Why do people like to eat hot ramen?

Why do people want hot ramen? The disadvantages of "hot food" are, first of all, that you can't taste the flavor properly. There is also the risk of burning the inside of your mouth. So why not serve it at a lower temperature from the beginning?

In fact, there is a technical reason why Taikaiken's soup is hot (its temperature cannot be adjusted). At Eifukucho-style Taishoken, a large amount of ingredients are put into a kama to make the soup. With this method, water is added as needed and the soup must be constantly heated to extract the essence. This makes it difficult to "control the temperature." On the other hand, at regular ramen shops, the soup is prepared in advance and reheated in a hand pan just before serving, making it relatively easy to control the temperature.

So let's consider the question, "Why do we want something hot?" Written reviews and food reports are easily available on social media and word-of-mouth sites. This means that information such as "This restaurant's soup is hot," "It doesn't cool down until the end," and "You will get burned" can now be obtained in advance. The "heat" you actually feel when eating the ramen is more likely to be remembered as an experience similar to pain than taste. This creates the desire to "eat it again." However, people who don't like hot food will, on the other hand, feel "I don't want to eat it again." This is one of the reasons why ramen is called "controversial ramen" among people.

This phenomenon can also be explained from a neuroscience perspective. The act of "eating something hot" serves as the trigger, and the experience of "eating something delicious" serves as the anchor.

However, Taikaiken's soup does not stay hot forever; it just doesn't cool down easily. There comes a point when the soup cools down and is ready to drink. The bowls used are shallow "tamadon" (ball bowls) with a large opening, which I think helps to lower the temperature relatively well. At that point, the rich umami of the dried sardines will spread throughout your mouth. In this way, Taikaiken's ramen starts out hot, and by connecting it to the experience of "eating something delicious and feeling happy," you will feel it is delicious again.

On the other hand, some people add a lot of vinegar or chili oil because they want to eat it before it cools down. However, this will destroy the original flavor and increase the chance of the soup remaining. Therefore, at any ramen shop, we recommend that you wait for it to cool down first and enjoy it little by little.