Vegemite

Whereas Vegemite is concerned, it is often said that you either love it or hate it. An Australian pantry-staple, Vegemite is a dark-brown food paste made from yeast extract. It is used as a spread for toast, crumpets, sandwiches, crackers, biscuits, and pastries. The ingredients include brewer's yeast extract(a by-product of beer manufacturing), an assortment of vegetables, and wheat and spice additives. The taste can be described salty and bitter. Vegemite is most commonly eaten with toast and butter. It is also commonly pared with cheese and other fresh vegetables in sandwiches. Vegemite is a commercial product, as easy to find in Australia as peanut butter is easy to find in the U.S. Vegemite is considered a health food due to the rich supply of B vitamins that it provides. It also does not contain any fat or added sugar, and is gluten-free. However, it also contains a very high salt content. 

Vegemite can be considered bizarre due to the ingredients and appearance. The idea of spreading a brown paste made of yeast and vegetables on toast instead of jam or peanut butter might be perplexing to many people who did not grow up eating Vegemite. Not to mention that  salty and bitter is not a commonly sought after taste additive. The biggest reason Vegemite is considered bizarre to many is perhaps due to the mystery of the pasty substance. It is a brown paste that you would never know contains vegetables if the label did not tell you. Whereas peanut butter and jam do not sway very far from peanuts and fruit, Vegemite appears to be more like the dirt the vegetables came from than the actual vegetables it contains. Not to mention the taste differs greatly from fresh vegetables.

Apparently Vegemite is all the rage in Australia, as well some European countries. Being gluten-free, I wonder how long it will be before the Vegemite craze hits the U.S. :)