The New Vegemite

Aliantha • Aug 11, 2009 6:26 pm
I bought a jar or the new stuff yesterday, and I have to say, I much prefer it to the old vegemite. It's really yummy. I think even our OS friends might like it (and suspect that's why it's been produced).

I entered the naming competition this morning too.

Have you tried it? Do you have an idea for a name?
Clodfobble • Aug 11, 2009 6:30 pm
If it's that good, name it Vegewill.

Nyuck nyuck nyuck...
casimendocina • Aug 11, 2009 10:53 pm
Update, update, please. What's the story? Are they still producing the old stuff or did I eat my last lot of traditional Vegemite 4 months ago when the tube I brought with me ran out?
ZenGum • Aug 11, 2009 11:01 pm
True vegemite is still available and will remain so for ever.

There was a rumuor that it would be taxed as part of a plan to discourage high-salt foods. Rudd knows that would be political suicide. Un-Australian!

You only took ONE tube?

I don't approve of the tubes, myself, I think vegemite should come in a jar. The tubes might be good, though, for tricking furriners into using it as toothpaste. bwahahahaha
Aliantha • Aug 11, 2009 11:02 pm
Don't stress mate. lol They're still making the old stuff. They've just come up with a slightly different version that's all - to sell at the same time. It's a bit milder and sort of cheesey and creamy.

My name suggestion was vegemite junior...cause it's kinda like the older version, but has it's own flavour.
casimendocina • Aug 11, 2009 11:12 pm
Phew! Wipe sweat off brow.
casimendocina • Aug 12, 2009 4:22 pm
ZenGum;587351 wrote:


You only took ONE tube?



In hindsight, it was a mistake.
Sundae • Aug 13, 2009 1:18 am
Call it Marmite.
ZenGum • Aug 13, 2009 1:45 am
casimendocina;587353 wrote:
Phew! Wipe sweat off brow.



No no no, that's VB.

But first you have to push your 'cruiser out of a river.

ETA. Not exactly, you can get it any old how.
casimendocina • Aug 13, 2009 1:09 pm
Sundae Girl;587559 wrote:
Call it Marmite.


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
casimendocina • Aug 13, 2009 1:10 pm
Aliantha;587352 wrote:
Don't stress mate. lol They're still making the old stuff. They've just come up with a slightly different version that's all - to sell at the same time. It's a bit milder and sort of cheesey and creamy.

My name suggestion was vegemite junior...cause it's kinda like the older version, but has it's own flavour.


When you win the naming competition, can we come up to Brisbane and share the spoils with you? :D
Shawnee123 • Aug 13, 2009 2:38 pm
What was wrong with the old vegemite? Never mind, that question is unintentionally rhetorical.
Aliantha • Aug 13, 2009 6:28 pm
casimendocina;587663 wrote:
When you win the naming competition, can we come up to Brisbane and share the spoils with you? :D


lol...sure, although I don't know what the prize is. I think it might just be kudos. ;)
Aliantha • Aug 13, 2009 6:29 pm
Shawnee123;587678 wrote:
What was wrong with the old vegemite? Never mind, that question is unintentionally rhetorical.


To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the old vegemite. I much prefer Promite, but I'll have vegemite if the alternative is not available.

The new vegemite however, is an entirely different thing. I'll definitely be keeping a jar of that stuff in the larder permanently (I have vegemite too, but it doesn't get opened much).
Aliantha • Aug 13, 2009 6:55 pm
Mmmm...I just looooove the new vegemite. Just had some on toast for breaky. :) Yummo!
DucksNuts • Aug 14, 2009 7:11 am
I cant bring myself to try the new vegemite...I feel like its cheating.

Cheese, Vegemite and Salada are my favorites snacks!! We go through vegemite jars fast here.

When I worked at Kraft, the vegemite cheesestiks were fantastic when they were still warm.....mmmmmm
Elspode • Aug 14, 2009 9:20 am
For us uneducated, culinarily-bereft Americans, can one of our Aussie brethren or sistren please describe the contents and flavor of Vegemite?
casimendocina • Aug 14, 2009 10:16 am
Here's the Wikipedia entry on vegemite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite

Probably the closest thing would be like spreading a liquified Maggi stockcube on a piece of bread or a savoury biscuit. There's definitely something about vegemite on bread, toast, crackers that beats any other kind of spread (jam, peanut butter, dulce de leche).
Sundae • Aug 14, 2009 12:43 pm
Salty, yeasty, beefy (without beef).
Casi got it mostly though. Don't know a Maggi cude from my old whatsit, but there is a definite stockcube taste.

Which reminds me - the Oxo cube is changing its shape!
Dads said it was just a marketing ploy (it hit all the newspapers and news channels). Mum and I - who have actually used them - agreed it was a good move and would genuinely help the crumbling. He's never had them pop out under his fingers and go all over the hob...

Example of publicity from The Mirror.
dar512 • Aug 14, 2009 1:03 pm
Sundae Girl;587870 wrote:
He's never had them pop out under his fingers and go all over the hob...

Britism alert. I had to look up "hob".

It sounds like a useful change, but will it grab market share from Wyler's (or whoever the competition is over there)?
Sundae • Aug 14, 2009 1:17 pm
There is NO competition Dar.
Well, some people use Knorr. Or supermarket own.
But Oxo own the market.

Actually, I switched to liquid stock when I was working.
I have no idea if it was better (I always cooked highly flavoured/ spiced dishes) but I saw it in my culinarily-superior friend's kitchen and figured it was the way to go.

Now I'm low-income again, I'm back to cubes.
casimendocina • Aug 14, 2009 9:16 pm
Sundae Girl;587870 wrote:
Salty, yeasty, beefy (without beef).
Casi got it mostly though.
.


This is why my posts are short.
Shawnee123 • Aug 14, 2009 10:27 pm
casimendocina;587935 wrote:
This is why my posts are short.


Short as compared to...?
Clodfobble • Aug 14, 2009 11:34 pm
Speaking of, tw hasn't been around in quite awhile... wonder what he's up to.
Urbane Guerrilla • Sep 7, 2009 4:01 am
Therapy, I should hope.

Vegemite has a deeper, more complex flavor than its cousin Marmite, which I've seen labeled as made in Canada. I like the stuff on buttered toast, spread thinly as anyone expert will tell you. A little Vegemite goes a long way with its intense, dark-brown-salty flavor. Too much of it on toast simply overwhelms. Spread it mighty thin. Makes those expensive little jars go farther. It's a pretty good emergency stock base for soup, no more salt needed.

Had its invention as early tech food, intended to supply B vitamins and keep without refrigeration, which is why all the salt in it.
casimendocina • Sep 13, 2009 6:37 am
Just home after the South American odyssey and tried the new Vegemite. I'm not completely convinced that it has my vote. I'll try it again in the next couple of days to make sure jetlag is not affecting my tastebuds.
richlevy • Sep 13, 2009 8:54 pm
I'll have to check with the other Philly Cellarites, but we might want to exchange a case of our local Kraft foods regional delicacy, Cheez Whiz for a case of the new Vegemite.;)
monster • Sep 14, 2009 12:07 am
Urbane Guerrilla;593083 wrote:
Therapy, I should hope.

Vegemite has a deeper, more complex flavor than its cousin Marmite, which I've seen labeled as made in Canada.


if it's made in canada, it's probably completely different from the real thing. It's true for bacon, sausages, Heinz beans, cadburys....
DanaC • Sep 14, 2009 5:22 am
I was thinking the same thing, Mon.


[eta] according to google and wiki, there are two varieties of marmite: one manufactured in the UK and one manufactured in Australia and New Zealand. they are slightly different in taste and texture and both are sold worldwide. neither of them seem to be made outside of these two regions but are imported into Canada and the US.

[eta] update: it is now made elsewhere. But apparently with great variance in taste. The Australian/New zealand recipe has sugar in it making it sweeter and weaker than the original. Apparently fans of the original UK marmite describe vegemite as a weaker version of marmite.

I suspect the Canadian variety may be more akin to the New Zealand recipe: slightly sweet and without that strong bitter hit.
casimendocina • Sep 14, 2009 6:38 pm
I reckon we can expand this thread to discuss the difference in taste between Cadbury chocolate in different parts of the world (or perhaps a new thread is called for). I know that people from England generally don't like the taste of Cadbury made in Australia, but quite frankly, the Cadbury on sale in Chile was APPALLING and after trying a couple of bars, I took a vow to stop purchasing all South American made Cadbury products (and I'm not particularly fussy with my food except for the odd thing like milk and yoghurt)
monster • Sep 14, 2009 9:22 pm
I lurve Cadbury's chocolate. here it's made by Hershey. say no more -I haven't eaten chocolate in any volume in so long that now the tiniest bit gives me a headache. it's probably for the best *sigh*
Urbane Guerrilla • Sep 14, 2009 11:24 pm
That sounds like an allergy, Monst.

A Trader Joe's is a good place to score Ghirardelli in mass quantities, milk, dark, and white. Very silky. Like everything else TJs, it tastes like they like to eat it.
monster • Sep 14, 2009 11:36 pm
ghiradelli is nasty. Sorry, i know you yanks swear by it, but ick.

...of course it's an allergy -I'm "allergic" to everything, point being alternative was so nasty i gave it up altogether so allergy had time to regroup and become noticeable.
Aliantha • Sep 30, 2009 8:11 pm
So, they picked a name for the new vegemite. "Isnack 2.0" but there's been such a public outcry about it that they've decided to try again.

I think Isnack 2.0 was a stupid name. Apparently so did 92% of all facebook users who voted.
dar512 • Sep 30, 2009 9:21 pm
Aliantha;598477 wrote:
So, they picked a name for the new vegemite. "Isnack 2.0" but there's been such a public outcry about it that they've decided to try again.

I think Isnack 2.0 was a stupid name. Apparently so did 92% of all facebook users who voted.

Especially when there are so many other possibilities based on the original name:

Vegemaybe
Vegeflea
Vegepower

:D
Pooka • Oct 1, 2009 1:19 pm
I've never tried vegemite... but it sure sounds like something my little brother and I would have eaten initially as a gag... though later as a result of secret liking for along with pickle juice on ice, shots of malt vinigar, and soy sauce on corn chips...
Urbane Guerrilla • Oct 9, 2009 6:03 pm
Soy sauce on popcorn works except for the soggy factor. If you truly must, use a strong-flavored soy you really really like above all others, and use it very lightly, the most minuscule of sprinkles hitting only a few kernels, which will immediately go limp. Then salad-toss the popcorn with your hands to distribute the soggy but flavorful kernels throughout. Additional toppings may also be teamed with this stuff. Salty to the max, by the time you get done, usually.
ZenGum • Oct 9, 2009 7:22 pm
I've tried the new vegemite.

It is lame. Like new coke.

That is all.
Urbane Guerrilla • Oct 9, 2009 7:41 pm
Oops. Every now and then a business has to blunder before they discover they really had it right the first time. Usually the idea was to see if they open up a new market somehow, someplace. But to enjoy Vegemite, you just have to know how to handle it -- work with its properties. Like when your bush shirt has big dark sweat stains all down its sides and more stains front and back -- in other words, you're salt-depleted -- then, like Gatorade, it's nectar and ambrosia until your electrolytes are restored.

It's not like eating Vegemite is going to put weight on you or open the way to diabetes. The sodium content might mess you up if you've got a bad ticker that way.