# What is a pot noodle? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 28, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572 "2003-04-28T01:49:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ReuvenB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@ReuvenB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReuvenB)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/1 "2003-04-28T01:49:48Z")
What is a pot noodle? I’ve never seen one, just heard about them on Red Dwarf and in the Artificial Intelligence for beginners thread in GD. Could you describe what’s so terrible about the taste? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/2 "2003-04-28T01:54:14Z")
The taste is fine. It is snack food, comes in pots, consists of noodles. [link](http://www.unilever.co.uk/ourbrands/brand_potnoodle.html) ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/3 "2003-04-28T01:55:42Z")
[slightly weirder link](http://www.potnoodle.com/dev/windex.cfm) ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/4 "2003-04-28T01:57:14Z")
Pot noodles appear to be ramen noodles in a plastic cup, like Cup o’ Noodles. There’s a whole bunch of nasty soy-based artificial flavoring, like in Cup 'o Noodles; just add boiling water, stir, and wait, like with Cup 'o Noodles. One UK correspondent strongly recommends getting drunk before eating pot noodles: [http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/tv/misc\_tv/pot\_noodle\_big\_dave/\_review/374977/](http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/tv/misc_tv/pot_noodle_big_dave/_review/374977/) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/5 "2003-04-28T01:57:25Z")
We call it a Cup Noodle here, in the US. ---
**Author:** ![ReuvenB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@ReuvenB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReuvenB)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/6 "2003-04-28T02:03:57Z")
Lobsang, what exactly is that second one? ---
**Author:** ![ReuvenB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@ReuvenB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReuvenB)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/7 "2003-04-28T02:05:06Z")
The second link, I mean. And if Pot noodles are ramen noodles, why do they always seem to be referred to in disgust? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/8 "2003-04-28T02:15:19Z")
I don’t know. I just typed [www.potnoodle.com](http://www.potnoodle.com) on the off chance there might be a website. That is what turned up. The adverts in the UK for pot noodle are pretty weird. I guess it’s an attempt to copy those. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/9 "2003-04-28T02:16:58Z")
I think they are refered to in disgust because they remind people of their messy room ladish student days. when all they had was a kettle. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/10 "2003-04-28T02:32:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > We call it a Cup Noodle here, in the US. Is that that monstrosity that overlooks Times Square? That thing scares me, and I know not why. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/11 "2003-04-28T02:36:32Z")
Pot noodle is ramen noodle. I ate them a lot as a student and still enjoy them as a snack. While some are excellent, the cheaper ones have a styrofoam quality. It would be mocked in a way similar to “Kraft Dinner” – slightly foreign, low rent and not very nutritious. ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/12 "2003-04-28T02:44:16Z")
[Crocodile Dundee]Well, it tastes like shit but you can live off it. [/Crocodile Dundee] Some of them are okay’ish, such as the Maggi Chicken or the entire Trident range, and some types of macroni cheese are ok if you’re really desperate, but there are better snack foods out there which use boiling water. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/13 "2003-04-28T08:06:06Z")
Pot Noodle is indeed ramen-type noodles in a platsic cup with a foil lid; you tear off the lid, remove the sauce sachet (soy sauce for the ‘chinese’ style varieties, tomato ketchup for others and so on), add boiling water to the marked line, stand for three minutes, stir, then throw the whole disgusting lot down the toilet. You might have guessed that I am not the biggest fan of Pot Noodle - they are terribly oversalted and insubstantial. I have to take my hat off to the TV advertising though; a while back, they(the manufacturers) started an ‘anti’ ad campaign - adverts describing them as ‘not nutritious at all’ etc - this evolved into the current campaign which attempts to equate them with prostitution and sexual deviancy; one advert consists of a man being slapped around the face for asking about Pot Noodle in a series of what appear to be massage parlours, then when his search is successful, he is depicted sitting on a bed with a woman of obvious low character, grunting with ppleasure as they both tip Pot Noodle down their throats. The ad ends with a pink neon sign that says “Pot Noodle - it’s dirty and you want it” ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/14 "2003-04-28T08:28:31Z")
They also used the slogan _“the slag of all snacks”._ Which was subsequently [banned](http://media.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4483297,00.html) due to too many complaints. Hers’s a [summary](http://www.sirc.org/articles/cheap.shtml)of their advertising standards, as described by \*\* Mangetout\*\*. It really is nasty stuff. You can even see a sample [advert](http://www.uktvadverts.com/Media/) here, although its an older one. If you like. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/15 "2003-04-28T09:41:46Z")
We need to cull all the people who can’t take a joke! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/16 "2003-04-28T12:02:55Z")
> [@](#): > > “Slag” has been judged to be the sixteenth-most offensive word in the English language in a joint survey conducted jointly by the ITC, the BBC, the advertising standards authority and the broadcasting standards commission. What, specifically is a “slag”? ---
**Author:** ![markthebrit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@markthebrit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markthebrit)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/17 "2003-04-28T12:12:08Z")
A slag is a slang word which means the same as whore or slut. Usually a promiscuous woman. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/18 "2003-04-28T12:38:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\*What, specifically is a “slag”? \*\* What **markthebrit** said. It’s gradually being replaced by “slapper” if you want to impress your British friends. [Here’s another discussion of the relative merits of Pot Noodle](http://www.sciforums.com/archive/19/2002/07/3/9147). I don’t have a sample to hand, but have no reason to doubt the list of ingredients quoted. I have heard that eating Pot Noodle can be compared to dying in that it’s something everybody does only once. There’s a Pot Rice too. It counts as food if you count chewing gum as food, but while googling for the above I found [this site](http://www.fortunecity.com/millenium/teletubby/26/rice.html). I’m sure the relative advantages and disadvatanges between those recipes and a plastic pot bought from a petrol station at 2:00 a.m. are obvious. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/19 "2003-04-28T14:42:01Z")
Pot Noodles in the UK soundvery much like ‘Ramen Pride’ and other such brands in America - add hot water, mix and serve. I like the taste of these (generally theres only about 5 or 6 different flavors per brand, usually Chicken, Shrimp, Beef, Pork and derivatives of) and the price is hard to beat (30 cents or less, sometimes 13cents on sale) for what’s usually a convient and tasty side dish. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572/20 "2003-04-28T15:16:48Z")
What I find slightly curious is that pot noodle seems to be something people like to make fun of in the UK, while ramen, which is in the same general league, is something most people in the US view with a certain fondness. In both cases, they are something people generally consumed a lot of in their student days because it was very cheap. But ramen, for some reason, is something many people are fond of, while pot noodles are something many people are disgusted by. The ramen might be marginally more like real food in that you have to take it out of the packet and prepare it in a pan, instead of just pouring hot water in a styrofoam cup. It gives you a chance to mix other stuff in with it, if so inclined. But still, they are the same general class of comestible. Yep. I still eat ramen every so often myself. Sometimes for lunch on a weekend I’ll boil up some ramen and slice a bunch of salami into it while it’s boiling. I shudder to think what that does to my cholesterol level, but it’s good. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-pot-noodle/171572.md?page=2)