jerryp (02/14/83)
Not long ago, the Australian group Men at Work came to America and
topped the charts with their song "Down Under". The piece quickly
became known as "the Vegemite song" because of the line:
...buying bread from a man in Brussels,
he was 6 foot 4 and fulla muscle;
I asked him "do you speak-a my language?"
He just smiled and gave me a Vegamite sandwich...
The question remains, "What the Hell is Vegemite?" As a service to
the curious (control-C will get you out of this...) I will present
the information that I have on Vegemite...
The following is largely paraphrased (quoted) from a copyright article that
appeared in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner of 24 June, 1982 (written
by Josephine Bacon, a British free-lance food writer...) and the
official Vegemite press release.
What is Vegemite? Vegemite is a dark brown paste with a creamy consistency.
Although it looks like that sludge that comes out of your car after a long
overdue oil change, it has a pleasant, salty taste, and judging from its
success in Australia and New Zealand, it may become the next tofu or,
at the very least, the peanut butter of Beverly Hills.
Made in Australia by Kraft, Vegemite is good for you. It contains
highly concentrated B vitamins and is used by an estimated 90% (you read
that right, 90%) of the people in Australia and New Zealand. And it isn't
even advertised. It is made from Brewers Yeast, a byproduct of the
fermentation to produce beer, and as you know, they produce a lot of beer
in Australia. Those of you who use brewers yeast (a Very Good dietary
supplement) may that it has a tendency to cause flatulence (gas...).
This does not happen with Vegemite. It is 3 times more concentrated
than brewers yeast.
Australian atheletes swear by Vegemite as a body builder and energy source.
Although it tastes salty, it has a relatively low salt content, and
therefore makes a very good salt substitute for people on low sodium
diets. Attention dieters -- only 6 calories per serving.
What do you do with Vegemite?
--- Spread Vegemite on hot buttered muffins or toast.
--- Add a teaspoon to your soups stews or gravies.
--- Try it with tamales.
--- Add to the marinade of beef or brush on before roasting.
--- Spread a thin layer on an omlette before turning.
--- Substitute for boullion cubes.
When I was in Europe, ALL the Australians I met had a jar or
Vegemite with them, so there must be something to this stuff...
I have a press release from Australasia Ventures(*) that gives some
recepies. If you're interested, drop me a line (use address below),
and I'll post to net.{appropriate place} it there is enough interest.
I haven't looked, but I don't think Vegemite is available in the
Portland, Oregon area. If you can't find it locally you can contact the
importer... (address furnished on request)
(*) sole importer
Not Afraid To Try New Things That (on the surface)
Seem Disgusting And Foreign...
Jeff Mizener
Tektronix, ADG
Beaverton, Oregon (where women glow and men thunder)
uucp: {ucbvax,decvax,chico,pur-ee,cbosg,ihnss}!teklabs!tekid!jm
CSnet: tekid!jm@tek
ARPA: tekid!jm.tek@rand-relay steve (02/16/83)
#R:tekid:-88900:zinfandel:4300016:000:1627
zinfandel!steve Feb 16 11:11:00 1983
Thanks to Graeme Kinsey, resident American of Australian descent (ascent?),
I had the opportunity to taste test a few brands of sludge this morning:
Vegemite Concentrated Yeast Extract (Kraft) Product of Australia
Ingredients: Yeast extract, salt, flavour
Promite Vegetable Extract Spread (Master Foods) Product of Australia
Ingredients: Vegetable protein extract, yeast, sugar, caramel,
starch, salt, spices, added vitamins, added water
Marmite Concentrated Yeast Extract (Bovril) Product of Canada
Ingredients: Yeast extract, salt, carrots, onions, and spices
All were eaten with Ritz Crackers.
I have listed the sludges above in the order of my own liking. Vegemite
is the least offensive, mostly for what it doesn't contain.
Marmite's onions and spices are overwhelming. Imagine taking a tablespoon
of Lipton's Onion Soup mix, adding a few drops of water to it,
and eating it. This is worse.
Promite's sugar, presumably added to make it more palatable, only makes
the taste confused at best; it seems out of place mixed with the rest
of the crud.
By process of elimination, Vegemite is the paste of preference,
with a general flavo(u)r described in the base note.
The above comparison may not be too useful for the masses, as
I understand that only Promite is readily available in the U.S.
One note of caution:
These products are visibly indistinguishable from the kind
of chocolate fudge sold in the can for use with ice cream.
So be careful next time an Australian offers you a hot fudge sundae.
Not six foot four and full of muscles (yet),
Steve Nelson
decvax!sytek!zehntel!zinfandel!steve