Yesterday I found an unemptied jar of Vegemite. (How did that happen? 
) So I had some on my breakfast burrito. I had another burrito this morning, using the same jar of Vegemite, and I noticed the ‘sell by’ date was 1996. Tasted just fine to me.
So does Vegemite spoil? If not, why does it have a ‘sell by’ date?
How could you tell? :dubious:
It tasted good. I’d assume if it were spoiled, it would’ve tasted bad.
I don’t think it spoils, but opened jars of Vegemite do get too hard to spread after a few years, so it’s difficult to use them. (Unless perhaps you mix the hardened Vegemite with butter or margarine, then use the mixture as a spread.)
It is very similar to Marmite which does not spoil. They both have a very high salt content. Just make sure you don’t get crumbs into it or butter off a knife and it should last longer than you do.
Of course the argument does stand as to whether it isn’t allready spoilt, being made from a waste product of the brewing industry.
I think only food spoils…
Since a lot of people think Vegemite tastes bad even when it’s good, it’s a rather difficult call to make.
Actually, I lived in New Zealand long enough so that I started to spontaneously put the stuff on my toast. That’s when I knew it was time to go home. 
That’s what I wondered. They say that honey is the only food that doesn’t spoil because they have uncovered jars preserved in ancient Egyptian graves. What will the history books say when archaeologists excavate Australia 5000 years from now?
Again…how could you tell? :dubious:
That reminds me of a line from Wag The Dog: “There are two things I know to be true. There’s no difference between good flan and bad flan, and there is no war.”
Stranger
I do take care to wipe the marge off of my knife before putting it into the Vegemite. (And to wipe off the marge/Vegemite mixture before I spread the other toast.)
Never had Vegemite get hard. Usually the jars don’t last long enough. I have the 2.5 kg pail though. It’s taking a little longer to eat.
In case anyone’s interested, here’s the product’s site.
I have found with Marmite that differing temperatures modifies the consistancy of the spread. From my own experience my Grandad didn’t eat marmite but kept it for us grandchildren when we came over, we were eating from the same jar for many years of visits without it ever changing taste or making us Ill. It seems far more stable than honey which tends to crystalise out the sugar after a while (though of course it doesn’t go bad when it does that).
From examination of the ingredients Vegimite just seems to be Marmite with a little added maltose sugar. To my tastes it makes Vegimite weaker and less extermely savoury, I can well uderstand how people might prefer vegimite over marmite in a similar way people might prefer orange juice over grapefruit juice.
If it does spoil, it takes a very long time. I’ve eaten Vegemite from jars that have been at the back of the kitchen cupboard, unused, for at least 5 years and it’s still been OK. I think it lasts forever.
Vegemite never spoils, just ages gracefully.
C’mon, I had to respond to this thread