Marmite is dark brown-colored savory spread made from the yeast that is a by-product of the brewing industry. It has a very strong, slightly salty flavor. It is definitely a love-it-or-hate-it type of food.
It usually comes in small (2-5 inches high) bulb-shaped glass jars with a distinctive yellow lid. You can also find individual portion sized Marmite in hotels and cafes and for the really adventurist, you can find large plastic tubs for the catering industry.
Children in Britain are generally fed it from the time they are weaned, and most never grow out of it. It has a high B-vitamin content, as well as riboflavin and niacin—and as such is very healthy. (The vitamin-B complex helps prevent anemia.)
Marmite may be stored at room temperature, even after the jar has been opened. Large jars will last months—even years—without any spoilage. Old marmite can turn hard and lose its gooey spreadability, the catering and individual portions suffer from this more that the Marmite found in glass jars.
I come from a country where marmite and it's mate vegemite are considered food of the gods. I always thought that marmite came with a red lid (oh found some! Hmmm..packed in 1998 best before 2006!) and vegemite came with a yellow lid. Marmite in NZ is the more popular of the two, and if you ask me they taste almost the same.
Report threads that break rules, are offensive, or contain fighting. Staff may not be aware of the forum abuse, and cannot do anything about it unless you tell us about it. click to report forum abuse »
If one of the comments is offensive, please report the comment instead (there is a link in each comment to report it).