# Dopers' personal experiences with Marmite **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 10, 2019, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312 "2019-04-10T03:07:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/41 "2019-04-10T21:54:51Z")
So… is it true that marmite/vegemite is made from the leftover bits after brewing beer? I hope not, because it sounds like something I’d like but I have… issues with barley now. Which is the main component of beer. _\>sigh\<_ I had to give up Japanese miso because of the risk of barley contamination. Grrr… ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/42 "2019-04-10T22:42:21Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > So… is it true that marmite/vegemite is made from the leftover bits after brewing beer? I hope not, because it sounds like something I’d like but I have… issues with barley now. Which is the main component of beer. Well… yeah, I’m not gonna tell you what to eat or not, but Marmite is so heavily processed and extracted that I doubt there are any barley allergens left in it. You could try a dab and see how it agrees with you. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/43 "2019-04-10T23:30:21Z")
Hmm… Maybe the next time I visit Mercotan Manor I’ll try some, just a dab… and if it turns out to be a Bad Thing there will be a doctor on hand to call 911 instead of the dumbfounded “Are you SURE you’re dying?” questions. But really, you might be surprised just how little of a substance you need in something to trigger a food allergy. Dang it! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/44 "2019-04-11T00:00:04Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Hmm… > > Maybe the next time I visit Mercotan Manor I’ll try some, just a dab… and if it turns out to be a Bad Thing there will be a doctor on hand to call 911 instead of the dumbfounded “Are you SURE you’re dying?” questions. Just have your epi pen out, I’ll make sure it’s used properly. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/45 "2019-04-11T00:34:19Z")
I first had Marmite back in the ‘70s, when I accompanied a friend of mine on a camping trip outside of Brighton, Sussex. He worked in a childrens’ home, and the nuns had prepared boxes of sandwiches to last the first couple of days. We had a choice between bully beef on white bread or Marmite spread very thinly on white bread. I took to Marmite right away. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/46 "2019-04-11T01:07:31Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > [Bolding mine] > Typically Australian, thinking you can slip in this nonsense and get away with it.\* > > Vegemite is like marmite, only weaker tasting and grainy. Ew. > > \*Don’t panic mods. This war has raged between the UK and Oz for about 100 years. Bring it on pommy, yeah they are very similar. I use Vegemite like most use Marmite, great as a nice umami flavouring for soups, stews etc much like using Miso paste. Nothing beats white toast slathered with real butter and a delicate coating of yeast spread. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/47 "2019-04-11T03:24:49Z")
If gluten is an issue, Marmite does meet some definition of GF (per a cursory Google search) at \<20ppm. Qadgop, aren’t you the Doper who said you occasionally ordered a 1kg can of the stuff, or something like it? ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/48 "2019-04-11T08:07:17Z")
> [@Staggerlee](#): > > I find Marmite fairly nice on hot buttered toast, though refuse to buy into their hugely successful false dichotomy marketing of ‘love it or hate it’. In the UK at least, ‘Marmite’ has become a descriptor for something which sharply divides opinion. > > I much prefer Twiglets, which are basically twig-like pretzels with a Marmite coating. I’m British; have eaten Marmite over the past half-century-plus. Agree that the marketing “everyone loves it or loathes it” schtick, is nonsense – people are just not that monolithic. I quite like the stuff, but am not a devotee: we always seem to have in the home, a jar of Marmite – I tend to have a fancy for it, on bread or on crackers, every few weeks or so. Twiglets I don’t hate, but can very much take or leave. > [@SanVito](#): > > [Bolding mine] > Typically Australian, thinking you can slip in this nonsense and get away with it.\* > > Vegemite is like marmite, only weaker tasting and grainy. Ew. > > \*Don’t panic mods. This war has raged between the UK and Oz for about 100 years. I too am in the camp of those who find Vegemite weaker than Marmite, and a bit dull: as **SanVito** says, many disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/49 "2019-04-11T08:15:47Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/50 "2019-04-11T08:21:55Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Seriously, I did develop a taste for it after a while. I’ve looked for a place that stocks it in New York without success. I’m sure there must be one. Consider internet suppliers. In Barcelona there is a little store at the bottom of Passeig Sant Joan which sells expat-oriented fare; I’ve seen Marmite there but can’t recall Vegemite. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/51 "2019-04-11T08:54:27Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Just have your epi pen out, I’ll make sure it’s used properly. Due to insurance bullshit, prohibitive costs, and inability to obtain a prescription (“you haven’t needed one since 1995 so you have your allergies under control, why do you need one now?”) I don’t have an epi-pen. I have even tried to purchase one with my own funds now that I’m doing financially better and it’s still no deal. I don’t have to tell you the short-sighted stupidity of this. Once had an insurance guy tell me his company discourages epi-pens because of a notion that encourages the allergic to be careless!?! I’ve also been told it’s to discourage “overuse”. Uh… what? I don’t know anyone who takes these meds for fun. WTF? And people wonder why I’m a bit neurotic about food… Hell, I’ve gotten bullshit about getting an asthma inhaler - my insurance ramped up the co-pay to $70 (I bitched and with a switch to a different brand got it down to $45). I can get antibiotics free, but medication to prevent hospitalization and/or death? Ha! Sorry - sore spot there. I’ll get off my soapbox. Please, resume the discussion currently in progress. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/52 "2019-04-11T13:12:45Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > So… is it true that marmite/vegemite is made from the leftover bits after brewing beer? I hope not, because it sounds like something I’d like but I have… issues with barley now. Which is the main component of beer. _\>sigh\<_ > > I had to give up Japanese miso because of the risk of barley contamination. Grrr… The first item on the ingredients list on the jar I have here is “Yeast extract (contains BARLEY, WHEAT, OATS, RYE)”. So … sorry, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/53 "2019-04-11T14:17:06Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Seriously, I did develop a taste for it after a while. I’ve looked for a place that stocks it in New York without success. I’m sure there must be one. I’m surprised. It’s reasonably easy to find around here in Chicago; Vegemite is a little tougher. As far as I know, I can only find Vegemite at CostPlus World Market. Marmite here is available in most stores that have a decent “international” section (around here, that’s stores like Meijer and Mariano’s–but those are more midwest chains. Something like a Wegman’s should have it.) I’m reasonably sure I’ve seen it Whole Foods, if all else fails. And the aforementioned CostPlus World Market. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/54 "2019-04-11T15:39:17Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Qadgop, aren’t you the Doper who said you occasionally ordered a 1kg can of the stuff, or something like it? [My vegemite supply](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81CSh%2BoCjxL._SX522_.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/55 "2019-04-11T18:07:05Z")
I’m afraid I’m going to shock my fellow British here (spoiled for the faint-of-heart). [spoiler] I actually prefer Vegemite. It spreads better and I prefer the taste. There. I said it. [/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/56 "2019-04-11T18:11:18Z")
Not to threadjack, but what can anybody tell me about Bovril? How is it, how do you use it? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/57 "2019-04-11T18:14:18Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Hmm… > > Maybe the next time I visit Mercotan Manor I’ll try some, just a dab… and if it turns out to be a Bad Thing there will be a doctor on hand to call 911 instead of the dumbfounded “Are you SURE you’re dying?” questions. > > But really, you might be surprised just how little of a substance you need in something to trigger a food allergy. It was stupid of me to say that and I apologize for saying it. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/58 "2019-04-11T18:44:20Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Not to threadjack, but what can anybody tell me about Bovril? How is it, how do you use it? Bovril: > **[Bovril](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovril)** > > Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick and salty meat extract paste, similar to a yeast extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston. It is sold in a distinctive bulbous jar and as cubes and granules. Bovril is owned and distributed by Unilever UK. Its appearance is similar to the British Marmite and its Australian equivalent Vegemite; however, unlike these products, Bovril is not vegetarian. > Bovril can be made into a drink (referred to in the UK as a "beef tea") by diluting wit... ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/59 "2019-04-11T19:24:40Z")
More on Bovril: > **[Bovril: a very beefy (and British) love affair](https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/bovril-a-very-beefy-and-british-love-affair)** > > The makers of the beef extract called Bovril were pioneers in the dark arts of marketing.  Speaking tomorrow at the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery, and [https://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/10/the-origins-of-marmite-and-bovril/](https://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/10/the-origins-of-marmite-and-bovril/) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2019, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312/60 "2019-04-12T05:57:04Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Not to threadjack, but what can anybody tell me about Bovril? How is it, how do you use it? It’s beefy, not yeasty, but you can use it in the same way - spread thin on toast, for example. It is also stirred into hot water to make “beef tea” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-personal-experiences-with-marmite/832312.md?page=4)