Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 For those who like savory flavors, a real treat on toast October 12, 2004
Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA)
60 out of 61 found this review helpful
This tiny jar of concentrated yeast extract is quite the breakfast food. To use Marmite, spread it thinly on toast or sandwich bread. Wait! What do you mean by "thinly?" I mean, practically thin enough to be a monolayer of molecules, because if you spread it any thicker, it will taste pretty strong. Well, actually, I use a quarter of a teaspoon on each piece of toast, which is buttered first to lubricate the process. And wait, how would one spread it thinly on fresh, untoasted AMERICAN bread without it tearing the fluffy crumb into tiny balls only suitable for feeding the koi? Again, a bit of softened butter, then a schmear of Marmite, a slice of tomato and you have a super tea sandwich. This is often my dinner, when I want something light.
How and why was Marmite invented, and how did it become a beloved British traditional food, right up there with hedgehog-flavoured potato crisps? Back in 1902, some genius took the lees of good old British Ale, that is to say, Brewer's Yeast, and boiled it down to a tarry, black substance that no one in their right mind would eat unless their Mum forced them to. Because of the B-complex, Marmite became popular as a supplement for prisoners-of-war, served in hospitals, schools, to troops in WWI and WWII. It almost was rationed in WWII, with mothers told to spread it "very thinly, for now."
Traditionally, Marmite is served on sandwiches and especially on toast at breakfast on toast "soldiers" or triangles of toast that kids can dip into their boiled eggs. The flavor is meaty, salty, though it has less salt than the butter you might use with it, and it has no meat or animal product--it's made of yeast so is vegetarian-vegan.
The flavor, frankly, takes some getting used to if you don't like strong, savory things. However, if you like savory, meaty flavors and want something non-sugary sweet on your breakfast toast, Marmite is fantastic. The closest I can describe the flavor is on the order of soy sauce, beef bouillion or mushroom pate. Other uses for Marmite are to flavor soups, meat or vegetable loaves, and stews, as a mix in dips or on bread for sandwiches and canapes.
4 grams or about 1/8 ounce of Marmite has the following B vitamins:
Riboflavin 0.28mg (17.5% RDA)
Niacin 5.4mg (35.6% RDA)
Folic Acid 100ug (50.0% RDA)
Vitamin B12 0.5ug (60.0% RDA)
Secret Pleasure & Nutritional Powerhouse August 17, 2005
mtspace (Somewhere in NJ USA)
30 out of 31 found this review helpful
My first culinary memory involves a surreptitious finger dip into the Marmite jar at the age of three; it is the first food I remember really loving. And ever since then I have had difficulty getting enough of it. Not everyone reacts to it the same way. Some imagine it looks too much like axle grease. Others complain that it smells too much like beer left overnight to go bad. These facts suggest that one might only serve it to close friends and only when there are some alternatives. In any case, the Marmite claim "Love it or Hate it" is quite apropos. It rarely evokes a neutral reaction.
The best preparation I can think of is to mix it thoroughly with butter. One part Marmite to two or three parts butter. Then spread thinly on toast. Served this way, the primary flavor of Marmite is salt. Then there is a subtle meaty flavor sometimes called umami - it's a flavor that is present in well browned mushrooms or red meat. The label suggests that it might be put to excellent use in soup stocks as a substitute or supplement to caramelized roasted vegetables - onions and carrots.
As for nutritional value, even spread thinly it is dynamite. Those who fall hopelessly for its charms may find themselves consuming mega-doses of a few crucial B vitamins. It is an exceptionally rich source of B12, folicin, and B6. And since it is free of animal products it is an ideal food to include in a Vegan diet which normally falls short in delivering B12.
NOT VEGEMITE! October 10, 2005
Footiemum (Wiltshire, UK)
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
Marmite is the greatest thing since sliced bread. It is the thing that most ex-pats miss. But it is most definitely NOT Vegemite. That is an entirely different thing. Well - not that entirely different maybe. But, to my mind, Marmite is far superior. It tastes 'meatier', is a glorious glossy brown/black colour, comes in a much nicer jar and makes a lovely drink. 1 teaspoon in a mug of hot water in which you dunk thick slices of buttered bread. Lived on this when a poor student.
A savory secret November 16, 2006
Nanx (Nashville, TN United States)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I went to UK for the first time a couple of years back. My friends introduced me to Marmite as something some people enjoyed when they couldn't afford eggs and bacon. The Mr said it was made from a by-product of beer, I thought he was joking at first. Spread it thinly on a piece of dry toast, served properly, he demonstrated then handed to me. It was surprisingly strong but I liked it. Savory [or savoury as they would spell it] like bacon or other cooked meats but none of the awful fat or grease. It's not terribly hard to find here since the advent of shopping with the wonderful world wide web, so I have been able to enjoy this in the US as a snack between meals on one slice of whole wheat bread, often a late night sandwich with room temperature cheese and tomato.
 It is a cultural thing December 12, 2006
Jon Saxton (Brooklyn, NY, USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
For those of us brought up on Vegemite, Marmite doesn't make the grade. For those brought up on Marmite, Vegemite seems a poor substitute. For Americans who only seem to put sweet stuff on their cake (oops, I mean "bread") both are revolting.
I think that a major reason why Americans abhor these savoury spreads is that being used to spreading honey and jam on their breakfast toast, they tend to use like quantities of Vegemite or Marmite. To uninitiated the taste of either spread applied so lavishly is going to be overwhelming. Before passing judgment on these spreads, you would do well to heed the advice of "Joanna" or "mtspace" and apply thinly. It also works best with very fresh bread or hot toast.
Incidentally, I believe that Marmite was first. Vegemite was an Australian imitation created several years later. It was originally called Parwill - a pun which will be appreciated by Aussies and Brits but which may not be understood by Americans because of the way the words are pronounced.
I only give Marmite four stars. That probably tells you my upbringing.
|
