“Buying bread from a man in Brussels
He was six foot four and full of muscle
I said, “Do you speak-a my language?”
He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich…” ~ Land Down Under, Men at Work.
A whole two years ago I wrote about our beloved Australian icon ~ Vegemite. (Was it really two years ago? Wow, that time flew by awfully fast!)
How could I write a series of posts about Australian Icons without mentioning it again?
I won’t repeat myself though, you can still read the two year old post as everything I said about Vegemite back then still applies now!
And I still enjoy my Vegemite sandwiches as much now as I did back then. The main point that I really must emphasise about eating Vegemite, be it on a sandwich or on toast, is please do not add too much! It has a very strong flavour, so use sparingly!
Have any of my blogging friends from overseas ever had the opportunity to taste Vegemite?
If you haven’t tasted our famous National Icon, would you try it, if given the opportunity?
You may have heard this Australian “anthem” of sorts before, “Down Under” by Men at Work, as it was released in a number of countries throughout the world back in the early 1980’s. It was also the theme song of the Australia II camp, during Australia’s successful challenge of the Americas Cup in 1983.
Oh, and it was also played by “Men at Work” during the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games, held in Sydney, Australia.
Vegemite is mentioned in this song as well, so go on, have a listen. Does it sound familiar to you?
Post Script ~ After Sybil asked in her comment whether Vegemite is similar to Marmite I made some further investigations. Whilst they are very similar, the taste is different (well, to the palate of an Australian it is!) I have discovered that Vegemite contains malt extract, which is made from barley. Apparently, Marmite (an English product) doesn’t, therefore I will take this one difference in ingredience as confirming that my taste-buds are right!
Another interesting fact, the birth of Vegemite took place in Melbourne, Australia, in 1922. It was first made by the Fred Walker Cheese Company but it took a while to catch on, as Aussies were used eating Marmite on their morning toast. In 1937, Fred Walker decided to promote Vegemite by holding a limerick competition, offering substantial prizes, and from that moment on, the Aussies have been smitten. Fred Walker knew that Australia needed a brand new Australian Icon, obviously! 😉
The entire story of the history of Vegemite can be found at vegemite.com.au. I’ve even discovered that the old Vegemite advert, which I remember seeing on television as a child, is on You Tube!
Who would have known that there is so much information on the internet about Vegemite? I’m learning so much myself from writing this! 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj78bUnUUmg
In My World 