From: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!CAD:tektronix!tekid!jerryp Newsgroups: net.cooks Title: What is Vegemite? Article-I.D.: tekid.889 Posted: Mon Feb 14 02:02:01 1983 Received: Wed Feb 16 06:53:55 1983 Not long ago, the Australian group Men at Work came to America and topped the charts with their song "Down Under". The piece quickly became known as "the Vegemite song" because of the line: ...buying bread from a man in Brussels, he was 6 foot 4 and fulla muscle; I asked him "do you speak-a my language?" He just smiled and gave me a Vegamite sandwich... The question remains, "What the Hell is Vegemite?" As a service to the curious (control-C will get you out of this...) I will present the information that I have on Vegemite... The following is largely paraphrased (quoted) from a copyright article that appeared in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner of 24 June, 1982 (written by Josephine Bacon, a British free-lance food writer...) and the official Vegemite press release. What is Vegemite? Vegemite is a dark brown paste with a creamy consistency. Although it looks like that sludge that comes out of your car after a long overdue oil change, it has a pleasant, salty taste, and judging from its success in Australia and New Zealand, it may become the next tofu or, at the very least, the peanut butter of Beverly Hills. Made in Australia by Kraft, Vegemite is good for you. It contains highly concentrated B vitamins and is used by an estimated 90% (you read that right, 90%) of the people in Australia and New Zealand. And it isn't even advertised. It is made from Brewers Yeast, a byproduct of the fermentation to produce beer, and as you know, they produce a lot of beer in Australia. Those of you who use brewers yeast (a Very Good dietary supplement) may that it has a tendency to cause flatulence (gas...). This does not happen with Vegemite. It is 3 times more concentrated than brewers yeast. Australian atheletes swear by Vegemite as a body builder and energy source. Although it tastes salty, it has a relatively low salt content, and therefore makes a very good salt substitute for people on low sodium diets. Attention dieters -- only 6 calories per serving. What do you do with Vegemite? --- Spread Vegemite on hot buttered muffins or toast. --- Add a teaspoon to your soups stews or gravies. --- Try it with tamales. --- Add to the marinade of beef or brush on before roasting. --- Spread a thin layer on an omlette before turning. --- Substitute for boullion cubes. When I was in Europe, ALL the Australians I met had a jar or Vegemite with them, so there must be something to this stuff... I have a press release from Australasia Ventures(*) that gives some recepies. If you're interested, drop me a line (use address below), and I'll post to net.{appropriate place} it there is enough interest. I haven't looked, but I don't think Vegemite is available in the Portland, Oregon area. If you can't find it locally you can contact the importer... (address furnished on request) (*) sole importer Not Afraid To Try New Things That (on the surface) Seem Disgusting And Foreign... Jeff Mizener Tektronix, ADG Beaverton, Oregon (where women glow and men thunder) uucp: {ucbvax,decvax,chico,pur-ee,cbosg,ihnss}!teklabs!tekid!jm CSnet: tekid!jm@tek ARPA: tekid!jm.tek@rand-relay