User:Frank Lee/Mrs Cubbison's

Mrs. Cubbison’s Foods is a company that specializes in stuffing. Founded in the U.S. in by Sophie Cubbison, Mrs. Cubbison’s Foods has grown to include other products, such as croutons and meatloaf mix.

HISTORY
In September 1892, Sophie Cubbison was born in San Marcos, California, as Sophie Huchting. (Her father was of German descent, and her mother a Californian of Mexican descent.) She tells her story as follows: “My career began on my father's ranch in San Diego County where I was born. At the age of 16, I started to cook for my father, brothers, and their lima bean ranch laborers during the summer and early fall (in order to earn money to put myself through college, where I earned a home economics degree in 1912). With one assistant, I cooked and baked for forty men in two mobile kitchens. As the harvest progressed through the day, the mobile kitchens were horse drawn, once or twice a day to keep in proximity of the harvester. This was for the convenience of the laborers at meal time, which occurred five times a day. Breakfast was served at 5 A.M.... coffee break with a sweet snack at 9 A.M.... dinner at 12 o'clock.... coffee break with sweet snack at 4 P.M. and supper at 8:30 PM.” “Since the wholesale bakeries were not equipped to make country deliveries in those days, I baked all necessary cakes, doughnuts, cookies, cup cakes, etc. The sweet goods were served along with a sandwich and coffee in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Pies, puddings and stewed fruits were served for dessert for dinner and supper. I did not have mechanical kitchen equipment in those days. All the mixing was done manually. The bread I baked was referred to as ‘black bread,’ made from 100% whole wheat flour. You see, my father was born in the Old Country.... My grandmother Sophie Huchting had taught my father as a young man while still at home in Bockhorn, Germany, how to make this delicious, nutritious Black Bread, and in turn, my father taught my mother and I how to make it.” “In 1913, I met Harry G. Cubbison. He used to drive down from L.A. to our ranch in San Diego County once a month to visit me. In 1916, Mr. Cubbison and I were married. Mr. Cubbison was supporting his invalid father and his mother on $12 per week, and I was supporting my mother on $30 per month, my father having passed on.” “Necessity became the mother of invention. Mr. Cubbison was a fine salesman and I was capable of baking. It was absolutely necessary for us to earn more money. We looked around for a small bakery, and found one fully equipped. We obligated ourselves to pay $300 for the bakery equipment. Besides that, we went in debt to install a small mill to grind our own 100% wheat flour.″ “To begin with, I would bake Cubbison's whole wheat bread three times a week and the other three days I would demonstrate the bread in stores and delicatessens. Mr. Cubbison, on the other hand, did the soliciting and delivering. Our venture was met with success. However, in the interim, my kitchen at home had become more of a test kitchen….... Weekends and evenings I would experiment with Melba toast.″ “In 1925, we sold the bread business and launched out on a new venture, Mrs. Cubbison's Melba Toast and Zwieback. In 1929 we struck a ‘Bonanza.’ The famous ‘Eighteen Day Reducing Diet’ that had been prescribed for the late Ethel Barrymore by Mayo Brothers got into print in most of the leading newspapers in the U.S. The demand for Melba toast all over the U.S. became so great that we were forced to operate three plants for about a year and a half to meet the popular demand.″ “After we sold the bread business, the 100% whole wheat bread that was used to reign in the Cubbison household was made by Mrs. Cubbison's Melba toast. Therefore, whenever a recipe called for bread crumbs, I would substitute Melba toast crumbs by crumbling or crushing the Melba toast on the bread board with a rolling pin. The Melba toast crumbs were not only used for breading purposes, but for stuffing vegetables such as eggplant, bell peppers, squash, etc. It was also for stuffing turkeys, other fowl.” “Friends and relatives dining with us from time to time would rave about my dressing and ask for my recipe. Well, a bell began to ring ... Mrs. Cubbison's Poultry Dressing and Corn Bread Stuffing were potential products for the food markets! I then began to ask my sales executives to see how they would react towards the idea of merchandising Mrs. Cubbison's Poultry Dressing and Corn Bread Stuffing. Their response was 'NO!' They were not interested in ‘slow dimes,’ they wanted ‘fast nickels.’ I would let the matter rest for a while and then bring it up again. Until finally, ...Mrs. Cubbison's All-Purpose Prepared Dressing was introduced into the market and has been met with great success.” “In 1955 I retired from active duty....” Sophie remained a consultant to the company and maintained her interest in the stuffing business for many years. When not traveling around the country, she would visit the markets to observe the stacks of her products, and would call the manufacturer with recipes that she had discovered during her travels. She was a remarkable woman and a true Californian pioneer. She always had an interest in nutrition and health foods. In fact, while she attended California Polytechnical University, she developed a sign for one of the local restaurants, which read “Huchting And Grissel Cafe - Cooking Done In A Scientific Way - Balanced Rations Served To Everyone.” Sophie passed away at the age of 91 in November, 1982, just before Thanksgiving. The recipes that she developed and her concept of cooking are still being used today. And Mrs. Cubbison's products continue to maintain the tradition and high standards that Sophie Cubbison developed all those years ago.

Stuffing
Mrs. Cubbison’s Classic Seasoned Dressing, Mrs. Cubbison’s Herb Seasoned Cube Stuffing, Mrs. Cubbison’s Seasoned Corn Bread Stuffin’, Mrs. Cubbison’s 100% Whole Grain Seasoned Stuffing (only available in some locations),

Croutons
Mrs. Cubbison’s Seasoned Restaurant Style Croutons, Mrs. Cubbison’s Cheese & Garlic Restaurant Style Croutons, Mrs. Cubbison’s Caesar Salad Restaurant Style Croutons, Mrs. Cubbison’s Onion & Garlic Restaurant Style Croutons, Mrs. Cubbison’s Cool Herb Ranch Restaurant Style Croutons, Mrs. Cubbison’s Garlic & Butter French Bread Croutons, Mrs. Cubbison’s Fat Free Herb Seasoned Restaurant Style Croutons,

Meatloaf Mix
Mrs. Cubbison’s Old Fashioned Meatloaf Mix