container 30 together with the hot water supply line 2, while the reference line 8 is drawn by printing along the outer periphery of the cup noodle container 30. As shown in Fig. 4, the reference line 4 on the inner periphery and the reference line 8 on the outer periphery are spaced from the back surface 3 by the same distance in a direction perpendicular to the back surface 3.

[0033] The inner reference line 4 and the outer reference line 8 may be formed by engraving or by printing. However, since the inner reference line 4 and the outer reference line 8 of the cup noodle container 30 are positioned so that they face each other with respect to the cylindrical side wall, engraving from both the inner and outer peripheries would result in the side wall becoming thin. For this reason, by printing at least one of the inner reference line 4 and the outer reference line 8 of the cup noodle container 30, it is possible to prevent the side wall from becoming thin and losing its strength.

[0034] Although the present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, although non-fried noodles are used in the above embodiments, fried noodles may also be used, and in this case, the reference line 4 or reference mark 6 is formed in a position where the volume from the bottom 5 of the cup noodle container 10 to the reference line 4 or reference mark 6 is 20% to 55%, more preferably 26% to 46%, of the volume from the bottom 5 of the cup noodle container 10 to the hot water supply line 2.

[0035] Hereinafter, a method for producing cup noodles using fried noodles will be described. When manufacturing cup noodles using fried noodles, the manufacturer first prepares a cup noodle container 10 on which a reference line 4 or a reference mark 6 is formed at a position that is 20% to 55% of the volume from the bottom 5 to the hot water supply line 2.

[0036] After preparing the cup noodle container 10, the manufacturer places fried noodles into the cup noodle container 10.

[0037] After placing fried noodles in the cup noodle container 10, the manufacturer attaches a lid to the top end of the cup noodle container 10 to seal it, and the cup noodles are complete.

[0038] In the above embodiment, the first guide portion and the second guide portion formed on the inside of the cup noodle container are linear, and the second guide portion drawn on the outside of the cup noodle container is an arrow-shaped mark. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The first guide portion and the second guide portion may be linear or may be marks such as arrows. In particular, the second guide portion may be formed by engraving or printed on at least one of the inner and outer peripheries of the cup noodle container.

[0039] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the instant noodle container 10 has both the reference line 4 and the reference mark 6 as the second guide portion, but the present invention is not limited to this. The instant noodle container 10 may have only either the reference line 4 or the reference mark 6 as the second guide portion.

[0040] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a type of cup noodle that is cooked by pouring hot water into a cup noodle container containing noodles, soup base such as powdered soup or liquid soup, and toppings is used, but the present invention is not limited to this. As long as the cup noodle container has a hot water supply line and a reference line or reference mark, it may be a type of cup noodle that is cooked by adding liquid soup, powdered soup, toppings, etc. after rehydrating noodles with hot water and pouring hot water over it. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1...Opening 2...Hot water line (first guideline) 3…Back side 4...Reference line (second guide line) 5...Bottom 6...Reference mark (second guide) 7...Logo area 8...Reference line (second guide line) 10... Cup noodle container 20... Cup noodle container 30... Cup noodle container

Claims

1. In cup noodle containers, A first guide portion indicating a guideline for the amount of hot water to be poured; a second guide portion located below the first guide portion; and a description of the amount of salt intake to be ingested when the soup is left up to the second guideline portion, The volume from the bottom to the second indicator portion is 1 / 2 the volume from the bottom to the first indicator portion. A cup noodle container characterized in that the thickness is 20% or more and 70% or less.

2. In the instant noodle container according to claim 1, the volume from the bottom to the second guide portion is The volume of the container is 20% or more and 55% or less of the volume from the bottom to the first guide portion. Yes, a cup noodle container.

3. 3. The instant noodle container according to claim 1, wherein the second guide portion is formed on an inner periphery and an outer periphery. A cup noodle container characterized in that a recess is formed extending along at least one of the above.

4. 3. The instant noodle container according to claim 1, wherein the second guide portion is formed on an inner periphery and an outer periphery. A cup noodle container characterized by having the above image drawn on at least one side.

5. The cup noodle container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the inner and outer peripheries are A cup noodle container having the second guide portion.

6. In the method for producing cup noodles, A first guide portion indicating a guideline for the amount of hot water to be poured; a second guide portion located below the first guide portion; and a description of the amount of salt intake to be ingested when the soup is left up to the second guideline portion, preparing a cup noodle container in which the volume from the bottom to the second measuring portion is 20% or more and 55% or less of the volume from the bottom to the first measuring portion; placing fried noodles in the cup noodle container; and sealing the cup noodle container by attaching a lid to the top end of the cup noodle container.

7. In the method for producing cup noodles, A first guide portion indicating a guideline for the amount of hot water to be poured; a second guide portion located below the first guide portion; and a description of the amount of salt intake to be ingested when the soup is left up to the second guideline portion, preparing a cup noodle container in which the volume from the bottom to the second measuring portion is 20% or more and 70% or less of the volume from the bottom to the first measuring portion; placing non-fried noodles in the cup noodle container; and sealing the cup noodle container by attaching a lid to the top end of the cup noodle container.

8. In the method for producing cup noodles according to claim 6 or 7, The method for producing cup noodles, wherein the second guide portion is formed by a recess extending along at least one of the inner periphery and the outer periphery of the cup noodle container.

9. In the method for producing cup noodles according to claim 6 or 7, The method for producing cup noodles, wherein the second guide portion is drawn on at least one of the inner periphery and the outer periphery of the cup noodle container.

10. The method for producing a cup noodle container according to any one of claims 6 to 9, A method for manufacturing a cup noodle container, characterized in that the second guide portion is provided on both the inner and outer peripheries.

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