On the side of the cup noodle cup there should be a small, use-once, digital timer to time the two minutes it takes for the cup noodle to be ready. Simply fill the cup noodle with hot water and a temperature dependant switch will start the clock.

There is no need for the clock to sound, only for the display to reach zero, as you’ll either:
a) be watching the counter like a hawk or
b) be checking every now-and-then, and so shall see that the timer has reached zero.

Now you’ll know exactly when your cup noodle is done.
-- [ sctld ], Dec 06 2004

Hallcrest Thermometers http://www.hallcres...amily/childcare.htm
Various applications of LC Thermometers [wagster, Dec 06 2004]

Cup Noodle timer http://www.traveliz...rchives/000266.html
from Japan, naturally [hazel, Jul 29 2006]

Will this in any way stop them from tasting like crap?
-- Belfry, Dec 06 2004


The instructions on various cup noodle products often seem overly-complicated - along the lines of pour, stir, stand for x seconds, stir again, stand for y seconds final stir, final stand for z. I suspect that these products work just as well if you bung in the water and stir/stand in any combination you like as long as the stuff all gets mixed and the overall time is sufficient. I concluded (being a cynical chap) that the elaborate preparation instructions were intended to give the 'chef' the illusion of control and some sense of satisfaction from completing the 'cooking' process. In this event your timer could also prompt for stirrings and standings at appropriate times allowing the manufacturers further to complicate the instructions. [+]
-- dobtabulous, Dec 06 2004


You can get liquid crystal thermometers that change colour according to temperature - used often by fishkeepers as a stick on strip in an aquarium. There are also variants of this for nurseries: a small disk with "TOO WARM" written in the crystal on it. The words appear as the room heats up. A similar disc could be attached to the outside of the pot on top of a thin heat barrier that will conduct the heat to the disc slowly. The words "Your nutritionless m.s.g. broth is ready!" would appear after a couple of minutes.
-- wagster, Dec 06 2004


Seems to have become baked in Japan!
-- hazel, Jul 29 2006



random, halfbakery