From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!menlo70!sytek!zehntel!zinfandel!steve Newsgroups: net.cooks Title: Re: What is Vegemite? - (nf) Article-I.D.: zehntel.761 Posted: Wed Feb 16 13:17:50 1983 Received: Sun Feb 20 10:29:37 1983 #R:tekid:-88900:zinfandel:4300016:000:1627 zinfandel!steve Feb 16 11:11:00 1983 Thanks to Graeme Kinsey, resident American of Australian descent (ascent?), I had the opportunity to taste test a few brands of sludge this morning: Vegemite Concentrated Yeast Extract (Kraft) Product of Australia Ingredients: Yeast extract, salt, flavour Promite Vegetable Extract Spread (Master Foods) Product of Australia Ingredients: Vegetable protein extract, yeast, sugar, caramel, starch, salt, spices, added vitamins, added water Marmite Concentrated Yeast Extract (Bovril) Product of Canada Ingredients: Yeast extract, salt, carrots, onions, and spices All were eaten with Ritz Crackers. I have listed the sludges above in the order of my own liking. Vegemite is the least offensive, mostly for what it doesn't contain. Marmite's onions and spices are overwhelming. Imagine taking a tablespoon of Lipton's Onion Soup mix, adding a few drops of water to it, and eating it. This is worse. Promite's sugar, presumably added to make it more palatable, only makes the taste confused at best; it seems out of place mixed with the rest of the crud. By process of elimination, Vegemite is the paste of preference, with a general flavo(u)r described in the base note. The above comparison may not be too useful for the masses, as I understand that only Promite is readily available in the U.S. One note of caution: These products are visibly indistinguishable from the kind of chocolate fudge sold in the can for use with ice cream. So be careful next time an Australian offers you a hot fudge sundae. Not six foot four and full of muscles (yet), Steve Nelson decvax!sytek!zehntel!zinfandel!steve