Marmite

Marmite.  Ever heard of it?  I think it existed somewhere on the vague outer edges of my awareness before moving to London, now it's everywhere.  

What is Marmite?  It is a sticky, dark brown paste with a "distinctive", powerful salty and savory flavor.  It is a yeast extract that is a by-product of brewing beer.  Really.  

The company was formed in 1902, and here in the UK they start you on Marmite early.  This must be the only way you can develop a taste for it.  

There are (so I've been told) unending ways to consume it, but the most popular seems to be spreading it on toast with butter.  

I have actually tried Marmite, it was in a bed and breakfast where Stephen and I stayed in Bath.  They had it in little individual packets like jelly, and I've never been brave enough to buy a whole jar to try it, so I took the opportunity.  You wanna know what it tastes like?  You know that burned oil grease that your car mechanic has all over him and under his nails?  Like that.  In a reduction form.  Disgusting.  Which brings me to the official Marmite slogan:  "Love it or hate it."  Um, yeah, I hate it.  

The Marmite website even allows visitors to choose which side of the website they view:  the love or hate side.   The "love" side has a lot of propaganda.  There are entire cookbooks dedicated to recipes that use Marmite in breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.  (Ice cream with sludge, anyone?)

There are clothes advertising your love for Marmite...

During WWI British troops were issued Marmite as part of their rations, and have had it ever since.  Jars can last for years without spoiling!  Which is how long a jar would sit in my cupboard.  In one episode of the t.v. show with Mr. Bean, he made a tray for a party by spreading Marmite on twigs cut from a tree outside of his kitchen window.  I read that some nursing mothers put Marmite on their nipples before feeding their babies (it's on the internet, it must be true).  I even read that it can be used as a topical treatment for hemorrhoids (again, must be true).

In Denmark, Marmite is illegal.  Maybe I should go live there.