Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Vegemite


What is Vegemite? The name doesn't sound appealing. The fact that the spread is a deep brown colour is even more off putting. The main ingredient in Vegemite? Yeast extract. I can't count how many times I've walked by it at the supermarket, picked it up, and put it back on the shelf. It's been somewhat of a mystery to me right up until a few years ago.

The first time I tried it was at work when an Australian girl brought some in and spread some on a bun. "It's really good with butter because it's so salty," she said. I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised. It was actually good! Since moving to Sydney, I can't help but notice the supermarket shelves stocked full of Vegemite. So during my recent trip to the store, I couldn't help but get a small jar of this stuff.

The packaging I must say is cute. Contained in a small glass jar, the lid and label are a canary yellow with a bright red "Vegemite" logo. The spread is thick and sticky looking. The taste? It's very salty and tastes like concentrated beef stock. There's almost an umami flavour to it that makes you want to eat more of this stuff. The most common way of eating it is with bread and soft butter.

There are even recipes on line that use Vegemite to cook with. Since the name is owned by Kraft, they even developed a product called Cheesybite Vegemite. Blending their classic cheese spread with Vegemite. I do have a soft spot for Kraft Singles. That might just be on my shopping list next time.

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