Mrs. Grass is a food brand used on

instant soup Instant soup is a type of soup designed for fast and simple preparation. Some are homemade, and some are mass-produced on an industrial scale and treated in various ways to preserve them. A wide variety of types, styles and flavors of instant soup ...

s, and

noodle soup Noodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is a common dish across East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayan states of South Asia. Various types of noodles are used, such a ...

s, currently commercialised through the Wyler's brand, from the

Kraft Heinz The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz, is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is the third-largest food and beverage ...

brand portfolio. The former Mrs. Grass company had been born as a familiar business in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1915, operating independently until 1986.

History

Founder "Mrs. Grass" was born Sophie Dreifuss, in Baden, Germany. She married I.J. (Isaac Jerome) Grass and lived in Chicago, Illinois, on the city's south side. She and her husband opened a

delicatessen Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a retail establishment that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessen originated in Germany (original: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the m ...

in 1901 and lived above the store. Her noodle soup sold so well from the delicatessen that they opened their own noodle factory, the "I.J. Grass Noodle Company" at 6027 Wentworth Ave, in 1915. In 1939, developments in food dehydration allowed the company to create a dried noodle soup mix. Between 1917 and 1925 they expanded to three locations, and by the 1960s, I.J. Grass Noodle Company was a multi-million dollar company. Sophie and Isaac had two sons, A. Irving Grass and Sidney Grass. Irving became president of the company, and Sidney became vice president and secretary. During the 1950s, Mrs. Grass sponsored a Saturday morning children's radio program, featuring the space travel adventures of the hero "Super Noodle". Mrs. Grass was acquired by Borden in 1986. When Borden sold its food division in 2001, the soup was acquired by Heinz and noodles was acquired by

American Italian Pasta Company American Italian Pasta Company (AIPC) was a pasta manufacturing company with corporate offices in Kansas City, Missouri, and plants in Excelsior Springs, Missouri; Columbia, South Carolina; Tolleson, Arizona; and Verolanuova, Italy. APIC was acq ...

. Isaac Jerome Grass died in October 1925. Sophie Grass died in 1953 at the age of 74.

The magic egg (egg nugget)

Mrs. Grass soup was unique with its inclusion of a self-contained 'magic egg', which Wyler's called the ''Golden Flavor Nugget''. The ''Golden Flavor Nugget'' dissolved as it

boiled Boiling is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapour pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding atmosphere. T ...

, releasing

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

s and chicken bouillon into the water. To the dismay of many Mrs. Grass soup eaters, the "magic egg" was discontinued sometime around February 2016.

Novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

musician The great Luke Ski has written and recorded a beat poetry-style song, "Ode To Mrs. Grass' Chicken Noodle Soup".

References

External links

* Borden (company) Brand name soups Heinz brands {{Food-product-stub