US 2014O178540A1 (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2014/017854.0 A1 Johnson (43) Pub. Date: Jun. 26, 2014 (54) UNIVERSAL RAMEN COOKING (52) U.S. Cl. CONTAINER CPC ............. A47J 27/002 (2013.01); A23L I/0128 (2013.01) (76) Inventor: Christopher Johnson, Wilton, CA (US) USPC ........................................ 426/243; 206/459.1 (57) ABSTRACT (21) Appl. No.: 13/553,723 The invention provides a container for cooking ramen style block noodles, the container comprising a main body having (22) Filed: L. 19, 2012 a generally rectangular base, two generally parallel and 9 spaced side walls connected to the base and two generally parallel and spaced end walls connected to the base and to the Publication Classification side walls, the tops of the side walls and the end walls forming an upper rim. The container is dimensioned so that between (51) Int. Cl. about 7 and about 9 ounces of water will fill a container A4 7 27/00 (2006.01) holding a typical 3 ounce mass oframen style block noodle to A2.3L I/OI (2006.01) a level equal to the top of the noodle mass. 114 Patent Application Publication Jun. 26, 2014 Sheet 1 of 5 US 2014/017854.0 A1 Patent Application Publication Jun. 26, 2014 Sheet 2 of 5 US 2014/017854.0 A1 & |S Tru-x. : & Patent Application Publication Jun. 26, 2014 Sheet 3 of 5 US 2014/017854.0 A1 CO y & y O O y Patent Application Publication Jun. 26, 2014 Sheet 4 of 5 US 2014/017854.0 A1 e S. 2 3 9 Patent Application Publication Jun. 26, 2014 Sheet 5 of 5 US 2014/017854.0 A1 2 & US 2014/017854.0 A1 Jun. 26, 2014 UNIVERSAL RAMEN COOKING container is disposable after a single use. Similarly United CONTAINER States Application 2003/0068411 provides a packaged noodle product adapted to be cooked in its own bowl. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (0013. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,918, a microwavable pasta 0001 1. Field of the Invention product is presented packaged in a special bowl, and with 0002 The present invention relates to cooking containers, claims directed to the composition of the pasta, a composition particularly, containers adapted to cooking a particular style allowing the production of the noodles in the microwave of instant noodle. without clumping or sticking together. 0003 2. Description of Related Art 0014. The block forms of the dried noodles are usually 0004. A popular style of quick cooking noodles are sold as eaten after being simmered in boiling water for anything from blocks of dried noodles. In the U.S. the most common type of 3 up to about 6 minutes, and then transferred to a serving instant noodle product is marketed variously as Japanese style container. After adding the time required to prepare the boil noodles, or “ramen” or “ramen-style' noodles, named after ing water, the noodles are not truly “instant'. On a typical the Japanese dish of the same name, and on which the product stove top it requires at least about 6 minutes to prepare the is generally based. boiling water. Adding this to the time to cook the noodles, and 0005. The noodles themselves are often flavored, com a total of 12 or minutes minutes may be necessary to prepare monly using meat-based flavors. Such as chicken, pork and a package for eating. beef. Other common flavorings include mushroom, shrimp, 0015 For a busy student or hungry child this can seem a roast beef, roast chicken, chili, chili lime, vegetable, and long time, longer than necessary to prepare, say, a peanut “oriental” (flavored with soy sauce or some similar flavoring butter Sandwich. Further, for a very young person, the prepa agent). ration can be fraught with dangers associated with the use of 0006. In the United States, this style of instant noodles the stove top, requiring both the preparation of boiling water were introduced by Nissin Foods in 1971 and were initially and transfer of liquids between containers, which increases marketed as “Oodles of Noodles. In 1972, Nissin Foods the chances of spills and accidental burnings. introduced “Nissin Cup Noodles' in a pre-packaged heat 0016 Microwave instructions are not typically included in resistant foam cups, which led to an upsurge in popularity of the instructions on a noodle packet. When attempting to instant noodles. Competing products by other companies accelerate the process in a microwave, the square noodle were soon available. Today, however, the most popular ver package will not fit in the typical circular serving bowl. Such sion of dried noodles are the block style noodles sold by as a cereal bowl. Any such attempt creates a mess as the Nissin Foods in the United States and marketed as Top consumer the noodles must be broken to fit into the circular Ramen R. Nissin enjoys net sales of over $3.2 billion per year. bowl. 0007. The most commonly marketed versions of such 0017. Other microwave cooking suggestions for pasta are ramen noodle products is sold as a rectangular block of dry not easily adapted for ramen style block noodles. In United pressed noodles, which cook quickly in boiling water to a States Patent Application 2010/0263552 and U.S. DesignPat. mass of soft thin noodles. These ramen-style noodle products No. 638,701, elaborate constructions are provided for micro are typically packaged with additions, such as a packets of wave noodle cooking containers that utilize lids that act as flavoring, dried vegetables, seasoning oil, and the like. colanders, or provide internal colanders to allow cooking of 0008. This form of ramen noodles is extremely popular pasta in a Volume of water and then easy draining of the among students and other people of low income, due to the product. unusually low cost (a six-pack of instant noodles can often be 0018. Other inventions highlight the problems of getting found for less than USS1), and ease of preparation. The even cooking of the noodles in the microwave. U.S. Pat. No. noodles are particularly popular with children, students and 7,067,780, provides a container for cooking pasta in a micro young adults. They provide and a quick and satisfying meal wave oven that has a compartment to contain the pasta cook that is relatively simple in preparation. ing water and a stirrer for moving the pasta during cooking 0009. The three major brands of instant ramen noodles are 0019 Many of these noodle products and container Nissin(R) Top RamenR, Maruchan.R. Ramen, and Sapporo designs highlight the difficulty of retrieving hot cooked Ichiban R. Other brands with similar block style noodles are noodles out of the microwave, as the heating of the microwave sold, for instance Shirakiku Brand(R) Japanese Style Noodle, can produce Superheated water, and hence it can be a danger from Japan, and Crying TigerTM Ramen Noodle Soup, ous task. They also attempt to solve the problem of moving imported from China. the pasta within the container so that the water heated by the 0010 Maruchan Inc. is a well-known American producer microwave will evenly cook all noodles, and not have por of ramen noodles and related products. Maruchan Inc. pro tions that are uncooked or clumped together. duces over 3.6 billion packages of Ramen Noodle Soup a year 0020. However, none of the pasta microwave cooking con and now has three manufacturing plants, two in Irvine, Calif. tainers seem well adapted to the quick-cooking Small and soft and one in Richmond, Va. ramen style noodles. 0011 Sapporo Ichiban is a brand of instant noodles (most of them ramen) made by Sanyo Foods, and rivals to other SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Japanese ramen brands like Nissin and Maruchan. 0021. These and other features and advantages of this 0012 Certain forms of precooked noodles can be rehy invention are described in, or are apparent from, the following drated by adding boiling water to a provided package. In U.S. detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of Pat. No. 4,803,088, a container packed with instant food for the apparatus and methods according to this invention. use in microwave oven is provided, having a container body 0022. The invention provides a container for cooking prepackaged with noodles to be prepared, and a lid. In this ramen style block noodles, the container comprising a main product, the noodles and container are sold together, and the body having a generally rectangular base, two generally par US 2014/017854.0 A1 Jun. 26, 2014 allel and spaced side walls connected to the base and two BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS generally parallel and spaced end walls connected to the base and to the side walls, the tops of the side walls and the end 0037. A more complete understanding of the present walls forming an upper rim. The container is dimensioned so invention and the attendant features and advantages thereof that between about 7 and about 9 ounces of water will fill a may be had by reference to the following detailed description container holding a typical 3 ounce mass of ramen style block when considered in conjunction with the accompanying noodle to a level approximately equal to the top of the noodle drawings wherein: a SS. 0038 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the container of the 0023 Common ramen style block noodles that are suited invention and a dry mass of ramen style block noodles. for use in the container include Nissin Top Ramen, Maruchan 0039 FIG. 2 is a side view of the container of FIG.1, with Ramen, and Sapporo Ichiban Japanese style noodles.