In praise of Vegemite

 Of course Steve's reaction when he first tasted Vegemite was typical of non-believers: 'Tastes like the scrapings from the inside of a sewage pipe', he declared. Ouch. And his opinion hasn't changed in 40 years. I admit it's not for everyone, but many Australians have been eating it for a very long time. And that's the reason I am writing about Vegemite - this iconic food is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. Wikipedia describes it quite well:

'Vegemite is a thick, dark brown Australian food spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. It was developed by Cyril Callister in Melbourne, Victoria, and it first hit stores on 25 October 1923.'

In the beginning: How did it come about? Following the First World War, British imports to Australia were disrupted and chemist Callister was given the task to make a similar product to the now-unavailable spread from England called Marmite. He did this by using the yeast being dumped by breweries, turned it into a clear liquid extract and added salt, celery and onion to form a sticky black paste. (I guess it does sound awful but I've always enjoyed the salty taste and really did miss it when we went on holidays overseas.)

Hmm ... not an overnight success: A competition provided a name - Vegemite. It was initially marketed as beneficial for children's health but was not immediately successful. In fact, it took years. They tried a name change but that didn't work and it was not until 1935 that things started to change for the good. 

Success at last: The company Callister worked for had merged with the American firm Kraft in 1926. Almost 10 years passed with Vegemite still flying under the radar. Then, in 1935 they decided to use Vegemite to promote Kraft cheddar cheese. I loved their promotional gambits. They gave away Vegemite coupons with cheese products; they had limerick competitions with American Pontiac cars as prizes; a promotional song was developed. Vegemite was eventually endorsed by medical authorities as being rich in Vitamin B and was given to World War II troops in their army rations! Yay - Vegemite was finally getting its day.

A bit of Vegemite trivia: In April 1984, a jar of Vegemite was the first product in Australia to be electronically scanned at a checkout. 

My role as a jar of Vegemite: When we lived in Tasmania, my boss celebrated getting her Australian citizenship with an Australiana party. What to go as? I decided a jar of Vegemite would be appropriate. A local disposal store provided me with everything I needed - rubber underlay for the body (the added bonus was that the soft rubber allowed me to sit down when I got tired);  cardboard for the top; material for the label.  A friend of Kate's designed the Sydney Harbour Bridge for Steve, while I added the waves on his blue shirt. What a couple.

There's always a jar of Vegemite in my pantry, though I'm afraid I still can't entice Steve to have another taste. 

And finally: Not forgetting Men at Work's 'Vegemite sandwich' reference in their song 'Down Under', other authors have also penned their allegiance to the product. In a book I've just read the main character says, 'Let's go and have some lunch. I'm starving. Have you got any Vegemite?' to which her mother replies 'I think we can do better than Vegemite'. The main character replies, 'Wash your mouth out. There is nothing better than Vegemite'.  

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