BS: Marmite

Subject: BS: Marmite
From: Sooz
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 02:17 PM

I've sent Nicole my contribution to the cookbook and a key ingredient in my recipe is Marmite. I thought this black gunky yeast extract was universal but she didn't know what it was. Can we have a quick world wide scan to see how far it spreads. (Awful pun - sorry). I do know its known as Vegemite down under.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: MMario
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 02:19 PM

It's available in rural upstate NY - so it can't be *too* hard to locate

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: katlaughing
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 02:20 PM

This might give you a good start: Vegemit/Marmite - the choice?

I was able to buy it in Wyoming.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: catspaw49
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 03:26 PM

Also Sooz, be sure to read the three threads linked in the first post of the thread that kat linked for you. I think you'll find more opinions than you bargained for!

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: Sooz
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 03:45 PM

I've read the previous thread thanks but I'm more interested in availabilty than opinions. We're very fond of it in our house but we do respect other peoples feelings!

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: wysiwyg
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 04:09 PM

Simple-- just explain in the cookbook that essence of Marmite is readily available in the US as long as one is downwind from Spaw.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: catspaw49
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 04:14 PM

I actually kinda' prefer Vegemite, but I can buy both locally (Columbus, Ohio--Upwind of WYSIWYG).

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 04:16 PM

Marmite is made in the United States and Canada by Bestfoods, and is a registered trademark of theirs.
It may not be the same as the stuff sold in England.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: MMario
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 04:21 PM

There's a good recipe for make you own in a Pterry Pratchet book.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 05:04 PM

And of course the Marmite's with the Jam.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: catspaw49
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 05:30 PM

Sorry Q, my Marmite comes from the UK. I haven't seen any from Best Foods here.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 05:37 PM

Being sold by someone called "Bestfoods" could completely destroy the Marmite advertising campaign, which is built round the idea that world is full of people who absolutely detest Marmite.

Unlike the sturdy minority who know it's great, and who recognise the Marmite haters as total wimps, more to be pitied than scorned. (Vegemite is OK - a bit like decaffeinated coffee, but, like decaffeinated coffee, handy in an emergency.)

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: RolyH
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 06:28 PM

My name is Roly and I am on a jar a week.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 06:37 PM

Marmite website: Marmite Bestfoods
Navigating through the site, note that BestfoodsUK took over in 1990. This company is best known for its mayonaise (also Liptons, Knorr, Dove soap, etc.).
I looked at a package in the grocery and it was not imported from the UK. I can't remember whether the plant was in Canada or USA; I didn't buy it because I have been told that it is corrosive and is a substitute for acid in batteries (OK, I made that up).

Bestfoods, part of Unilever, is at: Unilever Bestfoods
Unilever: Unilever

Look through the divisions of this multinational British-Dutch corporation. Note that they have an advertising alliance with AOL-Time Warner. Products sold in the US and Canada are mostly, if not all, made in the US and Canada.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: CarolC
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 06:48 PM

We can get it here in Georgia (USA). I think maybe even here in Columbus, but maybe it was in Atlanta that I saw it.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: delphinium
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 07:17 PM

No problem getting it in southern Ontario (but the large jar my resident marmite-eater favours isn't always available). Label says made in England, distributed by Best Foods Canada.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: Little Robyn
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 08:36 PM

I make my own - I have for years!
It's basically flaked yeast, which I get from a bulk buy store but it is also available now in NZ supermarkets. Don't use bread yeast or brewer's yeast - Yuk!
And you mix your yeast with Soy Sauce!
There is light soy or dark soy but the one I like best for this is called Mushroom Soy. Experiment and see which flavour you prefer. (I don't like vegemite).
So, tip some flaked yeast in a bowl, drip a few mils of your preferred soy sauce on top and stir. Add more until the mixture is the consistency you prefer (thick or more runny) and that's it! No preservatives, no caramels, no added anything!
And it's cheap and yummy!
Enjoy.
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: NicoleC
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 09:11 PM

Obviously, I am an ignorant lout about the mysterious ways of yeast byproducts. You see, I never knew what Vegemite was either... although it seems to come up whenever Ozzies mention food.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: mouldy
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 02:44 AM

As far as I understand, marmite is made from the waste malt of the brewing industry, although this is only something I remember hearing or reading long ago. (I was raised on Bovril, used as a spread, and it was my now husband who introduced me to marmite in 1970.

As I posted on an old thread, which may have run under the title "My Mate Marmite" (an old UK advertising slogan), I have a marmite cookery book (My Mate Marmite in the Kitchen, by Rosemary Moon, published by GB Publications Ltd) which was produced as a fundraiser for the NSPCC. On the flyleaf there is the usual info (ISBN 0 946555 24 9 -hardback; ISBN 0 946555 25 7 -softback) and an address to write to for further information on Marmite: CPC (UK) Ltd, Esher, Surrey KT10 9PN. From the book - did you know "that Marmite was first produced in this Country (UK) at the end of the last century (19th). Because of its nutritional benefits it was originally sold through clinics and welfare organisations to mothers with young children."

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: Gurney
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 06:29 AM

So, Little Robyn, what would you put in your product to thicken it up into Oxo? Not Ox, of course, but salt and cornflour, maybe?

Don't like mar/vegemite, but a cup of Oxo on a cold day, aahh.
No, wait a min, that's Bisto. Or is it Bovril? Some waste product, anyway.   Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 06:32 AM

I used to work in a marmite factory in Hull, it was really easy, I just had to throw blocks of yeast into a big mixer, it was a really BIG mixer, I had to climb up a ladder to reach the top.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: Gurney
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 06:34 AM

Just had a thought too late for my post.
If first press olive oil is called 'Extra Virgin,' would extra virgin Marmite be called 'Beer?'
Sorry, it must be time for bed.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: Sooz
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 02:31 PM

Bovril and Oxo are both made from COW. Not to compared with Marmite and Vegemite which are made from yeast after the beer has been taken off the top and are both suitable for vegetarians like me!

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: catspaw49
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 02:40 PM

Hey Q.....I can't find any reference to Marmite being made in the US. My jars say CPC which I know is now Best, but it still seems to be made in the UK. No mention whatsoever of N.A. manufacture.

Not that any of this matters a rat's ass........

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: MMario
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 02:55 PM

I am surprised! There are no recipes in S.O.A.R. for either vegamite or marmite!

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: GUEST,robotonic
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 06:19 PM

If you're from the Anglo Antipodes, i.e. New Zealand or Australia, you are either a Marmite person (good, kind, straight teeth and an intelligent smile) or you are a Vegamite type (rotter, without conscience, and your mama dresses you funny).

Best brand is Sanitarium, available only in Aus or NZ from my experience. It's not hard to find someone who can mail it to you.
http://www.everythingaustralian.com/sanmar25.html

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 06:39 PM

Spaw, next time I go to the grocery, I will check. It wouldn't be the first time my brain short-circuited.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: SINSULL
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 09:14 PM

http://www.gty.org/~phil/marmite.htm#whomakes

Everything you could possibly want to know including the fact that it is a self digested somethingorother. that is gross. Cannibalistic excretions!

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: Helen
Date: 26 Mar 03 - 04:21 AM

So, robotonic, I'm a Veg*e*mite (not Vegamite) person. So I'm a rotter, without conscience, and my Mum dresses me funny. You wanna come over here and fight me??!! Wait till I get this silly dress off, first, though. (LOL)

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Mar 03 - 07:50 AM

Sooz - Vegemite IS NOT Marmite downunder. Marmite is the UK product, Vegemite the Australian product that started as opposition to Marmite.
My sister who is currently living in Nigeria stocks up with 5 or 10 enormous jars of Vegemite each year as she is positively addicted & can't get it in Nigeria. I have wondered what the customs folks think of business class travellers loaded down with these jars.

Hers is a long time addiction as I can remember her eating Vegemite & bread & butter when she was young, when I would eat bread & lots of butter & a scrape of vegemite (ingredients listed by quantity). Tho I always liked peanut butter (crunchy of course) on top of the vegemite

robotonic - well, my sister always hated the horrible clothes that were Mum's idea of what a young girl should be wearing, maybe that's why she got into the Vegemite ...

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: GUEST,Sooz(at work)
Date: 26 Mar 03 - 08:32 AM

Personally I use Tescos own brand yeast extract. I can't tell the difference when I use it in recipes and its cheaper than either Vegemite or Marmite which are only other versions of the same product. Any of the three would make wonderful cheese and Marmite bread - see my contribution in the cookbook when it comes out!

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 Mar 03 - 08:51 AM

Marmite v Vegemite is a phony dispute. The real division is between people who think they are both disgusting and the ones with tastebuds that can take it.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: JennyO
Date: 26 Mar 03 - 10:14 AM

Sum pepol thinks i look funny jes cos i wears uggie boots wif me dress.....

Jenny (rotten Vegemite eater with no conscience)

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: Little Robyn
Date: 26 Mar 03 - 02:48 PM

My Mum's Aunty (now deceased) used to reckon that back in the 30s someone produced a similar product in opposition.
Instead of Ma mite it was called Pa wont!
She was serious!

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: Ella who is Sooze
Date: 26 Mar 03 - 06:32 PM

YEAUCHHHHHHHHH!

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: nickp
Date: 27 Mar 03 - 12:00 PM

Sooz, escaping from the festival at the school we went for a week to Minneapolis where we certainly saw Marmite (typical labels) in the deli although we didn't try it to confirm. It was a fairly but not totally meat free shop though
Nick

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: MMario
Date: 27 Mar 03 - 12:16 PM

a meat free deli?

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: GUEST,amergin
Date: 27 Mar 03 - 12:20 PM

havign tried vegemite...I can be sure I won't be sampling marmite...stuff just about made me puke....

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: GUEST,JohnB
Date: 27 Mar 03 - 01:05 PM

I don't now where the Marmite I buy in Canada comes from but it tastes great. Better than Vegemite IMHO. Must try the home made stuff.
JohnB

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: mouldy
Date: 27 Mar 03 - 01:48 PM

I had a French student staying with me once who refused even to try marmite...but he loved Twiglets, which have a sort of similar taste!

Andrea
(who really enjoyed towing a good looking 22 year old French fella around for a fortnight, too!)

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: Raedwulf
Date: 27 Mar 03 - 01:59 PM

Q - Why are the Aussies so obstreporously competitive & generally nauseatingly good at sports?

A - They're still trying (& failing!) to gain revenge on the rest of the world for inflicting Vegemite on them, when they could have had proper Marmite instead...

:p

;)

Raedwulf

P.S. No, I've never tried Vegemite, but it's not the English Original, so it's obviously inferior... :p

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: Ely
Date: 27 Mar 03 - 08:46 PM

To the best of my knowledge, I can't get it in Texas (probably because it isn't a key ingredient in Mexican food). Which is not to say it can't be gotten, but the joe-average supermarket doesn't carry it. I can get canned prickly-pear cactus and tamarind soda, though.

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: robomatic
Date: 27 Mar 03 - 09:04 PM

The 'war' between Marmite people and Vegemite people is enduring and as eternal as that stuff lasts in a jar unopened (which is a pretty long time). I don't think I ever met a Kiwi or Aussie who admitted not liking the stuff, particularly when there was an innocent Yank in the audience they could gross out. Here in Alaska where we mostly don't know about Marmite we like to describe the contents of Eskimo Ice Cream and watch the Cheechakos cringe. Then we go on to detail what goes in to Stinky heads.

I think the main thing lacking in the Pioneer space explorer was a jar of Marmite.

I think I have the only true NZ Marmite in Alaska. I've been eeking it out for five years now on a kilo, although the ideal is to spread it thick enough you can't see the butter through.

Of course, I've also eaten Japanese canned crickets (out of the can but not with marmite - fortunately an opportune spill allowed me to abandon that experiment, but strictly speaking, most of those crickets must have come off the floor to begin with, eh?)

Robomatic

Subject: RE: BS: Marmite
From: GUEST,Bystander
Date: 28 Mar 03 - 06:17 AM

Years ago an American friend of mine used to occasionally travel to India via London where he would stock up with Marmite. When he got to India he would practically live on the stuff, introducing the local nosh very gradually. He reckoned this was a sure way of avoiding the dreaded 'Delhi Belly', so I think customs officers are probably quite used to finding large quantities amongst the luggage.