The Brits and French Eat Some Odd Stuff
I have heard the word Marmite several times over the years and even seen it in novels. I had no idea what it was so today I saw a .gif where the caption said "Leopard Tries Marmite" and that reminded me of having seen it therefore I headed to Google.
Marmite - is the brand name for two similar food spreads: the original British version, since 2000 a Unilever product; and a modified version produced in New Zealand by Sanitarium Health Food Company and distributed in Australasia and the Pacific. Marmite is made from yeast extract, a by-product of beer brewing. Other similar products include the Australian Vegemite (lighter in taste), the Swiss Cenovis and the German Vitam-R.
The British version of the product is a sticky, dark brown food paste with a distinctive, powerful flavour, which is extremely salty. This distinctive taste is reflected in the British company's marketing slogan: "Love it or hate it." The product's name has entered British English as a metaphor for something that is an acquired taste or tends to polarise opinions.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Marmite.jpg/237px-Marmite.jpg)
History
The product that was to become Marmite was invented in the late 19th century when German scientist Justus von Liebig discovered that brewer's yeast could be concentrated, bottled and eaten. In 1902 the Marmite Food Extract Company was formed in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England with Marmite as its main product and Burton as the site of the first factory. The product took its name from the "marmite" a French term for a large, covered earthenware or metal cooking pot. The by-product yeast needed for the paste was supplied by Bass Brewery. By 1907, the product had become successful enough to warrant construction of a second factory at Camberwell Green in London.
The product that was to become Marmite was invented in the late 19th century when German scientist Justus von Liebig discovered that brewer's yeast could be concentrated, bottled and eaten. In 1902 the Marmite Food Extract Company was formed in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England with Marmite as its main product and Burton as the site of the first factory. The product took its name from the "marmite", a French term for a large, covered earthenware or metal cooking pot. The labels of the UK product still carry the image of a marmite. The by-product yeast needed for the paste was supplied by Bass Brewery. By 1907, the product had become successful enough to warrant construction of a second factory at Camberwell Green in London.
By 1912, the discovery of vitamins was a boost for Marmite, as the spread is a rich source of the vitamin B complex; With the vitamin B1 deficiency beri-beri being common during World War I, the spread became more popular. British troops during World War I were issued with Marmite as part of their rations.
In the 1930s, Marmite was used by the English scientist Lucy Wills to successfully treat a form of anaemia in mill workers in Bombay. She later identified folic acid as the active ingredient. Marmite was used to treat malnutrition in Suriya-Mal workers during the 1934–5 malaria epidemic in Sri Lanka. Housewives were encouraged to spread Marmite thinly and to "use it sparingly just now" because of limited rations of the product.
Use
Initially, Marmite was popular with vegetarians as a meat-free alternative to beef extract products.
Marmite is traditionally eaten as a savoury spread on bread, toast, savoury biscuits or crackers, and other similar baked products. Owing to its concentrated taste it is usually spread thinly with butter or margarine. Marmite can also be made into a savoury hot drink by adding one teaspoon to a mug of hot water much like Bovril.
Marmite is paired with cheese, such as in a cheese sandwich, and has been used as an additional flavouring in Mini Cheddars, a cheese-flavoured biscuit snack. Similarly, it has been used by Walkers Crisps for a special edition flavour; is sold as a flavouring on rice cakes; and Marmite Biscuits. Starbucks in the UK has a cheese and Marmite panini on its menu.
Manufacture (How It's Made)
While the process is secret, the general method for making yeast extract on a commercial scale is to add salt to a suspension of yeast, making the solution hypertonic, which leads to the cells shriveling up; this triggers "autolysis", in which the yeast self-destructs. The dying yeast cells are then heated to complete their breakdown, and since yeast cells have thick hull walls which would detract from the smoothness of the end product, the husks are sieved out. As with other yeast extracts, Marmite contains free glutamic acids, which are analogous to monosodium glutamate.
Today, the main ingredients of Marmite manufactured in the UK are glutamic acid-rich yeast extract, with lesser quantities of sodium chloride, vegetable extract, niacin, thiamine, spice extracts, riboflavin, folic acid and celery extracts, although the precise composition is a trade secret. Vitamin B12 is not naturally found in yeast extract, but is added to Marmite during manufacture.
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