South Africa is running out of Marmite | Hacker News Reader

South Africa is running out of Marmite

economist.com

114 pointshelsinkiandrew211 comments

The Dutch, in their infinite pursuit of diabetes, love to spread Stroop on their sandwiches. Stroop is a thick syrup with a very similar consistency to Marmite. A fond childhood memory of mine is watching my Dutch friend, who had never experienced Marmite make a sandwich with it thinking it was Stroop. Imagine taking a bite of a thick spread of Marmite all at once...

Good times. We don't talk any more.

That's how I tried marmite for the first time as well. I was told by my friends that you need to put on a thick thick layer. They found it hilarious, of course.

Sounds like what my grandpa did to me when I was young, but with horseradish on a ham sandwich.

I love it now, but at age 9, I did not.

Ahhhh, fond memories of holidays in The Netherlands - stroop on pancakes.

And stroopwaffels ...

The Aussies I went camping with were not ready for Vegemite s'mores. I've had worse; the looks on their faces made it all worthwhile.

On the other hand stroop crumpets sound quite tasty

Oh is that where Stroopwafels come from?

Sorta. Stroop literally means "syrup".

In NZ and AUS it's pretty common to see that happening on Hostels, because there is always at least one leftover jar of Vegemite in the pantry (Aus version of this) and the product looks somewhat like an off brand Nutella and doesn't smell as bad as it tastes...

I saw it happen numerous times while living there it has indeed hilarious specially because I did it too :D

> and the product looks somewhat like an off brand Nutella and doesn't smell as bad as it tastes...

As an Australian, I found this part of your statement confusing, as (unlike Marmite) Vegemite tastes great.

More seriously, even in small doses (ie: not spread on like it’s jam or peanut butter) it’s still an acquired taste. Australians just get a head start, eating it on toast for breakfast regularly from a very early age.

> there is always at least one leftover jar of Vegemite in the pantry (Aus version of this)

This is an insult to Vegemite.

I maintain that "you either love it or hate it" is the most ingeniously manipulative advertising slogan of all time.

It catches you off-guard. "Why are they admitting that many people hate their product?" While you're distracted by that, the real payload is dropped into your subconscious: "I don't hate Marmite - therefore I must love it". And the meme-like quality means that the false dichotomy is socially reinforced once in a while for good measure.

Marmite certainly has a distinctive taste, and many don't like it. But I doubt marmite preferences are really bimodal. When asked if I love or hate Marmite, I tend to say something like: "It's OK - Nice-ish". I have received reactions ranging from dumbfounded confusion to outright aggression.

Wake up sheeple!

The only two scents which make me salivate are vinegar and marmite, some of us really genuinely do love it!

The sound of a bell ringing is enough to get me salivating.

My journey with Marmite began at a meditation retreat in NZ. The first time I tried it, it was overwhelmingly salty and the smell reminded me of those huge vitamin pills they used to sell when I was a kid (and maybe still do). I wanted to observe my reaction, so I tried it again, and again. By about day 3 I started to enjoy it. The way I describe the flavor is that it's so bad, it wraps around and becomes good again. Like an edible version of "The Room".

Like how sticking your tongue to a frozen piece of metal causes a burning sensation.

ist one of those things that tastes better the more you try it. my theory is the body reorients its appraisal after the fact when it realizes the food is a powerhouse of B vitamins and magnesium.

The product itself is an ingenious remarketing of a waste product from the beer industry.

Polite advice: I'd suggest that only those from the UK, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia and other outposts where black yeast extracts are consumed comment on this story.

Those in the US and elsewhere can watch on in amusement.

Warning: Australians and other Vegemite consumers please refrain from denigrating lovers of Marmite.

:-)

Bovril is vastly superior.

I agree, but Bovril is not made from yeast extract like Marmite is. So not really the same kind of product.

Actually, it's over a quarter yeast extract.

To be honest, having just checked, I think that's less than it was a while back, as I'm sure I recall being disappointed upon seeing the ingredients, and putting a jar back on the shelf after picking it up on a whim a while ago.

I just stick to my stock pots in hot water... .

Yes, a clearly superior product.

South African here and I have nothing polite to say about Marmite ;)

South African here and I agree.

Also South African, also agree.

See comment above.

So what's all the fuss about then? Surely someone there eats (and presumably likes) it.

My departed mother and aunts loved the stuff but I'll eat it out of desperation/under sufferance when Vegemite isn't available. Where both products are available in a bousehold there's never-ending wars over which is best. That's almost inevitable. :-)

I’m American and I ate a pretty good amount when I lived in the UK bc it’s high in B vitamins.

I made this “sandwich” with a crumpet, polish mayo (winiary), marmite and sometimes a scotch egg and/or sauerkraut. It was disgusting, I mostly created it b/c it was cheap, but it was a staple of mine and a very British one at that (aside from the kraut). The polish mayo is an import but I’d still say very london at this point, I got it from sainsburys, but could just as well have picked it up from any number of polish stores. Anyway, marmite’s alright.

winiary is owned by Nestle, so it's hardly polish mayo

This comment alone is probably enough to get you ongoing "indefinite leave to remain" and work in the UK.

Just take the "sandwich" with you to immigration.. fastest visa paperwork in the history of formal countries.

Most British thing ever said and it's not by a Brit

...But you had to dilute it with extras, that's cheating!

True 'native' eaters like me spoon it straight from the jar! No problems.... ;-)

Edit: shame there's no image posting here or I'd demonstrate (squirm factor).

I think Polish shops are pretty common across the UK these days - in Huntingdon (pop. 23k, 1 h north of London) there are at least two, and you can pick it up in the big supermarket (Tesco).

I think it has gone down a bit from the peak around 2016, but Poland became something like the third or fourth most common place of birth in the UK (after the UK, India and Pakistan I think) with roughly one million Polish immigrants.

[I have a Polish boyfriend living in the UK, so know too much about this ;-) ]

It's an extremely salty, umami taste. Both flavours most people like, but too much of a good thing for the unprepared palatte.

I like a thin layer of X-mite between a piece of toast and a fried egg. I find eggs need a lot of salt, so X-mite is a good combination.

Growing up my brother loved the stuff, but personally I could never figure out why...it really is an acquired taste.

Especially so if one's not introduced to it early - not long after weaning.

I tried both as an adult and like both on occasion. I cook with them more often than I use them as a spread though. Vegemite seems to have more and different vegetable flavors noticable. Marmite seems a little sweeter, like a savory nutella or hagelslag (sp?). I'll put either on toast with butter, but I like them a lot better in soups or stews. With thai fish sauce, for when you have a fever for more umame.

Good summary, you're unusual (and have good taste). :-)

South African here. Wash you mouth out with soap then eat some tasty Marmite with margarine on toast.

Does the soap hide the taste of the Marmite? Or is it the other way around?

The joke, such as it was, is based on the pun on the phrase "wash your mouth out with soap".

This is usually a punishment for children who have uttered taboo or blasephous words (the idea being that you said a dirty word and your mouth needs cleaning).

The other side being in reference to needing to litterally clean one's (dirty) mouth so that the taste of marmite can be savoured and enjoyed.

Condsider this JOKE EXPLAINED!!

This is the problem with the "marmite could lead to peace in the middle east" theory (high zinc content).

You would then have vicious infighting between those who love, and those who hate marmite.

Oddly, can't stand marmite usually, however, twiglets are ridiculously tasty.

> Oddly, can't stand marmite usually, however, twiglets are ridiculously tasty.

I'm entirely the other way round. Twiglets are a punishment meted out by an insane diety for consuming too many snacks in a former life.

Ha! see, like Marmite and Vegemite, they cause more polarization among consumers than US Republican/Democrat politics do among voters.

"...however, twiglets are ridiculously tasty"

Love 'em too (but don't often buy them as I've insufficient self-control to leave a packet half uneaten)! ;-)

> marmite could lead to peace in the middle east

Right after we finally decide who has the best hummus.

Margarine doesn't have enough salt for this dish. You need butter.

Bovril is obviously superior.

Uh, not if you're a Vegemite eater!

My British roommate in college always talked about Bovril, but with his accent, it sounded exactly like Bog Roll. It still makes me chuckle to think about.

I cannot get this in the U.S. thus I have to wince while consuming marmite.

But you are 101% correct.

Amazon has it but you're gonna pay for it.

I only see Bovrite.

Is miso paste basically soybased marmite or are there any inherent differences?

Miso paste is made from fermented soybeans and often used to make soup; marmite is made from yeast extract, and usually spread on toast.

They're both salty and brown. Otherwise they have little in common.

I just experimented with putting a thin layer of shiro miso on my buttered toast.

It didn't quite work for me. Miso flavour turns out to be very compatible with toast but my test miso didn't have enough tang to cut through properly, so the impression it left was dominated by salt. Marmite and relatives are salty as well, but they have more bite in the flavour.

You might find that aka miso or doenjang have a flavor profile closer to what you're looking for.

Try freshly chopped celery, or carrot sticks and stick it into some fresh miso as if it were ketchup. Beautiful...

I like a smear of miso paste inside a grilled cheese sandwich.

FYI: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmite

Whilst they are very different, miso paste is probably the closest thing to marmite that people in normal countries will encounter.

I believe miso paste is made by mixing cooked, mashed, soy beans with a culture of koji (_Aspergillus sojae_), and a certain amount of rice, used to grow the koji, and letting it ferment.

Marmite is made by mixing malted barley with yeast (_Saccharomyces cerevisiae_) and a lot of water, straining it, letting it ferment, skimming off the yeasty froth that forms on top (you can discard the liquid, although i think people have found other uses for it), washing the froth to extract the yeast, adding salt to induce autolysis, filtering out the solid bits of dead yeast, boiling it down, and adding some seasonings.

So although they are both made by fermenting something, the process is quite different. Miso is mostly soy bean, modified by the fungus, whereas marmite is mostly fungus, and is much more processed and concentrated.

Instructions:

https://msmarmitelover.com/2011/04/how-to-make-your-own-marm...

Normal countries?

Do you happen to know the difference between marmite and vegemite?

Yes, but its hard to expalin unless you've tasted both.

Here are brief Wiki extracts:

"Marmite is a brand of savoury food spread from the United Kingdom, based on yeast extract invented by German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing (see Lees (fermentation)) and is currently produced by British company Unilever. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmite ..."

"Vegemite is a thick, dark brown Australian food spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. It was developed by Cyril Callister in Melbourne, Victoria in 1922. ..."

A spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits as well as a filling for pastries, Vegemite is similar to British Marmite, New Zealand Marmite, Australian Promite, MightyMite, AussieMite, OzEmite, German Vitam-R, and Swiss Cenovis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite."

Special note to Americans: Vegemite is owned by Kraft, a US multinational. So you're to blame for foisting it on the world!

Not anymore. Bega bought Vegemite from Mondelez, so it's Aussie through and through again.

OK, right. Thanks. So the label on my jar is out of date.

That's one for books, but as far as I recall Kraft was there from the outset in the 1920s (so it was really always US-owned until recently).

Edit: just checked the low-salt version (both are used here—it's the smaller jar) and the label is different. Never noticed that until now.

Reading those processes, got to wonder how someone first ran across these foods. Seems like an odd direction to go when looking for a new flavor. With that said I have never really delved into food creation so maybe I am completely wrong.

It’s a byproduct of brewing, instead of throwing it away someone figured out how to make it into a food.

"... into something people could be persuaded to consider food."

Marmite was invented fairly recently (late 19th/early 20th century), apparently by a german scientist who was studying food chemistry and nutrition. (In case you missed the joke, the liquid the parent suggests you can discard is beer).

Miso I know less about but my wild guess would be it's some sort of by product of trying to preserve food.

Not sure about Miso and Marmite being similar - I'm in the 'Hate Marmite' camp, but I have to stop myself spooning too much dark miso paste direct from the jar when I'm using it in cooking (and boy, do I try to use it in everything!).

They do have a bit of a similar flavor profile - intensely savory 'umami' type flavor. Marmite/Vegemite is a a lot stronger and saltier though, and does have its own unique flavor.

I'm an American from California, so there was always miso paste at the grocery store. I put it on buttered toast. I suppose this is how Commonwealthers use marmite/vegemite.

Right!

Miso isn’t similar, but something that _is_ is a spread called Gohan Desuyo.

It’s made from seaweed and soy sauce but I’ve found it to be very similar to marmite

https://japanesetaste.com/products/momoya-gohandesuyo-nori-s...

Here is an alternative read for some of us: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220417-ajvar-the-vegan-...

Following up a week later just to say thank you for this link - I hadn't heard of this stuff, but have now found a source of it. It's delicious.

Did anyone else see that apparently Marmite isn't even the best marmite? Somehow ze Germans have improved on it.

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/food-and-drink/article/marmi...

This rang some major alarm bells.

"Marmite got a decent score overall, but tasters weren’t bowled over by it, with more than half finding it too strong in flavour and too thick. Some also found it more difficult to spread compared with the own-label options."

I expect the Aldi and other alternatives are watered-down fake Marmite for woke wimps who want yeast extract spreads to be more "inclusive". This country is toast.

Broad inclussion makes a country stronger, not weaker.

Germany has tried the "pure" route once before, it did not end well

Germany's "pure" route did not end well because they attacked others for being pure. Just because a culture has oddities which do not fit with a wider culture, it doesn't mean that the former should be reduced.

A sense of humor would be appropriate here.

(A digression, since you made the point. This isn't a contest between Nazism and a free-for-all. A society can be overly inclusive, of bad behaviors, ideologies, and other objective threats to its common good, in which case such inclusiveness does weaken the country[0]. I think it is fair to say you'd want to exclude Nazism and other aberrations from your country's political order?)

[0] https://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2022/01/barron-on-diversity...

Please don't "Godwin[1]" the conversation.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law

Sorry, but the germans started it.

> Germany has tried the "pure" route once before, it did not end well

What are you talking about? It went great, and it ended with them dominating Europe financially and industrially. Ethically it was a disaster of course, but practically observing the aftereffects you have to be kind of impressed. Not many countries get absolutely demolished and then manage to turn that into a win somehow.

Edit: I'm not fond of the Nazis, this is more of an observation.

Let's compare Germany with a made up family who we shall call ... Schmidt. Fritz Schmidt, the father, is doing more than good, he is one of the best engineers in the world, he is making good money. His house is smaller than he would like but he keeps it tidy and he is generally well respected. His two kids goes to the best schools.

One day something goes wrong with his brain and he goes on a murder spree.

Fritz goes to prison, his house is sold off to pay the victims families and his children are sent to separate orphanages.

Decades later one kid, Hans, have made it despite being reminded of his fathers crimes every day. His orphanage helped him with a good education and a very generous loan so he could start his own factory.

The other kid, Helmut, got a shit education and no loan and is hungry every day. Almost every month he has to beg Hans for money to pay the rent.

What a great outcome for the Schmidt family.

Nobody is debating the immediate outcome of the war. It was bad everywhere, even where it was not as bad as it could be.

Breakfast spread banter to Godwin's Law speedrun: NEW RECORD!

Connecting marmite to "wokeness" is a new one...

They include Vegemite but don’t include nz marmite? :(

Nz marmite is the beez kneez!

Gotta agree. Don't like how UK marmite has a sweet taste to it.

Colorado based lover of marmite here. Vegemite is off, maybe tangy enough. Anyhow, I was looking in to this a while back and there are many competitors and some people lump “beef spreads” in with them. Bovrite is one, Bovril is another that is illegal in the US (not sure if it’s illegal dangerous or illegal like fireworks) Promite, MightyMite, AussieMite, OzMite are some of the popular ones and there seem to be “organic” kind of more artisanal *mites in parts of the world.

The illegality of Bovril spooked me some and so I haven’t forked out the cash to do the grand taste test challenge as I am happy with marmite and actually able to procure it; it’d be terrible to find a better one that is unobtainable. Hearing about these others makes me think I should do it though.

>Bovril is another that is illegal in the US

It used to be, due to the BSE scare - legal now: https://newsstar.club/importing-bovril-to-the-usa-from-a-bri...

Think of it this way, it's so good it's illegal.

Some of us Swiss consume https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cenovis but I would not consider ourselves a British outpost.

  It is similar to English Marmite and Australian Vegemite.

OK, well those two things are completely different so clearly Cenovis is inferior to both. Even mentioning the English version is lame.

Having tried both I would not consider Cenovis similar to Marmite at all. More like distant second cousins at best

Apologies indeed!

'Outposts' as in those who live in 'odd' parts of the world where such delicacies are consumed and appreciated.

(Despite derogatory comments below you still qualify - see my Wiki quote re Vegemite to dfxm12!)

:-)

Nutritional yeast is pretty popular in the states.

I love nutritional yeast! Have never tried marmite though. Is it similar at all besides being yeast-based?

They both have a similar savory / umami flavor, but Marmite is much, much more intense and also quite salty unlike nutritional yeast.

...and for those in New Zealand, this is not what you guys call "Marmite". I have no idea what's up with that but it's wrong. :P

Real Marmite should not be sweet. Ever. That's just ...wrong[1].

I once stayed a mate's parents in New Zealand and luckily they had a jar of the good stuff for me, sold there as "My Mate".

I think down to some kind of pre-war licensing shenanigans.

1. I'll let it slip though as Kiwi lemonade is awesome.

Kiwi lemonade?

Ah yeah I should clarify that, the lemonade that New Zealanders aka Kiwis have locally.

I can't quite remember the brand. Might have been L&P or something.

Yeah, L&P (Lemon & Peoroa). Good stuff! Though I remember it being carbonated.

L&P is indeed carbonated. Used to be reasonably easy to get in the UK, but almost impossible since covid.

You won't find non carbonated, yellow lemonade in NZ. As mentioned above, you'll just get sprite.

Oh yeah, that seems about right. I haven't been back there in 15 years, but when I lived there I encountered some oddities like that (as an American), and that fact sounds familiar.

I was also a bit stunned when I had ketchup there, because it's different from American ketchup. Much sweeter, not much vinegar, if any. The hotdogs were also different. When I went to high school (i.e. college) there, one day they had "American hotdog day", and they were like no hotdog I had in America. They were more like those red hot link sausages (which I've never seen anyone eat in America even though I've seen them in grocery stores). So that with their own version of ketchup made for an interesting experience, and was a neat allegory for how different parts of the world see each other.

Great place, that NZ. I really do miss it. Maybe I'll go back once once they finally chill out about COVID.

Anyone in doubt that US vs. UK and the other colonies are very, very different countries need not consider "lemonade" (Sprite) or Marmite.

Just order breakfast with toast. Anywhere except the US, the toast will come out on a "cooling rack". They actually want their toast cold! I have never found any hint why anyone would want this, but I did read an Ian Fleming short story in which James Bond, while in New York on (IIRC?) a personal vendetta to gun down some Cubans upstate, complains that his toast is delivered "damp".

While I am here, fair warning: if you are in Boston and order a milkshake, you will absolutely not get anything even slightly resembling a proper milkshake. You have to ask for a "cabinet". I am not joking.

If you ask for "lemonade" in NZ you're going to get Sprite.

There is nothing better in the Air New Zealand lounge than an L&P and Vegemite on toast transferring between flights. Settles the stomach beautifully.

I don't think it ever caught on in Canada. I've don't recall ever hearing of anyone talking about Marmite. Neither grandparents or any ancestor stories, no talk of it.

Marmite is available in many grocery stores in here but commonly in the international foods aisle. My local store (rural Ontario) put in the baking section with the yeast. LOL

While certainly not a customary staple, it is commonly available here (and delicious). Marmite and PB on toast, yum.

Hah I’m American and bought Marmite because Kenji Lopez Alt of Serious Eats fame suggested it as a great way to add Umami flavoring to a dish.

I mostly add it to other dishes, such as an ingredient in pot roast, but I did try it a thin layer on toast with some butter and I like it! Very intense but interesting flavor. My kids and wife go “yuuuck!” When they see the jar, though.

Marmite vs Vegemite is a niche holy war of emacs vs vi levels - literally noone outside cares. Being in Shanghai with a bunch of UK and Aussie expats it came up a lot.

I'm Marmite/Emacs myself.

Exactly, and you're dead right only the protagonists care. BTW, the War's been running nearly a century,

I am now imagining this on dating platforms: Male/white/he,his/Marmite/Vi

Already said male, no pronouns needed

> Marmite vs Vegemite is a niche holy war of emacs vs vi levels

I'm deeply offended by this.

I started to write up a comment in my head about how this is a completely false equivalency, Marmite and Vegemite are basically the same thing: two brands of yeast paste while Vi vs Emacs are two very distinct editors with very distinct features. I was going to indignantly point out that while a Vi user put in front of emacs would be hard-pressed to see ANY similarities a vegemite fan given marmite probably couldn't tell the difference!

Then I realized: I am the problem and decided to adapt my comment for fake internet points.

Vi is definitely better though.

Can Finns, with our love of Salmiak, tag along?

So basically during lockdown when we banned alcohol in SA there was no beer brewed, so no brewer's yeast so no marmite. But it should be coming back in stock soon.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-03-04-missing-m...

Why did they ban alcohol? In Australia during lockdowns our booze supply was considered an essential service. :S

They also banned selling cigarettes

They banned T-shirts at some point, too.

https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/397591/south-africa...

Pre-made warm food too, if I remember correctly. Absolute insanity. Someone sitting behind a desk tweeking nobs and hoping to stop Covid by banning benign things.

> ...South Africa banned alcohol sales in an attempt to free up beds in hospitals that would otherwise be filled with tipsy drivers or drunken brawlers.

> Why did they ban alcohol? In Australia during lockdowns our booze supply was considered an essential service. :S

The ANC banned cigs and booze. It was later found out that their members were making money hand-over-fist in the underground markets for cigs. Maybe booze too.

Honestly, this government that is repeatedly voted in by the masses keeps screwing the masses that votes them in, but they won't ever be voted out because SA voters are very tribalistic and unquestioning loyal to the ANC.

they won’t ever be voted out

South African voters have voted opposition parties into power in multiple municipalities. Trends indicate that the ANC is losing its grip, and one party dominance will be replaced ny coalitions in the next few election cycles.

The ANC banned cigs and booze. It was later found out that their members were making money hand-over-fist in the underground markets for cigs. Maybe booze too.

It sounds plausible that they were making money off illegal cigarettes: but do you have a source for that?

As for the booze ban, it was to keep hospital beds free for Covid patients: South Africans have a very unhealthy relationship with alcohol.

The best thing to happen to South Africa was that booze ban. This is the primary cause of assaults and murders in this country.

This is half-wrong. You are right about cigs, but not booze. Booze is the single biggest cause of trauma admissions in all hospitals in SA. Banning booze was highly effective in creating a significant drop in those ER admissions, allowing for more resources to be put towards covid.

The cig ban was non-sensical though, and yes a certain minister is said to have profited greatly off them.

The cigarette part was pure profit, no argument there.

But we banned alcohol 3 times, and 3 times the hospital's casualty admission rate plummeted.

We have a problem with alcohol and we should be talking about it

Our hospitals can be under tremendous strain from alcohol related injuries so it was basically a prudent move to free up resources.

To be honest, a lot of Africa would be orders of magnitude better with a booze ban but it’s too late to put that genie back in the bottle.

Just a tip for anyone thinking of trying marmite for the first time, it’s strong stuff you are supposed to spread it on thinly, not dollop it on like jam.

Hot toast, a thin spread of real butter that melts into the toast, then a thin spread of marmite.

My Grandad taught me how to make Marmite sandwiches.

Spread butter on one slice of bread until you can no longer see the bread underneath.

Spread Marmite on the other slice of bread until you can no longer see the bread underneath.

Combine. Enjoy.

Add some slices of mature cheddar, too!

When I first started going out with my non-Uk-partner, and they were looking after me during some illness or other, I asked for some Marmite on toast. They had not heard of it and curious, licked the knife afterwards, and was not impressed with the sharp taste. But about twenty minutes later, found themselves licking their lips, going, hmm - and made themselves some Marmite on buttered toast, where its flavour really shines. Total Marmite addict now.

IMHO, apply the marmite first. It's extremely viscous, so much easier to apply to unbuttered toast, and while the toast is hotter to soften it. Plus, you want the marmite underneath a layer of something else, so that it's not the first thing that makes contact with your mouth when you bite. You want the flavour to develop as you chew.

Also, marmite works really well with peanut butter instead of butter.

Well that’s tomorrows breakfast sorted :)

I know someone who puts a touch of salt on his peanut butter, so I can definitely see marmite working with it.

Vegemite and Bega crunchy peanut butter is what you want. Thick, hot toast. Do the PB first so it melts.

My wife is always confused by this, she still thinks they should be consumed separately.

A slice of toast with peanut butter and Marmite has been my standard breakfast for the last few years.

Then make a cup of strong builders tea (tea with milk and sugar) fold the toast in half and quickly dunk it in the tea.

Mellows the bite of Marmite and has an interesting new flavour.

Well that’s something I’d never have thought of doing, and now really want to try

Safety tip: take a generous knife of butter and a tiny amount of Marmite and mix them together first (on a plate or in a tea cup). You should use enough Marmite to tint the butter. Spread that on your toast. Guaranteed to avoid having "pure" Marmite touch your tongue. When that melts into the toast it's perfect. If you do it in two layers there's a risk of the butter melting before you spread the Marmite, making it impossible to spread it evenly.

this is how I used to have marmite on toast

Yes, but make sure you use Vegemite instead because it is better.

until you eat it everyday ...then you are licking the knife clean

My favorite marmite recipe is where you bake the toast yourself, then toast it, use a good knife of fresh unsalted butter, apply it on the still-warm toast, let it melt in, then take the marmite, throw it away, and use cherry jam instead.

Yeah, it's a spice, much like mustard.

Eating a spoonful is painful and completely missing the point of each.

I love how one of my highest upvoted HN comments is about how to eat Marmite as a beginner… I’m not sure what this says about me :)

It also helps if you're hungover. Your body will welcome the saltiness.

As a New Zealander who experienced Marmageddon after the Christchurch earthquakes I offer our support and Marmite even if our variety differs

Moving from Australia to UK, i was amused (and disgusted) by the difference between Marmite in both the countries.

In Australia, Marmite has the same non-runny consistency as Vegemite, and tastes roughly the same but just more mild. Coming to the UK I was really weirded out by the runny, gloopy, tar-like consistency of Marmite. The taste is also quite different.

The pot pictured in the article has similar branding to the UK product - so South Africa is UK-aligned on this rather than Aus/NZ-aligned (or independent)?

Being from the UK I'm fondest of the home version, and especially for its unhelpfully runny texture. Vegemite is pretty nice but the stuff called Marmite that I met in New Zealand, which I guess would be the same as your Australian one, is a bit weak next to either of the others.

Kiwi Marmite is a bit more sugary than UK Marmite from what I remember. It's not bad, but it doesn't quite scratch the itch. We had all three variants in Antarctica, having deployed via New Zealand and with a couple of Brits and an Aussie on station. There was a taste-off for the Americans (99% of the station population) and I think the Kiwi Marmite won, much to my disappointment. I did convert at least one person to British Marmite.

On a recent trip back home, I was very happy to find that Marmite XO still exists and is sold in my parents' local Tesco.

What an excellent test case. Perhaps the Kiwi Marmite has a suitable function as "beginner's Marmite".

I was and remain delighted that Marmite XO went from limited run to regularly available.

Antarctica? Care to develop?

I worked at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station for a year, looking after IceCube (big neutrino observatory). It's a US base, but science staff tend to be more multi-national as universities have much more freedom on who they can hire. One of our summer area managers (who was also British) brought a huge tub of UK Marmite which lasted most of the year, though it dried out pretty badly and would require melting in the microwave.

The SA branding looks almost identical to the UK branding. But the product is subtly different. The UK has a consistency and appearance of thick black treacle (molasses). The SA one is less runny with a more satin appearance. They taste pretty much the same, though.

> South Africa is UK-aligned on this rather than Aus/NZ-aligned (or independent)?

SA is more-or-less UK aligned in Marmite, and in many other things.

The issue is that in Aus/NZ, the other product Vegemite is even more popular, and is IMHO milder and sweeter. Vegemite is not that well known in SA.

I was raised on NZ marmite and love the stuff.

However, it's easier to find the UK stuff worldwide. I only recently tried the UK stuff. I agree that the NZ one is much weaker in comparison.

I wanted to ask what the difference between Marmite and Vegemite was, but apparently the difference between Marmites of different countries is larger than the difference between Marmite and Vegemite?

As an uncultured American who just likes buying from import shops:

Similar flavor, but Vegemite is milder. UK Marmite has the consistency of molasses, perhaps a bit thicker. Vegemite has the consistency of (homogenized, not natural) peanut butter, and is consequently easier to spread.

Also uncultured American, and agreed 100%.

I actually love vegemite in very small quantities, like really thin and not even fully covering toast.

Marmite is a mess and the consistency/flavor I find rather offputting.

UK Marmite wasn't runny when I was a child.

Probably depends on the temperature it's stored at. It's definitely runnier on warmer days.

There’s two types of UK Marmite, the standard thick spreadable version and the squeezable version.

I've only seen UK Marmite a few times, and I would describe it as having a tar-like consistency, more viscous than honey, but would still 'pour' off a knife. Vegemite is more 'solid' (but still spreadable), like peanut butter or non-melted butter.

South African here, our Marmite is more liquid than paste, so probably in line with UK Marmite.

Quick, upvote this story before the Americans wake up!

I would guess the entire Western hemisphere and 99.99% of the planet has zero concern for a Marmite shortage.

Blessed Marmite is more than a tad difficult to obtain here in the U.S.A. It was before the da*m virus, too.

I blame the problem on George III. His failure to ensure the Marmite supplies to His North American Colonies lead to discontent, unrest, panics over our children being deformed due to B vitamin deficiencies, and eventually rebellion. /s

I prefer Bovril myself, but to first approximation the same is true of the entire hackernews site…

Amazon is my hookup for the stuff in the US. This commercial is hilarious. Once, in my younger years, I too neglected a jar and man... that lid was stuck fast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79-sFaeLVJg

This discussion of smuggling Marmite into Canada is, I think, proof that Bill Nighy could be the greatest living Englishman:

"I also like vegemite... I don't shout about it"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqAB6yHAodQ

I don't buy from Amazon anymore, and sadly I haven't found a good source for Marmite yet. Amazon must be losing money on the international shipping, ordering from places that actually charge shipping comes out to like $30/500g jar, too much for me :(

I’m a Namibian (neighboring SA), and this is bad news for me, I love the stuff! My kids too.

(Tip if you haven’t tasted yet, try it on toast with a mild cheddar - delicious).

Joke: "Anyone know what this black stuff on my toast is?"

"Ma might"

But Pa won't.

"Pa will" was Vegemite's version of that pun with its original name "Parwill": https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/650489/vegemites-history...

Hint for the uninitiated: skip the bread, and spread marmite right on a slab of cheddar. It's just amazing that way.

Ooh, yes, but a slab of Gouda also works in a pinch.

I'd happily clear the shelves in the UK and stick the damn stuff on the first boat to SA.

Bovril on toast is the food of kings. Why settle for anything less?

Marmaggedon happened in 2010 in New Zealand: the local version of marmite was unavailable because the factory in Christchurch was shutdown as a consequence of the earthquake there.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/marmageddon-sends-nz-into-a-sp...

Let's not forget that the marmite shortage is not SA's biggest worry just now.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/04/14/flood-sout...

Worth a try whilst you still can, but prepare for a taste unlike anything you've had before (I mean that seriously! It's that weird.)

I've eaten this stuff on toast from an early age and love it. It really is a thing people either love or hate, I don't know anyone that grew to enjoy it over time.

Thanks for the reminder - I just realized I'm out of Marmite as well.

SA-er here. No marmite has ever seen the inside of my house. The article is right; either you love it or you hate it.

I prefer Bovril, myself. So tasty.

Can someone please explain to people outside of UK/SA/AU what the heck this stuff is?

Like a salty, yeasty version of molasses. You’re supposed to either love or hate it but that’s largely marketing. Goes great by itself on toast, makes a wonderful bagel with cheese, and can add depth of flavour where some saltiness is needed in recipes.

It's a kind of salted yeast extract. Wikipedia's "yeast extract" article[0] isn't bad, but it's missing two important points:

1. Yeast is a living organism that multiplies during beer fermentation. Commercial brewers wash and reuse some of it, but even so they always end up with excess. 2. Breaking down the protein into amino acids dramatically increases the umami taste.

So yeast extract is a way to turn a waste product into something delicious.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast_extract

Things may have changed since they merged, but New Belgium Ale ran a second fermentation to create methane from the spent grains and dregs, then composted what was left. The methane from the second pass was sufficient to run some of their boilers, and the compost was consumed by the landscapers.

For anyone who doesn’t know the beer or winemaking process, I’ll put a rough overview here. It’s an interesting hobby, but one I didn’t stick with. My homes have had a lot of things but only occasionally have I had a place to make beer/wine/mead and a thermally stable place to store it (you get mouthwash if you don’t), and most of those involved narrow steep stairways I didn’t want to haul 25kg bottles up and down. I don’t think I would try again but I might help a friend if they ever wanted to.

You get two or three waste streams from brewing beer, not counting any bad batches/ingredients.

For beer, you sprout the grain in water to convert the starches to sugars, for everything, you then boil the sugary soup to release the sugars and minerals into the water and sterilize any wild yeast and bacteria. Sometime around when the yeast is added back in, the water is drained off and any solids are discarded. During the initial fermentation there are still suspended solids that will settle out, first due to lack of agitation, then flocculated by yeast grabbing onto some of what remains, but over time more and more of the dregs will be yeasts that have aged out or poisoned themselves with alcohol. For commercial processes, where space is at a premium, a food safe flocculant (something akin to chalk or clay IIRC) may be added to the end and or a mechanical filtering stage to get what’s left. But I think in these situations the tank may be agitated to speed up the yeast metabolism, trading time for complexity.

Spent grains or fruit after the boil, then one or more passes of sediment that eventually become mostly dead yeast. Brewer’s yeast is these later stages and it contains everything a microbe needs to live except sugars and oxygen.

A salty black paste made from yeast extract. Its taste is famously polarising.

It is typically spread on bread products such as toast or crumpets. It's actually quite healthy, as it's packed with B vitamins, and probably replaces a spread much higher in calories.

I'm sure it itself could be healthy, but the mountain of butter it's usually paired with negates all those benefits.

From someone who's never had it, I imagine the taste is similar to some heavy stout beers, with more salt. Would that be accurate?

It only has a hint of beer taste to it. I would say it's more like a thicker soy sauce with hints of natto (fermented soybeans).

I once described it as "like blue cheese, minus the cheese."

An American who first tasted vegemite at age 40---and loved it! If you've never tasted it, you owe it to yourself to try it once.

If you want a black substance high in minerals to add to your food, I highly recommend molasses.

Molasses are good for preventing anemia in meat poor diets (such as peasants), which is likely why it was historically common in recipes. Once upon a time there was a similar substance from sugar beets but that has largely fallen out of use.

Try Sorghum. I get the Muddy Pond brand on Amazon. They are a family run operation.

Yeast extract is packed with umami. It compares in taste to that amazing reaction that heat has on vegetables or meat when it browns. The stuff is also quite salty packing a generous amount of flavour in such a small spread.

Basically concentrated yeast. It has a uniquely pungent taste.

Thank God I only like Bovril

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_...

Be careful... Help you marmite starved compatriots, you're next.

Random question, but why does this article not list the author?

That's just how The Economist rolls.

https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2013/09/04/...

At best they have pseudonyms

https://www.economist.com/letters-to-the-editor-the-inbox/20...

It's the Economist's schtick. They claim it reflects the voice of the collective that worked on it. Critics say it's to make it seem more objective then opinionated, or hide inexperienced writers.

Marmite is a famously controversial topic. They're probably protecting the author from harrassment.

South Africans need to be introduced to Vegemite!

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