Vegemite is an Australian food icon. You’ll find a jar of it in almost every kitchen in the country. Even though it’s not Australian owned anymore, it’s almost part of the staple diet for many people, just like bread and milk!
But there are some people who are a bit polarised when it comes to the taste! Especially those who didn’t grow up with it!
It looks like tar, has the consistency of thick paste, and has a salty/malty/yeasty taste to it that sounds just a bit weird but actually works – if you don’t plaster it too much!
So what is Vegemite made from? It’s actually made from the byproducts of beer brewing – so it’s a yeast extract with a few extra ingredients added into it.
If you are ever going to visit Australia, you are bound to come across this stuff one way or another!
The Vegemite Jar!
It’s very popular on toast first thing in the morning. Personally, I like it occasionally for breakfast. Some like it on a Vegemite Sandwich. And because it’s produced from the by products of beer manufacturing, it’s recycling at it’s very best!
Many Australians say that the main thing they miss when they travel overseas is Vegemite. In fact, some desperate Australians bring a tube of this stuff overseas when travelling in case they start to have withdrawal symptoms.
Don’t worry if you’ve run out, buy some of it here!
Places where many Australian expats live overseas will stock the stuff somewhere too, for example, in Aussie hangouts around London.
Some people compare the taste to Beefy Bovril (ie. cow extract) but I don’t think they taste anything like each other at all. If anything, the closest relative to Vegemite is probably the English produced Marmite.
There’s even been a limited release Vegemite flavoured chocolate that was launched in partnership with Cadbury. It didn’t really do much for me – I like both chocolate and Vegemite, but they just don’t go very well together!
Anyone who grew up in Australia will always remember the catchy advertising jingle that had been around for decades!
We’re happy little Vegemites, as bright as bright can be.
We all enjoy our Vegemite, for breakfast, lunch, and tea.
Our mummies say we’re growing stronger every single week,
Because we love our Vegemite, we all adore our Vegemite
It puts a rose in every cheek.
You’ll hear the term ‘happy little Vegemites’ which is an Australian slang term for ‘happy people’.
However, when Australians introduce Vegemite to others who have never grown up with it, some people love it, and some hate it.
Barack Obama said ‘it tastes horrible’.
But Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormick (who played Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!) liked it when she tried it on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.
Anyway, Vegemite has stood the test of time and is not far from racking up a century in existence!
If you’re not Australian, have you tried the black stuff and what do you think of it?
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Can’t live without the stuff! An Aussie icon and always will be!
Yep, it hasn’t been around for ages because of nothing!
What about Vegemite chocolate? Yes, it is a real thing. I took some to New Zealand for my family there and I think it will still be there when I go back. It’s not awful just weird. Check it out at …
Yeah, the chocolate didn’t do much for me either – but I think it was a great marketing strategy!