C4.2.1 What Is Vegemite/Marmite?
Description
This article is from the New Zealand FAQ, by Phil Stuart-Jones and Lin Nah with numerous contributions by others.
C4.2.1 What Is Vegemite/Marmite?
For an extensive outline of these, try Jenny George's URL below which has
the FAQ and IFAQ for soc.culture.new-zealand:
<a href="http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~jmgeorge/">My home page</a>
Vegemite, Marmite and Promite are all yeast extracts and basically all the
same, but:
Marmite is sweeter than vegemite
Promite is sweeter then marmite
They're all extremely salty tasting.
Or, Vegemite is very salty, marmite slightly less so. Promite is
considerably less salty.
They all use caramel for the dark colouring, and it's probably this part
which contributes to the war. Marmite is considerably sweeter (and darker)
than Vegemite, while Promite is sweeter still.
Vegemite eaters will generally tolerate Marmite and Marmite eaters will
tolerate Promite. Vegemite eaters find Promite sickly sweet.
Marmite eaters will not (usually) eat vegemite. It's too strongly
flavoured for them as a general rule.
Promite is Australian (Masterfoods), but is gaining in popularity here.
There are very few exclusive Promite eaters, so conclusions can't be drawn,
but I'd expect that Promite eaters would react to Marmite the same way that
Marmite eaters react to Vegemite. I have yet to see an advert for Promite
in any medium.
Marmite is made by Sanitarium Health Food company, which is wholly owned by
the Seventh Day Adventist church. Our 7DA's don't run around with guns,
unlike a certain Texas sect. There was (still is?) a TV ad campaign for
Marmite last year which had many viewers reaching for the off switch ("The
Marmities").
Vegemite is made by multi-national food company Kraft General Foods NZ Ltd,
who have acquired several "NZ" labels over the last 25 years. It isn't
advertised much, though Kraft have been pushing it and their jam + cheese
labels recently in a series of adverts starring Billy Connolly and Pamela
Stevenson (Why Billy - a Scot - is pushing vegemite is beyond me, as most
non-antipodeans can't stand any of the yeast extracts...)
There is a product called "Marmite" made by the Marmite company in Britain.
This is not the same as the Marmite found in New Zealand - the UK version
has all sorts of things added such as vegetable bits and according to those
who've tried it tastes considerably different.
Lyndon Watson wrote:
"I don't know about the vegetable bits, but I found British Marmite to have
(a) a lighter brown colour, (b) a runnier texture and (c) a stronger but
otherwise similar flavour."
None of these spreads should be spread thickly. That's the second mistake
most foreigners make. The first is trying the stuff at the insistence of
NZ hosts, most of whom are gleefully anticipating the response. Best
results are obtained by spreading _very_ thinly. Discolouration of the
underlying bread/toast is all that's necessary.
Do not get any of these spreads on your fingers if there are domestic
animals around, especially cats. They all love the stuff and will try to
lick you clean. Enthusiastic felines will sometimes try to remove your
digits too...
There are no meat products in any of the three spreads.
Ingredients:
Vegemite (Kraft General Foods NZ Ltd):
Yeast extract, salt, malt extract, colour (caramel), vegetable flavours,
vitamins (niacin, thiamine, riboflavin)
Marmite (Sanatarium Health Food Company, NZ):
Yeast, sugar, salt, wheatgerm extract, mineral salt (508), colour
(caramel), herbs, spices, vitamins (niacin, thiamin, riboflavin)
It's also got a small note under the ingredients: "100% vegetarian" (but
then, what do you expect from a company owned by the 7th Day Adventist
church?)
Promite: (Masterfoods of Australia)
Vegetable protein extract, sugar, yeast, natural colour (caramel), salt,
thickener (Wheat starch), emulsifier (Glycerol monostearate), spices, added
vitamins, water
Other countries' versions may vary....
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