Firehouse Subs Chicken Noodle Soup

Firehouse Subs Chicken Noodle Soup is high in histamine. It is built on chicken stock and boosted with yeast extract and soy protein concentrate, all of which sit high, and the savory concentrates in it are the kind of ingredient that can also prompt your body to release its own stored histamine.

Why firehouse subs chicken noodle soup is rated high

This is the soup people are most surprised to see flagged, because it reads like the gentlest thing on the menu: stock, egg noodles, chicken, carrots, celery, onions. The problem is not the vegetables. It is what makes the broth taste deep. Chicken stock is protein rich, and stocks that are simmered a long time and then held warm through a service tend to run higher in histamine, with the buildup coming from bacteria working on the protein during that holding and storage rather than from the simmering itself. Layered on top of that are yeast extract and soy protein concentrate, two savory concentrates that sit high in their own right and that can act on your body's own histamine stores rather than simply carrying histamine in. That is why a soup with fresh looking ingredients still lands high: the flavor backbone is doing it, not the carrots.

What changes your risk

• The chicken stock is the base and the biggest driver — long simmered, long held stocks tend to run higher, and that comes from bacteria acting on a protein rich liquid while it is kept warm or stored, not from the cooking time on its own.
• Yeast extract and soy protein concentrate — these are the savory boosters that make the broth taste rich, and both sit high. They are what pushes this past a plain homemade style soup, and they are in every cup.
• How long the pot has been held — soup sits in a warmer across a shift, and a protein rich soup that has been held for hours is a different thing from one just brought out. Earlier in service tends to be the better version of the same item.
• Reheating does not walk it back — heating a soup hotter or longer kills bacteria but does not remove histamine that already formed in the stock, so a piping hot cup is not a lower histamine cup.
• The chicken and egg noodles are protein too — the meat and the enriched egg noodles add protein to the pot, which is the material histamine forms from during warm holding, on top of the stock itself.

Lower-histamine alternatives

There is no lower-histamine soup at Firehouse Subs to send you to, and it would not be honest to pretend otherwise. The only items on the lower list here are Apple Juice and Fries, neither of which replaces a hot bowl of soup. If you want something warm and savory on a low-histamine day, this is a case where the better plan is eating elsewhere or bringing your own, since a homemade soup made from very fresh chicken and cooled quickly is a genuinely different food from a held commercial stock.

How to lower the risk

Firehouse Subs is a build to order counter, but the soup arrives as a finished recipe: the stock, yeast extract, and soy protein concentrate are what it is made of, so there is no build of it that leaves those out. If you are ordering for a table and the soup is going around, Fries and Apple Juice are the items on the lower list you can order for yourself. If someone else is having the soup, remember that a taste off their spoon still brings the stock and the concentrates with it. Any of it that comes home should go cold quickly rather than sitting on the counter, since a protein rich soup left warm is exactly the situation where histamine builds further.

Common questions

Why is chicken noodle soup high in histamine when it seems so plain?

The broth is the reason. Chicken stock that has been simmered a long time and held warm tends to run high, and this soup also contains yeast extract and soy protein concentrate, which both sit high.

Is yeast extract a histamine problem?

Yes, yeast extract is scored high and is one of the savory ingredients most often flagged on histamine lists. It is in this soup along with soy protein concentrate.

Would homemade chicken noodle soup be lower than this one?

It can be, because you control how fresh the chicken is, how long the stock is held, and how fast it gets cooled, and you would not be adding yeast extract or soy protein concentrate. This particular soup is high as served.

Does reheating the soup thoroughly make it safer for histamine intolerance?

No. Heat deals with bacteria but does not remove histamine that has already formed in the stock, so reheating does not lower it.