A cultural taste sensation!

So how do you start your day?

I suspect many North Americans would be horrified to know that some of us Southerners start our day with toast spread with a delicious, savoury substance called “Marmite” ! It has the consistency and colouring of tar, but it tastes a lot better, I can assure you! For those who aren’t in the know, Marmite is a yeast extract, and is a little salty in flavour. For the discerning however, Marmite is a little sweeter than its Australian counterpart, Vegemite (and no, they are both yeast extracts – one is not a vegetable / meat extract!). The English use Promite, which is slightly different in taste yet again. And the South Africans have their Mighty Mite / Our Mate, which is a little closer to Promite than Marmite or Vegemite. Confused?!

In our home, we usually have Marmite (for the patriotic amongst us) and Our Mate (for the more discerning palate)….and sometimes Vegemite (when we can’t get Our Mate/Mighty Mite). The trick is to only spread a teeny weeny little squidgey bit on your piece of hot buttered toast. It is not like Nutella (where more is better!). So if you like lavish lathering of your piece of toast, or if you like to start your day off with something sweet, then Marmite (and its derivatives) will not be the thing for you!

What’s more, most Kiwi kids grow up with having it on their sandwiches for school lunches! So if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere and you happen to be visiting a “Cobs” bakery (exactly the same as a “Bakers Delight” Down Under), go check out their “Cheesymite Scrolls” for a taste sensation! I gather the Cobs owners in the North can’t figure out why Northern Hemisphere sales of these delicacies aren’t exactly matching sales of the said product Down Under…