Mmmm, the sweet summer delicacy that is a s’more. Crisp graham crackers. Melty chocolate. Smoky, gooey marshmallow. Delicate ramen noodles….wait what? If you’re feeling as confused reading that as I felt typing it, don’t worry your eyes aren’t deceiving you. S’mores have become noodles. At least they have for Nissin, who has recently released a limited edition Campfire S’mores Cup Noodles ramen flavor. After putting out a Breakfast Cup Noodles over a year ago and an Everything Bagel Cup Noodles a few months ago (both of which rocked), Nissin has created a Campfire S’mores Cup Noodle ramen flavor, containing a chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker flavored sauce. This flavor is available for a limited time at Walmarts across the nation, but the real question is whether or not you should ditch the day of bonfire building for a three-minute wait by the microwave. And the answer is…I’m not sure. Read on for the full review.
*Disclaimer: When instructed to fill to the water line I unfortunately was unable to ascertain said water line because of the sheer amount of noodles and marshmallows filling the cup. While I hoped I assumed the amount of water correctly, the brothy aftermath told me otherwise, so please take that variable into account when considering any texture notes.
- Nissin Cup Noodles Campfire S’mores Flavored Ramen
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Is this a flavor abomination unfit for this cruel judgemental world or will it save us from flavor mundanity? Dramatics aside I think this ended up being a very unique and ambitious product that has some flavor appeal, but may have missed the mark in some ways.
Pros: The sauce (which ended up coming out more like a broth due, potentially, to user error) was reminiscent of the kind of instant hot chocolate you’d get from your elementary school. Yummy and nostalgic. And, if you add some additional marshmallows like Nissin suggests, it adds to the hot chocolate appeal. The heat of the Cup Noodles melts the marshmallows into tasty, gooey bits. Plus, at just $1.28 a cup, this cup provides a unique sweet treat at a bargain!
Cons: This new Cup Noodles flavor is, indeed, sweet and chocolatey, but it’s not s’mores enough for me. The chocolate was more hot chocolate than melted chocolate. I understand that to get this melted chocolate texture, we may have needed less water. However, I still think that the noodles would have benefitted from actual pieces of chocolate instead of a chocolate powder. And I will continue to stand on this soapbox: Marshmallow is not s’mores, it must be a smoky marshmallow. There was no such flavor in these noodles. And there was also no graham cracker flavor. In a press release, the brand suggested adding your own graham cracker crumbles (which we did), and that’s the way to go. Lastly, I just didn’t find any benefit to adding noodles to s’mores. Maybe if the noodles were made with a sweeter dough, the flavors could complement each other better.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart