Marmite

Love it or hate it?

[limbo]

I LOOOOOVE the stuff.

Used to be fed it on crustless toast as a nipper, now I eat it daily or as often as I can.

So what about you, does it cause you to back away slowly, shoulders arched and teeth grit, or do you eat it with a spoon when no one is looking?

[encyclo]

I just love the stuff, but my last jar ran out a couple of months ago, and there's not a store which sells it around here.

I was expecting a delivery of a mega-jar of the stuff a couple of weeks back from a family friend who was transitting via Heathrow, but he wasn't able to stop long enough to buy it.

Now I'm hungry... :(

[Leosghost]

Love it..can't get it here :(
Nor crunchy peanut butter ..( can make my own peanut butter ...marmite is so hard to do ...look at the disater that the Ozzies acheived with ****mite )

[Essex_boy]

Hate it, dont like any strong flavoured foods.

Leosghost: You want some? Ill ship it to you.

[Neo541]

Love it or hate it?

You mean Love it or hate it or never heard of it, right?

;)

Off to search google for it

[Liane]

It is a food I will never understand. It tastes like my brother's old gym socks used to smell. Yuuuuuuchhh!

[Syzygy]

Disgusting stuff; won't go near it. The smell, the taste - hate it with a vengeance. The same as twiglets - marmite on a stick! Yuk!

Likewise, liver & kidneys. No way, Jose! It's the texture as well as the taste that I just abhor (with a vengeance...)

Yuk, yuk, yuk, and double yuk...

Syzygy

and yuk, again...

[encyclo]

For those who don't know it, Marmite is a dark brown, almost black substance made out of a yeast extract. It looks kind of like road tarmac before it sets. It has a very strong, very salty taste which compares to nothing else on earth. Even most Marmite lovers couldn't eat it by the spoonful, though - too strong.

But, spread on hot buttered toast, not too much, it's amazing. The perfect breakfast (or lunch, or...). My wife makes me scrub my teeth for 10 minutes and gargle half a gallon of mouthwash before she'd go within ten feet of me after having eaten the stuff.

[Syzygy]

and yuk, again...

;-)

Syzygy

[grandpa]

Given a choice, there's very little I won't eat. Marmite, chitlins and menudo top the list of things I'd rather not consume.

I think I still have a small jar of the stuff around. It must have a shelf life of, what, forever?

[encyclo]

It must have a shelf life of, what, forever?

Marmite has a half-life up there with enriched plutonium! ;)

[mivox]

I tasted it once, and rather liked it...

[Old_Honky]

The best possible use of marmite is a sandwich with wholemeal bread, no butter, marmite spread thickly on one piece of bread and cottage cheese spread thickly on the other. Marvelous.

IMHO marmite and cottage cheese go together as one of the classic food combinations, it's up there with basil and fresh tomatoes, cucumber and dill, and peanut butter and banana.

[encyclo]

Cottage cheese?! The sacrilege! Marmite should be served on wholemeal bread, certainly, but combining it with anything else is just destroying the experience.

Are you one of those wussy kids who can't take the full force of the flavor? ;)

[Teknorat]

Vegemite is FAR beter.

Accept no substitutes people: [vegemite.com.au...]

[Woz]

Hate Vegemite, Love Promite, Ambivalent about Marmite.

Onya
Woz

[Teknorat]

Hate Vegemite

Coming from an Australian that's blasphemy! :P

[limbo]

*Chuckle*

Wondered if there would be a few marmiteaphiles here. Encyclo, you epitomise the classic marmite lover. Wholegrain toasted to perfection, buttered and thinly spread to each corner.

Syzygy the classic marmite hater. He he.

I think their ads are brilliant, playing on the love it hate it relationship people have with it. It can split families like a derby match.

I think it has it's origins in beer making. Some genius saw this thick brown pungent tar residue left over from the yeast added to hops during fermentation and put it in a jar and sold it as *food*. That must have taken some forsight!

In graphic school the jar is studied for its design. Slow subtle design changes that look different over decades but don't notice year by year. Some people went to the extent of keeping tin lids and fitting them to the new jars when the company reluctanly made the switch to plastic. I think I fall into that category :)

Just finished two rounds, mmmmnnnnn.

[TheDoctor]

I know an Italian woman who came over to Britain to do her PhD and stayed here. She's an incredible anglophile. But she almost wavered when I told her that the Brits eat yeast extract on bread. Almost but not quite. I don't know if she's tried it yet...

I was addicted to Marmite until I went to live in the Netherlands for a few years. You can only get the small size there and it's incredibly expensive. So I had to cold turkey, and I've never really got back into Marmite on toast, although I do use it a lot in my cooking.

[HelenDev]

I used to like marmite drinks when I was a kid. Just dissolve a spoonful of marmite in boiling water - very comforting on a cold day.

[Old_Honky]

Are you one of those wussy kids

Thanks for that, It's been 45 years since anyone called me a kid.

Seriously you should try it, the mixture of flavours and textures is exquisite.

As for vegemite I wouldn't eat it if I were you it's a joke the Aussies have played on the rest of the world. In Australia I understand it is mainly sold as an insect repellent. Just rub it into the skin and no insects (or any other living creature) will want to come near you.

It has a secondary use in softening old leather boots, if you can stand the smell.

[ska_demon]

I love marmite.
I love vegemite.
I love house brand yeast extracts.
I LOVE FOOD!

[trillianjedi]

It has a secondary use in softening old leather boots, if you can stand the smell.

I'd love to know how you actually discovered that ;-)

TJ

[phidentity]

I won a lifetime supply of Marmite.

One Jar.

Jon

[mcavill]

LOVE IT - the other half hates it, that somewhat limits how much I can eat....

It has a secondary use in softening old leather boots, if you can stand the smell.

...and the local dogs chasing you down the street :-S

[smellystudent]

Ick ick ick ick ick!

*vomits*

No, I don't like it very much, why do you ask?

[tenerifejim]

The Australian girl in the office has a vegemite jar on the way in the post. She has been going on all week about how great it is, but i've never tried the stuff. Any suggestions on the best serving method?

However, i will cast my vote for 'LOVE' marmite.

[Syzygy]

but i've never tried the stuff...

...However, i will cast my vote for 'LOVE' marmite.

Please do come back to us once you've actually tasted this, well, stuff...

Syzygy

[greenleaves]

I have never tried it.

But I know three food not mentioned here which have the same love/hate effect on people. These would be:

- Danish Licorice (not the sweet american version)
- Blue cheese(good and stincky)
- Prechuto

I LOVE all three of these. Unfortunately Danish Licorice is not available. Blue cheese and Prechuto are, but they are both extremely expensive. I but these two items on special ocations and savor every single morcel of it...

Also when I get visits from my Danish family, I have one thing on the list of things to bring: LICORICE.

[Macguru]

I remember reading about this Marmite stuff around here before. I Googled it then because, in my native language, a marmite is a rather large iron cast pot. I felt reassured to see a marmite on Marmite labels.

It seems like every time Marmite is discussed here, Vegemite, Promite and cultural differences are inevitable. This got me curious, and I finally purchased a small jar of Marmite (at an outrageous price) today.

10 minutes ago, (slow typer) I have just spread about 1/4 of a tea spoon over a home baked rye buttered toast.

<blink>[6]I love it![/6]</blink>