Marmite, Vegemite, Natex, Meridian... (yeast extracts)

[fondducoeur]

I bought some marmite recently and have been afraid to try it!

[RubyDuby]

It's like bouillion- have you tried Better Than Beef or Better Than Chicken?
It's like that, but almost solid.

[fondducoeur]

Yes, I have tried both of those.
So it tastes like bouillion before adding water?

[RubyDuby]

I think so, yes. But... beer-ier. :p

more beer-like.

[beanstew]

I love Marmite but like a lot of Brits I was regularly fed it as a kid. My Mum would send me to school with Marmite and cheese sandwiches or Marmite on Ryvita crackers.

[Bearshark]

I've had marmite on toast for breakfast every single day (except when I don't eat anything for breakfast or I'm not at home, which is rare) since I was about....6 years old? I love the stuff so much that often when I get hungry, it's the first thing I crave :p

[beanstew]

Marmite could bankrupt BNP (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/07/18/bnp-hate-party-face-ruin-over-joke-marmite-ad-115875-22420867/) :lol:

[fondducoeur]

Okay, so I finally tried my marmite this morning. I had a bagel and experimented with toppings. I tried different combinations of marmite, raspberry jam, and hummus.
I think I have decided that I am not a fan of marmite and jam together...although it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be upon first tasting marmite. I could eat it. I think I liked the marmite and hummus combination...but I cant' really decide if I liked it better than eating a bagel with just hummus on it.

So...more experimenting is needed.
Any other suggestions?

[Marrers]

I like it on top of margarine which has sunk into toasted bread (although it isn't actually marmite brand that I use, I've never tried the real marmite).

[Bearshark]

I like it on top of margarine which has sunk into toasted bread (although it isn't actually marmite brand that I use, I've never tried the real marmite).

Hey Marrers, you stole what I was going to say!! :p
But you're right, it's absolutely amazing on toast with some butter or margarine, it's definately worth giving it a try fondducoeur!

[Blueberries]

I absolutely love Marmite, especially melted into some Pure sunflower spread on chunky delicious toast!
Its a common thing to find in the supermarket here because we get so many English brands but I only tried it for the first time a couple of months ago. My friends are appalled, their attitude is 'I've never tried it but my god it looks so horrible that I never will'!
The mistake I made the first time I tried it was eating it straight out of the jar! Don't do that!
I'm intrigued by the suggestions of adding it to rice or pasta, I will definately give it a go!
I'm coming to the end of my first ever jar of Marmite (should I keep it as a souvenir?) and am looking for a more ethical alternative. I think I'll give the Meridian one a go. It sounds nicer than Natex, which has been so appetisingly described as waxy.

Also, that extra-Marmitey Marmite sounds insanely delicious!

[sandra]

Here's something I love to do using marmite or other yeast spreads................buy a roll of ready made puff pastry...........spread a thin layer of marmite on it, sprinkle some grated cheezly (if you like cheezly) roll it up, cut into rounds and bake in the oven for 5 or so minutes until puffed up and golden.

(Someone from the forum gave me this recipe but I can't remember who :o :))

[aubergine]

After a 500m swim I've just had two slices of wholemeal granary toast with pure spread and plenty of generic marmite, with a cup of Alpro Chocolate Shake to wash it down. Mmmm.

[fondducoeur]

Okay, so this morning I had toasted sourdough bread with margarine and marmite, and it was quite tasty. I had 3 pieces!

[Tigerlily]

fondducoeur, I like it with margarine on toasted bread...and then add tomato slices and a piece of lettuce. Yummy sandwich! I heard omnis like Marmite and cheese sandwiches, I might try it with vegan cheese slices.

[Marrers]

I'm coming to the end of my first ever jar of Marmite . . . and am looking for a more ethical alternative. I think I'll give the Meridian one a go. It sounds nicer than Natex, which has been so appetisingly described as waxy.
I haven't tried real marmite or meridian. I have Natex (which is good in soups and other savoury dishes as it is quite concentrated - I imagine it is pretty much like marmite) but I also like Essential - it is a softer texture and a more subtle taste, worth a try if you see it. I like both for different reasons and usually have a jar of each on the go.
http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/detail/785406b.jpg

[fondducoeur]

fondducoeur, I like it with margarine on toasted bread...and then add tomato slices and a piece of lettuce. Yummy sandwich! I heard omnis like Marmite and cheese sandwiches, I might try it with vegan cheese slices.

I have been eating it on toast or bagels with margarine and it's very good, but I think adding tomato slices and lettuce would be quite delicious! And also easy as I am currently moving into a new apartment and don't have the ability to cook yet!

[Bowie]

I usually have it on toast with margarine (and I guess the reason why I didn't like it much at the beginning was because I just tried it on its own and it has such a strong taste! But if you have just a bit of it on margarine it tastes like heaven :heart:).

[beanstew]

I developed quite a liking for Natex spread on Oat Cakes recently. :)

[mecocat]

mmm i have it on ryvita with sliced ripe banana!!:)

think i'll look for another brand other than marmite now though.

[maggielassie]

Is Marmite yeast extracts vegan in the UK? I heard it was a by-product of the beer industry. Is that true?

[Lara_Hastings]

It took a while for me to understand the use of this thing, I have tried quite a lot of new things since I turned vegan. Now I'm hooked on Marmite! I tried Vegemite last time, it was allright but it had an after-taste of strong lager.

I love it on toast with some tomatoes on top :) Or to use it to give flavour in some foods instead of soy sauce.
---

I have no idea on the beer thing, but sounds plausible.

[maggielassie]

Thanks, Lara. I love Marmite (and I used to hate it). So I guess it's vegan then?

[maggielassie]

OMG, Marmite seems vegan. But it's owned by Unilever. Oh, no. :(

What are the alternative yeast extracts in the UK?

[emzy1985]

OMG, Marmite seems vegan. But it's owned by Unilever. Oh, no. :(

What are the alternative yeast extracts in the UK?

Yes - if you don't believe in buying products from companies that burn bunnies eyes out in LD50 tests then Marmite is not for you. I use the Meridian Yeast Extract or most supermarket own brands are pretty good too.