Vegemite

Vegemite(/ˈvɛdʒimaɪt/VEJ-ee-myte)is a thick, dark brownAustralian food spread made from leftover brewers'yeast extractwith various vegetable and spiceadditives. It was developed byCyril CallisterinMelbourne,Victoria, for theFred Walker Companyin 1922 and was first sold in stores on 25 October 1923.
Aspreadfor sandwiches, toast,crumpetsandcracker biscuitsas well as a filling for pastries, Vegemite is similar to other yeast-based spreads such asMarmitein the UK and itsNew Zealand version, AustralianPromite,MightyMite,AussieMite, OzEmite, GermanVitam-Rand SwissCenovis.
Vegemite has a strong flavour. It is salty, slightly bitter,maltyand has anumamiflavour similar tobeef bouillon(because it is rich inglutamates). It is lowFODMAP,vegan,kosherandhalal.It is known for being high inB vitamins.
Following the death of Fred Walker in 1935, the Vegemite brand came under the ownership of the American companyKraft Foods.However, in 2017 the brand returned to Australian ownership when theBega Grouppurchased it alongside other assets fromMondelez International(formerly Kraft Foods Inc.).
In 1919, following the disruption of BritishMarmiteimports afterWorld War I, the Australian company Fred Walker & Co. gave Cyril Callister the task of developing a spread from the used yeast being dumped bybreweries. Callister had been hired by the chairmanFred Walker.
Callister usedautolysisto break down the yeast cells from waste obtained from theCarlton & United brewery. Concentrating the clear liquid extract and blending with salt, celery and onion extracts formed a sticky black paste.
Following a competition to name the new spread with a prize pool of£A50 (equivalent to $4,449 in 2022), "Vegemite" was selected by Fred Walker's daughter Sheilah,and it was registered as a trademark in Australia in 1919; the name of the person who coined the name is not known.
Vegemite first appeared on the market in 1923 with advertising emphasising its value to children's health, but it failed to sell well.Faced with growing competition from Marmite, from 1928 to 1935 the product was renamed "Parwill" to make use of the advertising slogan "Marmite but Parwill", a two-steppunon the new name and that of its competitor; i.e. "If Ma [mother] might ... then Pa [father] will." This attempt to expandmarket sharewas unsuccessful and the name reverted to Vegemite, but it did not recover its lost market share.
In 1925, Walker had established the Kraft Walker Cheese Co. as a joint venture company withJ. L. Kraft & Brosto marketprocessed cheeseand, following the failure of Parwill, in 1935 he used the success of Kraft Walker Cheese to promote Vegemite. Following the death of Walker in 1935, the Fred Walker Company was absorbed by Kraft Walker Cheese Co., a subsidiary of Kraft Co.In a two-year campaign to promote sales, Vegemite was given away free with Kraft Walker cheese products (with a coupon redemption) and this was followed by poetry competitions with imported AmericanPontiaccars being offered as prizes.Sales responded and in 1939 Vegemite was officially endorsed by theBritish Medical Associationas a rich source ofB vitamins. Rationed in Australia during World War II, Vegemite was included in AustralianArmy rationsand by the late 1940s was used in nine out of ten Australian homes.
In April 1984, a 115-gram (4.1 oz) jar of Vegemite became the first product in Australia to be electronicallyscannedat acheckout.
Vegemite is produced in Australia at itsPort Melbournemanufacturing facility, which produces more than 22 million jars annually. Virtually unchanged from Callister's original recipe, Vegemite now far outsells Marmite and other similar spreads in Australia. The billionth jar of Vegemite was produced in October 2008.
Vegemite was also produced in New Zealand for over 50 years, but as of August 2006 production had ceased. TheNew Zealand version of Marmiteremains successful there.
The Vegemite brand was owned byMondelez International(formerlyKraft Foods Inc.until 2012)until January 2017, when it was acquired by the AustralianBega Groupin a US$460,000,000 agreement for full Australian ownership after Bega would buy most of Mondelez International's Australia and New Zealand grocery and cheese business.
A common way of eating Vegemite is on toasted bread with a layer of butter or margarine. Only a small amount of Vegemite is required due to its strong flavour. A Vegemite sandwichconsists of two slices of buttered bread and Vegemite, but other ingredients such as cheese, lettuce, avocado or tomato may be added.
Vegemite can be used as a filling for pastries, such as thecheesymite scroll, or it may be used in more exotic dishes.
The official Vegemite website contains several recipes using Vegemite in foods such as pasta, burgers,pizzas,casseroles,and even ice cream.It has also suggested using Vegemite as an additive to soups ortwo-minute noodles.
Limited quantities ofkosherVegemite were first produced in the 1980s;a 2004 decision to cease certification was reversed after a backlash from Jewish consumers.Around 2009, Kraft contracted with theKashrutAuthority in New South Wales for their kashrut supervision services, and by 2010, all jars and tubes of ordinary Vegemite were labelled with the authority'sstamp.In 2010, Vegemite also receivedhalalcertification.
While the makers of Vegemite have long claimed that Vegemite was suitable for vegans,it was not untilWorld Vegan Day2019 that it received vegan certification
from the Vegan Australia Certified program.A Vegemite nutritionist said that "the spread had always been a fitting choice for vegans".
Vegemite is a source of B vitamins, specificallythiamine,riboflavin,niacinandfolate(B1, B2, B3 and B9, respectively). The base version contains novitamin B12(cobalamin) although bothvitamin B6(pyridoxine) and vitamin B12 are added to the low-salt formulation.
The main ingredient of Vegemite isyeast extract, which contains a high concentration ofglutamic acid, the source of Vegemite'sumamiflavour. Vegemite does not contain any fat, added sugar or animal content. It containsgluten(a composite ofstorage proteins) as the yeast is derived from brewing.
One 5 gram serving contains 173 mg of sodium, which is 8% of therecommended daily intakeof sodium.Australia only defines low salt foods, but by UK standards Vegemite is classified as a high salt content food.
A low-salt version of Vegemite was introduced in September 2014. It has a 25% reduction in sodium content. The low-salt version is also fortified with vitamin B6 andvitamin B12.
Originally promoted as a healthy food for children, duringWorld War IIadvertising emphasised its medicinal value:
At the same time, "SisterMacDonald" insisted that Vegemite was essential for "infant welfare" in magazines. Later advertisements began to promote the importance of the B complex vitamins to health.
Vegemite's rise to popularity was helped by the marketing campaigns written byJ. Walter Thompson advertisingthat began in 1954, using groups of smiling, healthy children singing a catchyjingletitled "We're happy little Vegemites".
First aired on radio in 1954, the jingle was transferred to television in 1956. This advertising campaign continued until the late 1960s but, as it was targeted to children, it was discontinued in favour of ads promoting the product to all ages. In the late 1980s the original black and white television commercial wasremastered, partiallycolourisedand reintroduced. This commercial was to be broadcast periodically from 1991 to 2010.The two young twin girls who sang this advertising jingle were known as the "Vegemite Twins".
In March 2007, Kraft announced that they were trying to trace the eight original children from the campaign to celebrate the advertisement's 50th anniversary and to take part in a new campaign.The 1956 commercial was to be remade with the original children, now grown, to forge a link between "the new generation and the old ad". The media took up the search on Kraft's behalf with all eight children identified in eight days and resulted in many TV specials and interviews in the Australian national media. The 50-year reunion campaign won theArts, Entertainment & Media Campaign of the Yearaward at the November 2007 Asia PacificPRAwards.
During the 1990s, Kraft released a product in Australia known as Vegemite Singles. It combined two of Kraft's major products,Kraft Singlesand Vegemite, into one, thus creating Vegemite-flavoured cheese. This extension of the Vegemite product line was an attempt by Kraft to capitalise on the enormous popularity of Vegemite and cheese sandwiches (made by placing a slice of cheese into a Vegemite sandwich). Vegemite Singles were later taken off the market.
On 13 June 2009, Kraft released a new version of Vegemite. The formula combines Vegemite and Kraftcream cheese, spreads more easily and has a considerably less salty and milder taste than the original. To coincide with the release of the new recipe, Kraft ran a competition to give the new flavour a name.The new name was announced during the broadcast of the2009 AFL Grand FinalasiSnack 2.0. The name was chosen by a panel of marketing and communication experts to appeal to a younger market, capitalising on the popularity of Apple'siPodandiPhone.The choice immediately drew universal criticism and ridicule within Australia. Within days, opinion columns and social networking sites were flooded with derision and vitriol;and, after only four days, Kraft released plans to abandon theiSnackname, admitting that it may have been a mistake.Two days later, Kraft opened a new poll on its website, and the final name was announced on 7 October 2009 as "Vegemite Cheesybite", with Kraft claiming that the name had received 36% of the 30,357 votes that were cast for a name option, or approximately 10,900 votes.It was noted that the popular suggestion "Cheesymite", long associated with the popularCheesymite scroll, was already trademarked by other organisations.The product has been renamed "Vegemite & Cheese" under Bega's ownership.
In 2011, Kraft Foods Australia launched "My First Vegemite", a special formulation of original Vegemite for children aged older than one year. According to Kraft, the new formula has a "milder taste" and "additional health benefits including iron, B6 and B12 vitamins as well as 50% less sodium", and was designed in response to consumer demand for foods with lower sugar and salt content plus additional health benefits. Immediate reaction and media reports regarding the new formula were largely positive, but Kraft Foods Australia discontinued the "My First Vegemite" product line in 2012 due to poor sales performance.
In April 2015,Cadburyannounced that it was to release a Vegemite-flavoured block of chocolate on 1 June. The chocolate block is Cadbury'sCaramelloblock updated by mixing vegemite with the chocolate. Critics described the taste as similar to salted caramel with a pleasant umami aftertaste. Criticism varied from "love it" to "tastes like they mixed thecaramelandturkish delightfilling with a lot of salt" to "needs more salt", with several tasters commenting that they thought the aftertaste was unpleasant.
In 2017, a premium variety, Vegemite Blend 17, was released for a limited time. It promised a "richer bolder taste" but at double the price of the standard product.
Other commercial products with Vegemite flavour includeSmith's Crisps,In a Biskit,bagelcrisps,sausages,meat pies,andArnott's Shapes.
In October 2006, an Australian news company reported that Vegemite had been banned in the United States, and that theUnited States Customs Servicehad gone so far as to search Australians entering the country for Vegemite because it naturally containsfolate, a B vitamin approved as an additive in the United States for just a few foods, including breakfast cereals.The U.S.Food and Drug Administrationlater stated that there were no plans to subject Vegemite to an import ban, or withdraw it from supermarket shelves. TheUnited States Customs and Border Protectiontried to dispel the rumour, stating on its website that "there is no known prohibition on the importation of Vegemite" and "there is no official policy within CBP targeting Vegemite for interception".The story of the "ban" later took on the status ofurban legend.While Vegemite has never been popular in the US, it can still be purchased at supermarkets that stock imported food items.
Following newspaper reports in May 2011 that Vegemite and Marmite had been banned and were being removed from shelves in Denmark, outraged fans set up several Facebook groups. In response, Denmark'sMinistry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheriesstated that neither spread had been banned but that the respective companies had not applied for licences to market their products in Denmark. In 2004, Denmark had passed legislation prohibiting the sale of food products fortified with vitamins as a danger to health.
Vegemite is banned fromVictorianprisons, with the bans beginning to come into effect from the 1990s, to prevent inmates from brewing alcohol using the paste's high yeast content—even though Vegemite contains no live yeast.Similar bans were proposed in 2015 for a number of dry communities in outback Australia,but they were not enacted.
The Australian rock bandMen at Workrefer to a "Vegemite sandwich" in the second verse of their 1981 hit song "Down Under", from their debut studio albumBusiness as Usual.
Australian bandKing Gizzard & The Lizard Wizardhave a song called "Vegemite" on their 2014 albumOddments.