#1 Vegemite

2008-04-12T15:15:00.002-04:00

It had to be the first post, right? I mean, it's what all non-Australians ask me about within minutes of meeting me. That and shrimp on the barbie and the Crocodile Hunter.

And Aussies don't just like it; they LOVE it. We travel with easy-squeeze tubes of it (essential for the morning bagel in Manhattan, although I draw the line at putting it on a croissant when in Paris); it's one of the first things we feed our kids... Christ, we even mention it in songs (yes, I'm talking about Men at Work. Crap band, anthemic song).

Non-Australians just don't get it. My American sister-in-law tried it and said it tasted like anchovy paste! True, it's salty, but anchovies??? Blech.

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure, Vegemite is a yeast extract (the byproduct of beer production - insert joke about Australians here), and it's packed with vitamin B and is browny-black in color (yes, it looks less than appetizing). It has the consistency of peanut butter, but don't under any circumstances spread it as thick as peanut butter on a piece of toast. That's not for the faint of heart!

Vegemite was invented in 1922 by Fred Walker in Melbourne. He blended yeast extract with celery, onion and salt (lots of salt) and voila! Vegemite was born. In 1928 the humble spread was renamed Parwill in an attempt to attract users of rival Marmite (the slogal: If Marmite... then Parwill). But Aussies aren't really fans of wordplay. We're more the straight-to-the-point type. And the name was switched back to Vegemite.

This stuff is so loved that it was even shipped out to troops during World War II, which caused a shortage at home.

Now, I've heard that some people use the stuff in cooking. They add it to stir-fries and gravies, but I think that was an Aussie way of playing a joke on new immigrants. There's really only one way to have it and that's with butter on bread or a Sao or Vita-Weat biscuit!

Finally, there's no way to write about Vegemite without mentioning the "Happy Little Vegemite" song:
We are happy little Vegemites as bright as bright can be,
We all enjoy our Vegemite for breakfast, lunch and tea,
Our mummy says we're growing stronger every single week,
Because we love our Vegemite,
We all adore our Vegemite,
It puts a rose in every cheek!

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#1 Vegemite