Gift link from NYT about the wellspring of Vegemite - where it comes from and how it is produced. It is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
I tried it once, and thought it tasted rather like the beef base used in restaurants to mix up broth and stock quickly. I wouldn’t eat it regularly, but it wasn’t as awful as Ive heard many say it is.
I think there’s an old thread on this board about an OP asking what to do with a 2 kilo pail of Vegemite.
I’ve never tried Vegemite, that I know of, but I have tried its British cousin, Marmite, and while it didn’t taste bad, that taste stuck to my mouth for DAYS afterwards.
How did you eat it? I remember a video on YouTube where Americans were trying spoonfuls straight out of the jar and telling how yucky it tasted.
I first had Marmite while on a camping trip in England. It was spread very thinly on bread, which is how it’s meant to be eaten. I took to it immediately and now spread it on toast, add a slice of sharp cheddar cheese, and stick it in a toaster oven to grill. Sometimes I put a fried egg on top too.
I’ve had Vegemite too, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in the US or Canada. I wouldn’t say no to having a jar or two.
I ate it once or twice in Indonesia, where our proximity to Australia made it easy to get. I agree with @Baker on the flavor.
I kept meaning to feed it to my son regularly when he was little, as he liked it pretty well and I believe it’s chock full of nutrients. But since it has never been part of my own dietary habits, I rarely remembered to buy any.
Mixed (diluted) with butter and spread on crackers.
That’s how i had it. It wasn’t nearly as bad as people told me it would be. And i can see the flavor growing on me if i had it a few times. It’s awfully salty.
I buy a jar now and then.
Toast doesn’t always need to be a sweet. It can be a savoury. I like hot toast with butter and stilton spread on it.
It’s not something I’d eat, but I do have an Australian brother-in-law who loves the stuff. You definitely don’t eat it by the spoonful. You spread it very thinly on buttered toast, which is what he does. And I mean that you spread it very thinly; as in you can practically see the toast through it. Certainly not how we North Americans apply peanut butter or jam or marmalade to buttered toast.
I’ve tried it his way, and even spread very thinly on toast, I’m confident in saying that it’s not for me. But he likes it, which is fine.
You won’t find it in your average American or Canadian supermarket, but you can find it at specialty food stores that bring in foreign foods. My BIL somehow always manages to find Vegemite in such places, and he always has some on hand.
I like vegemite. My first time using it I screwed up and put it on toast the way I would jam. Waaay too much. The secret is to apply sparingly.
When I was living in Moscow, my ex brought me back a big jar of Bovril when she made a trip abroad. (She apparently couldn’t find either Marmite or Vegemite wherever she’d been.)
I was familiar with Bovril from having it stirred into boiling water to make a hot broth on cold, rainy nights. I tried spreading it on bread too, and it was fine.
Found this too late to add to the above post:
Here’s the straight dope on marmite from our very own mangetout :-
(sorry for the hijack)
I’m working my way through my 4th 2.5 kilo bucket of vegemite at the moment; it’s great for sauces, stews and more. I also love the other yeast extract spreads, particularly the Swiss cenovis and the British marmite, and have enjoyed the XO marmite too. I never could get into the NZ version of marmite, but still have a jar in the cupboard for those who do. Tried promite and mighty mite too, they’re ok.
And that’s a nice piece on where vegemite comes from!
I absolutely love the -mites and have Vegemite and Marmite in my cupboard at all times. I like it spread thicker than most, but a toasted piece of slightly sturdier bread, some butter, and a spread of either ‘mite is one of my perfect snacks. Add some sliced dukes on top for a little contrast.
That should read “cukes,” stupid phone autocorrect. At any rate, I just had myself a buttered-and-Vegemited slice of bread (couldn’t be bother to toast – a nice sesame seeded baguette) in honor of the 100th anniversary. Mmmm.
I’m amazed that I’ve never even heard of something that is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Am I the only one? 
I thought you had a penchant for high-class cannibalism.
What does the “concentrated yeast extract” on the label mean?
“I’m not sure that that necessarily matters,” Matt Gray, the marketing manager at Bega, said a bit guardedly. “I don’t think that anyone thinks that deeply about it.”
Oh, God … …