gh (03/24/83)
A few weeks ago, there was a controversy on the net as to whether there was a difference between the Australian gourmet food Vegemite and the pale British imitation, Marmite. I asserted that Marmite contained beef extract, but others pointed out that the Canadian Marmite (made by Bovril of Canada) that one can buy in North America was a yeast extract, just like Vegemite. The final word now comes in a letter from a definitive source, my mother in Australia: "I checked the jars of Marmite in the grocer's and found that it is made in Australia by Sanitarium, and contains yeast extract, onions, caramel and spices. Vegemite, made by Kraft, contains yeast extract and flavorings. But yes, you are right about the beef content of Marmite -- it WAS so in the old days when I was a child. Vegemite was not invented then and we always had Marmite. When Vegemite appeared, it was supposed to be `Marmite for vegetarians', as the name implies. Funny that now Marmite is made by the big business vegetarians, Sanitarium [a food company owned by the Australian Seventh Day Adventist church]." The keeper of Australian trivia Graeme Hirst, Brown University Computer Science !decvax!brunix!gh gh.brown@udel-relay