Ruth Siems

Ruth Miriam Siems (

Her name was the first on a patent application for the product. Her patent was based on a certain size of bread crumb that makes the rehydration, or addition of water, work. In an interview with The Evansville Courier in 1991, Siems said the idea for the instant stuffing came from the marketing department, but it was up to the research and development staff to create the product.^[2] The test kitchens, the chefs and all the workers in research and development were given a shot at developing the stuffing, but Siems' idea was the one the company chose. The brand was later acquired by Kraft Foods, which, as of 2005^[update], sells about 60 million boxes of it at Thanksgiving.^[1] Some sources say that Siems first sold the recipe to the Mrs Cubbison's corporation, and that later she further developed it for wholesale purposes in the General Foods Kitchen.^{[citation needed]}

"Everyone always had me pegged as a creative person," she said in a newspaper interview. "I've always liked to put things together."^[3]

Siems retired from General Foods in 1985 after a 33½-year career.^[1] She died from a heart attack at her home in Newburgh, Indiana, on November 13, 2005, at the age of 74.^[2] In 2023 Holiday World announced that a new ride set to open in 2024, Good Gravy, pays homage to Siems.

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