Marmite Yeast Extract

...is first).

Marmite is a savoury spread popularised by the well known catch phrase' you wither love it or you hate it'. I think this is true of anyfood really but I suppose Marmite is given this because when you like it you love it and when you don't like it you hate it because the flavour is very unique. According to my mum, I used to have marmite on toast cut into soldiers as a kid whilst watching 'Postman Pat' and I would suck all ...
...is true; the jars of Marmite have certainly been used up faster than what they used to.

Now, I don't usually give a background to the product, the simply reasin being is that I would have thought you'd be more interested in what is tastes like, price, packaging, availabilty, variations etc but I feel it necessary to give just a tiny bit of info to all you who haven't tried it, don't like the look of it, heard bad rumours of it and ... more

If someone said to me, what would be included in a list of things you couldn't live without it would have to be Marmite. I can't get enough of it! I'm not sure about 'bathing' in it, as the website suggests (erm, I'm sure this is meant to be hyperbole www.marmite.com) as it is RATHER thick and sticky (the 'rather' is definately litotes/understatement - I'll come to the description later. Let me have my rant about how good it is first).

Marmite is a savoury spread popularised by the well known catch phrase' you wither love it or you hate it'. I think this is true of anyfood really but I suppose Marmite is given this because when you like it you love it and when you don't like it you hate it because the flavour is very unique. According to my mum, I used to have marmite on toast cut into soldiers as a kid whilst watching 'Postman Pat' and I would suck all the Marmite off the toast until to toast became a soggy Marmiteless mess, (lol) perhaps raising kids of Mamite makes it grow into an obssession as it has me (my mum ate Mars Bars whilst pregnant and I love these aswell - There's definately some sort of pattern here). I read that the more you eat of this, the more thicky you feel you have to spread it in order to satisy for addiction for it. I think this is true; the jars of Marmite have certainly been used up faster than what they used to.

Now, I don't usually give a background to the product, the simply reasin being is that I would have thought you'd be more interested in what is tastes like, price, packaging, availabilty, variations etc but I feel it necessary to give just a tiny bit of info to all you who haven't tried it, don't like the look of it, heard bad rumours of it and are generally missing out BIG TIME. Honestly, you get one life; try different stuff!

I consider myself to be a 'Yeast killer' - Yeast is the living micro-organisms that help bread to rise and is indeed, what Marmite is partically made from. Hense, when you have Marmite on toast, you can offically call it a Yeast Masaccre (I don't feel bad in anyway; everything lives and dies). Marmite is a natural nutrition food, great for infants, made by concentrating the yeast left over after brewing beer. After which, ingredients such as spices and veggie extracts aswell as those Vitamins, are added for the distintive flavour. I think it's quite interesting to inform you about the name; a little extra knowledge never hurt anyone. 'Marmite' is french (pronunced 'marmeet' in French) for a small French casserole dish of which, Marmite used to be served in and of which, is featured on the front of the jar. Since 1920, Marmite has come in jars and not (as in branding wise) changed at all really.

Okay, lets start with appearance so that I can contrast this with the taste. I have to admit, I can see why some may be deterred from Marmite due to its appearance. Personally I'm not; I peer into the jar with loving affection but the sight of a thick, dark dark brown gloopey like syrup I'm sure is unappealing. To get an idea of thickness here, we're talking as in, you dip your knife (or in my case spoon!) in and the Marmite with stick thickly to it with only thin seems delicately drizzling off the end. It goes without saying that you can shake the jar and rest assured Marmite will not splash out at you; it's firmly incase in there, even when half full (I always look on the bright side of life; half full not half empty :-) ). When the Marmite is scooped out, you'll be left with an indent (or in my case crater) which will slowey refill itself as the gloop smothers over to create a perfectly smooth surface again.

Taste: I don't know how ANYONE could actually descirbe taste because as humans, taste is usually describe by comparing it to other things but Marmite is a taste in itself of which other products are compared to (e.g. TWIGLETS) and so, cannot, I feel, be described adequately enough to give it justice (thus TRY IT). The fundamentals are that is is VERY strong and some people only like to spread it thinly on buttered toast. I however like it spread nice and thick over wholemeal toast/bread or a split wholemeal Pitta bread (this makes it deliciously thin and crisp) with fat free cheese spread (just to take that sharp 'edge' from it a little). Plus, I always have to have a cup of tea with it. I think the reasoning for me liking it this way goes back to the point I raised at the start; the more you eat it, the more you want. Occassionally, I will actually dive into the jar with a spoon (I'm starting to think, give me a few more years, and I will progress to 'bathing' in it as the website says, lol).

Ok, trying to define taste a little better, it's A LITTLE like concentrated Worcester Sauce. Imagine a thicker (much thicker) version of Worcester sauce. It has the same sharpness and tang about it. That's the best I can do with that I'm afraid. When eating Marmite, the spread sticks to the roof of your mouth and you have to use your tongue to scoop it off. Sorry if this sounds disgusting but in the eyes of all Marmite fans, this is heaven. You'll have difficulty ridding your mouth of the Marmite aftertaste, not so much because it sticks to your teeth, as actually, is doesn't. More due to the fact that the flavour is very strong.

Smell - strong. Again, hard to describe and can only be vaguely compared to worcester sauce.

Nutrition - This pleases me the most; finally, something that tastes nice which is really healthy. Marmite is rich in B-Vits, Iron and Folic Acid to prevent Anemia, providing energy and supporting your Kidnets, liver etc...Put simply, it's called 'My Mate Marmite' because 'Marmite makes your Heart Happy' now, with any food, you can have too much of a good thing. There is a HIGH amount of salt (a WHOOPING 11g per 100g). I was really shocked at this when I peeled back the little sticker on the lid to read the nutrition whilst licking my marmite covered spoon and eventhough I don't care much about eating lots of salt (I'm more concerned about fat and saturates and other really bad nasties) I was a little concerned; I thought I ate about 100g! In spite of this, I realised that the jar is 250g and I only have a few spoonfalls which no where near equates to half the jar. Few!

The recommended serving is 4g which is supposed to be a tea spoon. Now, I can't weigh the amount I have, the main reason being that it would stick to the kitchen scales and secondly, well, what a waste of time and Marmite. I know that I have more than this for starters though I was actually surprised to find that I only consume 8g when I have Marmite pitta breads. At work (I work Part time as a waitress on Breaky in a hotel) we have little Marmite sachets in the shape of hears at 4g each. I only need 2 of these to spread thickly across a two halfs of a pitta bread! Great really. Anyway, per 4g, you'll get minimum KCAL (9) and 0, yes ZERO fat and ZERO saturates. Hooray!!!!! It's low in fibre, but you'll get this from your bread anyway; there's zero sugar (another HOORAY); it's quite low in protein at 1.5g per 4g (I won't give figures per 100g because you'll never consume this much in one sitting/ day) but if you were to add a bit of marmite to chicken you'd get benefits of protein. Blardy Blar...you get have you RDA of Folic Acid in a 4g serving, which means I get 100%!

There are loads of recipes for Marmite in order to create a nutritional lunch, brunch, dinner (erm, not sure about pudding as this is usually a sweet!). I remember always having marmite sandwichs in my packet lunch at school and they were my fav (and still are). If you're a parent, a wholemeal sandwich spread with marmite is very nutritional for your child (I'm studying to be an accountant - Hey it must have worked! lol).
The new adverts, featuring Paddington Bear usually suggests recipes. On one, he adds Marmite to egg and sausage sarnies, Bacon sarnies, cheese sarnies etc. It's quite versatile with other savoury foods. I tried it with sausage but found it too thick. The sausage became sticky and hard to eat. Also, I found that I was consuming wasted calories by combining it with cheese as the Marmite taste overpowered even my extra mature cheese when combined in a sandwich or on toast. I tried it on crumpets but it was a little dry and the Marmite, being so thick, did not sink into the crumpet and I don't like butter so it was a no go. The website has lots of ideas; not all to my taste; I like it plain and simple me thinks.

Moving on; storange. Marmite most commonly comes in different sized glass jars, all of which are a dark brown much to the coulour of Marmite itself which I find most annoying because you can't see how much you have left just by looking at it; It's a horrible surprise to open the lid thinking it's full and find hardly any left. You can buy jars as 57g (for mild Marmite fans); 125g (for those with Marmite passion); 250g (for those verging on obssession) and 500g (those who are planning on actually bathing in it I would have thought.) The good thing is that Marmite lasts for ages, even years in the cupboard once opened without going off so you don't have to open it and worry that you need to consume it within a few days or weeks (If I would struggle with this and I eat mounds of it). Recently, the new Marmite Squuezy has been introduced; a plastic bottle, the same shape as a marmite jar, but obviously face down squeezable. I can see why this is good; I get really fustrated trying to scrape out the remenants of marmite from the jar and my hand become incredibly sticky by the end. I've tried the squeezy but I think I'll stick with the jars. Firstly, because I think the whole idea and origin of Marmite,as I've explained, it that it comes in glass jars. Secondly, because the squuezly bottle is upturned, the Marmite gets a bit jammed and thirdly, it's no easier to get the remenants out. There was also a Marmite guiness and Marmite champagne introduced but I've never tried them. They were available during Valentines but I still see a few lurking on shelves. Apart from jars, you can get Jacobs Twiglets which are basically, nobbled crunchy wheat Marmite flavoured sticks, very nice, though they remind me of Mr Bean , of wwhom, was holding his own birthday party, ran out of Twiglets for the buffet and simply snapped a twig off a tree and dipped it in Marmite to compensate. Ledge!
There's also Marmite rice cakes (not that nice), Marmite biscuits (not tried) and Marmite mini cheeses (FAB!). Walkers have Marmite flavours crips aswell which are lovely.

The jar hasn't changed much/at all I don't think since around the 1920's. The jar is rounded with a yellow lid and a sticker on the front which covers most of the jar apart from the top. The sticker is also yellow with a red banner labelled 'MARMITE in chunky capital white text and beneath this, the words 'Yeast extract'. Not really much indication of what thisis four if you seen it on a shelf. People might not know it was for spreading and might think it was for baking. What is made clear is that it is 'Rich in B-Viamins and 100% suitable for Vegetarians' as mentioned on a green banner beneath the centre picture of a 'MARMITE' French casserole pot; the iconic brand image. There you go vegetarians, something tasty and nutritinal you can get your teeth into!

Supermarkets do their own brands of Marmite though I've never tried them so if anyone has, let me know what they are like. To be honest, I would feel as if I was disowning my mate marmite by changing to a cheaper alternative. I have to admit, they are a heft price. A 250g is about £2.47 and your 400g squeezy and nearly £5!! Well worth the money though because it is a one off seeing as it keeps for ages.

Overall, I love the stuff, can't get enough of it but can't recommend it because if you have a bad opinion of it or don't like it full stop, nothing will change your mind. My review goes out to anyone who hasn't tried it.

Hope this was helpful. 

...less