Marmite ~ 3 Good Reasons To Try This Superfood!

Marmite — sold in an unassuming black jar since the 1930’s, is a sticky black salty substance. It’s completely vegetarian, made from yeast extract, usually from brewers yeast, and is now, in the 21st century being called a superfood. It has been on my list of staples since very early childhood.

I have vivid memories of lining up with the other kids at recess in elementary school. There were two long tables set up under a shelter from the hot Zululand sun in South Africa. A couple of women would hand us each a piece of bread with a butter/marmite mix on it. You couldn’t really tell from looking at it there was anything mixed into the butter, but when you tasted, there was this hit of salty deliciousness. It was by far our favorite spread, outdoing the scraping of jam and peanut butter offered on alternate days.

Marmite has always been a staple in my home and still is. I feel joy every time I see those little jars in our local supermarket stores. Sometimes there are bigger ones too, until word gets out to the South Africans, Brits and New Zealanders, who rush to buy them.

It’s a humble substance, a favorite on morning toast, but it also has flexibility for adding taste in cooking. In fact, there are a few Marmite cookbooks available.People say it’s too high in salt, but actually it’s so concentrated it is always eaten very sparingly. I’ve heard it’s an acquired taste, but every kid I knew at the time acquired it with ease and relish!

Marmite — sold in an unassuming black jar since the 1930’s, is a sticky black salty substance. It’s completely vegetarian, made from yeast extract, usually from brewers yeast, and is now, in the 21st century being called a superfood. It has been on my list of staples since very early childhood.

Marmite has always been a staple in my home and still is. I feel joy every time I see those little jars in our local supermarket stores. Sometimes there are bigger ones too, until word gets out to the South Africans, Brits and New Zealanders, who rush to buy them.

It’s a humble substance, a favorite on morning toast, but it also has flexibility for adding taste in cooking. In fact, there are a few Marmite cookbooks available.People say it’s too high in salt, but actually it’s so concentrated it is always eaten very sparingly. I’ve heard it’s an acquired taste, but every kid I knew at the time acquired it with ease and relish!

• Marmite has history. It was part of every soldier’s ration during World War 1 to keep them healthy.
• Marmite contains a few simple ingredients: yeast extract, salt, vegetable extract, spices, and vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B9, B12). Marmite is gluten free, high in vitamins, vegetarian and low in calories, providing nearly 50% of the recommended daily allowance for folic acid per serving. It is popular to eat it spread paper thin on toast or to eat it paired with cheese or butter. This is the important thing — it’s very concentrated, so a little goes a long way.

Some more nutritional facts. Marmite will help your body by providing it with the following recommended daily allowances.

• B3–36%. Folic acid- 50%, Thiamin — 17%. ( this one protects your nervous system).This is an inexpensive way to get some if your daily vitamins. Reducing your stress and anxiety levels could be as simple as choosing the right spread for your morning toast. (Australians usually swear by Vegemite, a similar substance, and which has also similar health benefits.)

This unobtrusive gloppy substance, carefully dark-screened from prying eyes until the moment of opening, has had some powerful political influence throughout the world too.

Marmite Politics

This unobtrusive gloppy substance, carefully dark-screened from prying eyes until the moment of opening, has had some powerful political influence throughout the world too.

• Brexit campaigners gave EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier a hamper of British products during a meeting at the European Commission in Brussels. Among the products was — you guessed it — Marmite! Also, Unilever, the manufacturer, protested that Brexit would have a negative effect on their business, and even threatened to move their headquarters to Amsterdam.
• In October this year there was worrying news that stocks of Marmite were running low at Tesco, a supermarket in England, after they refused Unilever’s demands to raise prices in the aftermath of the Brexit vote and fall in the pound. People started hoarding Marmite.

Tesco removed a number of popular products from its website including Marmite, Bovril and PG Tips from its online store following the price row.

For a day, the nation feared Marmite and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream would disappear from shops but the two sides came to an agreement, although details of the deal were not revealed.

You usually find it in the spice section of your supermarket, but unless you had childhood eating interactions with it, you’d probably ignore it and move on.

Let’s hope the Marmite wars won’t be a part of 2019, whatever happens in politics. Seems like a lot of politicians should be eating more toast with Marmite to keep their cool.