A Vegemite Sandwich

Back in the 80’s when I was rocking out to Men at Work’s song Down Under; I did not realize that one day I would actually “come from a land down under”. Well, fast forward a few decades (holy moly) and here I am, smiling and eating Vegemite sandwiches daily. Who would have thought? I don’t think I even knew what Vegemite was. I would have probably assumed it was some processed mixture of vegetables, as the name suggests but I was obviously missing some of the key ingredients.

Vegemite, a great source of vitamin B, is actually a by-product of beer manufacturing, which makes a lot of sense seeing as it is Australia’s most iconic national breakfast item. You’ve got to start the day off right with some beer extract! And that’s what everyone does, beginning at childhood. I can pretty much guarantee that every household in Australia has a jar of Vegemite in their pantry. They even just launched a new variety called Cheesybite, a mix of vegemite and cream cheese (not for me).

Vegemite (with butter or cheese) to an Australian is like Peanut Butter and Jelly to an American, which Australians think is an even stranger concoction (jelly here is actually what we would call Jell-O in the US. They would refer to Jelly as Jam, so maybe the language differences make it sound stranger than it is). An almost black paste that has an incredibly salty taste, Vegemite can be compared to the British equivalent Marmite, which I have never tried (nor really have the desire to) but have heard it is more of an intense flavor, less sweet.

They say if you try something eight times, you are bound to like it and I have to say at first, the look and smell of Vegemite was a true turn off (note, when first attempting do not smell, just eat). But as they say, don’t judge a book by its cover; I made the plunge years ago when I took my first taste of this truly strange concoction. I have to say; surprisingly it did not take too much convincing. It was love at first bite and our relationship has flourished ever since. I truly love Vegemite (apparently Obama thinks it's horrible). It is best served on hot toast with butter and just a light layer of Vegemite. Despite being owned by a US company, Kraft (who knew), this trend has not caught on in the States. I am slowly evolving into a well rounded Aussie…