Tradition Foods, Inc., probably distributes the vast majority of kosher instant soups. The concept is simple — peel open the lid, add hot water, let sit a few minutes, and enjoy your quick sodium-laden mini-meal.

Unfortunately, the soups stink.

In this case, I have plenty of pre-kosher experience to support my opinion. Both Maruchan Ramen and Nissin Foods offer simple and inexpensive noodle/soup meals which are quite tasty (though also loaded with sodium).

The Tradition soups, while competing handily in terms of convenience, never get it quite right in terms of taste. Today, on a lark, I tried the “Tradition Low Fat Hot & Sour Instant Noodle Soup.” Well, it’s certainly not hot, it’s only sour in that it tastes rancid, and it’s absolutely nothing like the “hot & sour” soup commonly found at a Chinese restaurant.

In the opinion of this critic, the only “tradition” here is the legacy of bad taste these products leave behind. Zing!