Last night I went into Waitrose to buy some cleaning products and came out with two electric toothbrushes, £50 of other groceries and some of this limited edition Marmite. Proof, yes, that I should not be allowed near grocery stores when tired, but also of the delicious pull that this savoury yeast-based spread holds over much of the population.For some of you, the very idea of Marmite will yield nothing but terror. My boyfriend bought me some of the flavoured chocolate for Easter (delicious actually - subtle) and then spent the weekend recoiling in disgust whenever I ate any, the fool.
Marmite, like oysters, martinis and bright green shoes, is an acquired taste, and XO certainly makes it easy on the eye. Firstly, its box. I was sucked in by the strong yet cute (strute? crong?) packaging, less so by the fact the XO isn't a reference to being kissed and hugged by the nutritional equivalent of tar, more to being 'extra old' (hum). But the box and the jar label are excellent.
Matured for four times longer, the spread itself is supposed to taste stronger than usual Marmite, but being as how that could be used to pave roads in outer space, longtime connoisseurs won't find much different in the flavour. A small spread on warm toast liberally coated with butter, an industrial sized cup of tea, and you're floating on a comforting cloud.
The Marmite site is selling Marmite XO for £4.99, but if Waitrose has it for £3.99 it's probably £1 in Asda.
Marmite: Love it or hate it? WE MUST KNOW.
Marmite, like Vegemite, must be a globally regional thing; I have never heard of it before now.
ReplyDeleteLove love love love love. Twigglets are my all-time favourite snack, and Marmite-on-toast is the first thing I think of when I wake up some mornings. Most mornings. I add it to cheese in sandwiches and for Welsh rarebit. My Mum went through a phase of smearing it on the potatoes as they were roasting (never quite made it as a family "tradition" though) and I've experimented with it on carrots and parsnips too. Mmmmm. Marmite.....
ReplyDeleteAnon, where are you commenting from? I'm guessing you're not say, in Kent. It's a lot like Vegemite.
ReplyDeleteLove love love love LOVE. Especially, as in the post from Anon, spread under cheese on toast. Then a little more on top. Or even just cheese sticks dipped in Marmite. YUM.
ReplyDeleteYUCK! I am allergic to marmite and ended up in hospital the first time I tried it though in fairness
ReplyDeleteIt's very much like Vegemite...but not. Imagine Marmite, but tasting more like a mouthful of coal. Mmm, delicious, yeasty coal!
ReplyDeleteYou're not quite selling it to me, Kat...
ReplyDeleteHow about the fact it made me invent 'crong' as a word? I am now very much in love with crong.
ReplyDelete"It's a lot like Vegemite." Except Vegemite is approximately one thousand times better. Other than that, basically the same. Sorry, Britain. :(
ReplyDeleteAlthough, Vegemite has never brought out a fancy version like this, to my knowledge. Also, Kraft is now an American-owned company, which kind of ruins it for everyone.