March 30, 2022, 4:56 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Marmite from the UK or the Australian version, Vegemite, divides travelers. You either love these spreads or hate them. To find out how Marmite tastes, our editor conducted a test.
A traditional breakfast in the UK includes a brown spread that doesn’t look particularly unappetizing at first glance. However, what gets spread on toast divides travelers in the United Kingdom. While some find the breakfast spread disgusting, others love it. “Love it or hate it” is one of the most fitting advertising slogans for the product. To determine what Marmite really tastes like, we conducted a test.
What’s Behind Marmite?
Marmite is a vegan paste that tastes most similar to Maggi. What few people know: the paste is actually a German product. The man who came up with the idea for Marmite was the German chemist Justus von Liebig. Today, however, Marmite is primarily produced in the UK.
Not all Marmite lovers eat the spread directly on toast. To reduce the taste, butter is often spread under Marmite, with the paste applied very thinly. Marmite is also used in some recipes, functioning somewhat like a concentrated seasoning cube or salt substitute.
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Marmite in the Test
If you want to try Marmite yourself, you can do so at the Disgusting Food Museum in Berlin. Alongside beaver castoreum, various worms, and mite cheese, visitors can also sample the British paste. Just smelling the jar of paste is surprising. Our freelance editor Sonja Koller, who tested Marmite, expected a sweet smell. But the paste, unlike its consistency, which resembles a mix of honey and maple syrup, is anything but sweet.
The taste? Hearty, very salty, and reminiscent of beer. That’s the verdict from our editor, who isn’t generally a big fan of beer. Perhaps this is the secret to who finds Marmite disgusting or delicious: beer drinkers might appreciate the taste more. After the test, Sonja couldn’t imagine spreading Marmite on a slice of toast in the morning. However, as a party snack with a wink, she could.
Is Marmite Really a Beer Spread?
The beer-like taste is no illusion. Marmite is largely made from yeast, specifically a byproduct of the brewing industry known as brewer’s yeast. Although our editor was far from thrilled after the test, many people can’t get enough of Marmite! There are now even chips and chocolate with Marmite flavor.
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The Australian counterpart to Marmite, Vegemite, is also largely made from yeast. However, Vegemite is black and has a thicker texture. And: the Australian version is said to taste even more intense than Marmite.