Just want to add - I love Bovril’s connectionto awful fiction openers.
Brit here – not about to seek your arraignment for treason: as mentioned upthread, I’m lukewarm in this titanic struggle with the fate of the yeast-extract world at stake. I personally prefer Marmite; but horses, courses, etc.
I love it. It’s a godsend for vegetarian cooking. It’s an integral ingredient in my vegan scouse and vegetarian mushroom gravy. I couldn’t make vegetarian French onion soup without it. It goes well in minestrone too. About a teaspoon per pot is just right.
Back in the early '80s I read an article about how the rest of the world was suddenly discovering Vegemite due to the Men at Work song “Down Under.” Shortly after that Vegemite appeared in the grocery and then in our home. I tried it once but have only a vague memory of something similar to Marmite. A short-lived fad for Americans.
I discovered Marmite about 10 years ago during work on my Cucina Vegetariana cookbook and quickly realized how useful it is for lots of things. I had been using the vegetarian forms of Better Than Bouillon, but when the No Beef flavor was discontinued at the store, I went looking for something that had the umami of yeast extract and found Marmite, the original. I don’t know when Marmite first appeared in the stores here, but for the last 10 years it’s been there consistently and Vegemite is never seen. By now my preference for Marmite is set. I like it by itself on bread & toast.
I laugh when people curse at it and revile it, because I enjoy it so much.
I’ll balance you out Fil. We got hold of some Marmite one day down here in Oz, and so we did a proper blind-taste test.
TBH, the difference is minimal, but I was shocked when it was revealed I actually preferred the marmite (slightly).
Apparently, I am about to be sent to an off-shore processing facility for ‘re-education’.
(PS - my favourite use for these types of spreads - the marinade for the Roast chicken. Don’t laugh - google it, try it, thank me later).
Amazon has both Marmite and Vegemite. Are those the real deal? Both for $15 seems super cheap for an imported product.
Yes, they’re the real deal. Are you saying $15 each or together? If it’s each, $15 is a bit pricey unless it’s a bigger container. I can find it at my store for $5 for a 125g container of Marmite and $8 for 220g of Vegemite. I actually see that I can find it at the same price or cheaper online, including shipping.