My Mate - Marmite

You either love it or you hate it - and even the makers admit that. Marmite can best be described as thick, black tar that people spread on toast and add as a base to soups and casseroles. It has an unmistakable yeasty flavour that some love and others hate - there is no room in-between.

I happen to love it and am often asked to take a jar of it when visiting friends and relatives abroad.

Before Marmite was invented its main ingredient,yeast, - the by-product of alcohol - was thrown away (another British favourite - Lyle's Golden Syrup was also a by-product and thrown away before being marketed). It was discovered that yeast was extremely nutritious and packed full of vitamins.

Marmite has been around since the industrial revolution in the UK but it really came of age during the two world wars. It was an important source of vitamins to soldiers and Britons at home and abroad during these times and was most recently sent to soldiers serving in Kosovo.

The manufacturers of Marmite - Unilever - have a website, marmite.com, which contains lots more information on Marmite's background and a fan club.

Australians have their own version of Marmite in the form of vegemite (immortalized in the song Down Under by Men At Work) and claim it is much better than marmite (what tosh -it's good but doesn't compare to Marmite!). Either way, if you're dying to get hold of either vegemite or marmite, why not make a request from the British Gopher who can ship them to you.