Vegemite..........About Vegemite

Vegemite (pronounced /ˈvɛdʒɨmaɪt/ VEJ-ə-myt) is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract. It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries. It is similar to British, New Zealand, and South African Marmite, Australian  Promite, and to Swiss Cenovis.




Vegemite is made from used brewers' yeast extract, a by-product of beer manufacturing, and various vegetable and spice additives. It is salty, slightly bitter, and umami or malty — similar to beef bouillon. The texture is smooth and sticky. It is not as intensely flavoured as British Marmite and it is less sweet than the New Zealand version of Marmite.

WHAT IS VEGEMITE?
As you may know, Vegemite is an Australian food, but over the years it has come to be known as an Australian icon. It is a spread made mainly from concentrated yeast extract that is leftover from the beer brewing process; but don't get your hopes up, that doesn't make it alcoholic. Vegemite's creators recognised that the yeast extract was a very valuable source of vitamins; add to that the various spices and vegetable extracts, and it's creators fulfilled their goals to create a highly nutritional and tasty spread. Vegemite has a solid consistency similar to that of butter, but it's heavier, and it's a very dark brown.


HOW POPULAR IS VEGEMITE IN AUSTRALIA?
One of the reasons that Vegemite is so widely recognised as an Australian symbol is that it is so loved by Australians. An estimated nine out of ten Australian pantries contain at least one jar of the stuff, while thirty jars of Vegemite are consumed within Australia for every one jar that is exported. It is extremely common among Aussies to be brought up eating Vegemite on toast for breakfast, Vegemite and cheese sandwiches for lunch, "Cheeseymite scrolls"... and the list goes on. This is because of parents' common knowledge that it's very healthy for growing kids, which stemmed from the huge post-war family growth that created an ideal market for the product. We love our Vegemite!

WHAT DOES VEGEMITE TASTE LIKE?
For first timers, the flavour of Vegemite is often unexpected. Most common spreads used in sandwiches, but in particular, on toast, is either sweet like jam or honey, or else it's peanut butter! Vegemite however, has a rather salty bite to it. It is often used as a stock in all kinds of cooking, so it's very savoury and can be likened to a concentrated flavour of a dark meat like beef.

Vegemite Sandwich Recipe
Using your favorite bread, some butter or margarine, and of course, Vegemite.
Spread butter on a piece of toast or bread.
Cover very thinly with Vegemite (for the optimum Vegemite sandwich you only need a dab). Dip your knife in the Vegemite, and scrape up just a bit (it will mix right in with the butter and spread easily). Some people like to "marble" the Vegemite into the butter/
Eat it open-faced and enjoy!