Thread: New Marmite brand

The first new recipe by Marmite for 100 years - would you try it?

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Tar in a jar! Love it or loathe it, Marmite has launched its first new recipe for 100 years, but what's it like?



By David Leafe
Last updated at 10:14 AM on 09th March 2010

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No wonder they call this stuff 'tar in a jar'. Dark, sticky, and distinctly whiffy, it refuses to gloop out of its pot even when you turn it upsidedown and shake it.
Perhaps I should be more respectful. After all, I am holding a little piece of culinary history - the first major change to the Marmite recipe since the yeast extract was launched here 108 years ago.
As much a symbol of British life as the Royal Family or a Sunday roast, Marmite is famously loved and hated in equal measure.

Marmite hater David Leafe was unimpressed with the new extra-strong version of the yeast spread

The launch this week of a super-strong blend called Marmite Extra Old, or XO for short, will polarise opinion still further.
I've been invited to the company's factory in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, to taste this newcomer, but I feel something of an impostor. As a child, I loathed the flavour of Marmite. Then again, I suppose my opinion matters little.
Last year, the company defied the recession to record a 2 per cent growth in sales, and it continues to rattle out 60 million jars annually, some of them even finding their way into the royal pantry.
'The Queen and most of her family are Marmite lovers,' says Maggie Hall, a leading member of the 'Marmararti', a fan club set up by the company last year. These devotees have been closely consulted on the development of Marmite XO.
Hall has just written a book about the spread, called The Mish-Mash Dictionary of Marmite. This reveals that Prince Charles' favourite sandwich is a bap (organic, of course) filled with a fried egg, Gruyere cheese and the famously salty brown goo.
Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig and Paul McCartney are also said to be fans of Marmite.

The extra-strong version of Marmite, called Marmite Extra Old, or XO, will go on sale next month

This is quite an achievement for a sandwich spread, so no wonder its manufacture is handled with the care more usually associated with blending whisky or wine.
'No two batches are ever identical,' says 57-year-old St John Skelton, the company's taster-in-chief. 'We make no apology for it.'
In this age of standardisation and mediocrity, there is something wonderfully bloodyminded and British about this defiance. Yet Marmite's origins lie not here but in Germany.
Its creator was a 19th-century chemist named Justus von Liebig (who also invented Oxo). His great achievement was to devise a way to turn the wasted yeast sludge left over from brewing beer into a protein-rich paste.
Von Liebig's patents were bought in 1902 by a consortium of businessmen in Burton-on-Trent, then the centre of Britain's thriving brewing industry. They took the name from the French word marmite. This raised sniggers in Paris, where it was slang for prostitute, but it actually described a style of cooking pot still pictured on the famous label.
As a rich source of vitamin B, Marmite was soon flooding schools, hospitals and other public institutions. During World War II, it became such a prized part of Red Cross food parcels that PoWs in Japan told their captors it was boot-polish to stop them stealing it.
Later, the belief that it could reverse hair loss saw bald men rubbing it into their scalps. This resulted only in what one observer described as ' curiously coloured ebony hair and a pervasive odour'.
Our enthusiasm for Marmite has seen the company market everything from crisps to cereal bars flavoured with it. It has sold limited editions containing Guinness to celebrate St Patrick's Day or Champagne as a Valentine's gift.
This British mania for Marmite is met with bewilderment in many parts of the world. Just 15 per cent of the country's output is sold abroad, and much of that is to expats.

Marmite released a special Guinness spread for St Patrick's Day (above) and a champagne version for Valentine's Day

'We British like to be a little different,' says Martin Beckford, 35, Marmite's factory manager. 'We pride ourselves on having things like the monarchy which others don't have, so perhaps liking a taste which other countries hate is part of the same psychology.'
Maintaining Marmite's distinctive taste means sticking to a manufacturing process which has changed little since 1902. Collecting the residue from breweries across the country, Marmite's tankers deliver it to the factory in the form of a slurry, containing yeast, water and small amounts of beer.
'Making Marmite is not an exact science because we have no control over our raw materials,' says Mr Beckford. 'Lagers have a lighter and sweeter taste than bitters and ales and that's reflected in the yeast slurry.'
The man charged with balancing out these differences is taster-in-chief Mr Skelton, a biochemist who has worked for the company since he was 21. 'I only popped in to complain about the smell,' he jokes.
Striding about the factory in his white coat, Mr Skelton determines the magical formula by mixing together batches of different runniness, colour and taste.

To blend Marmite XO, the factory has used only yeast used to brew traditional bitters and ale, and it will be matured for 28 days, four times longer than usual. The final recipe was chosen from three sampled by members of the Marmararti. To qualify for entry to this elite group, each candidate had to demonstrate their passion for Marmite.
'It got a bit scary,' says Mr Beckford. 'One woman even sent in a photo of herself with a Marmite tattoo.'
Those deemed worthy of the honour were invited to a secret tasting of XO in London last November, where they were greeted with Marmite canapés and Marmite cocktails (a mixture of Marmite and coffee liqueur). Among their number was Seamus Waldron, a 39-yearold software designer from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

There are also a variety of savoury snacks for Marmite lovers including rice cakes and breadsticks

Seamus's entry to the Marmararti was assured by his creation of the long-running website ilovemarmite.com. As for his partner Patrina, also 39, she was then expecting a baby and submitted a photo of her 'bump' with the Marmite label digitally super-imposed on it.
'It seemed appropriate because her pregnancy was very difficult and for four months all she could eat was Marmite on toast,' explains Seamus.
As it turned out, both Seamus and Patrina loved XO and it may not be long before their son Torin, born in December, is trying it too.
'We had ordinary Marmite with crumpets the other day,' says Seamus. 'I dipped my finger into the melted Marmite and butter and gave it to Torin on the end of my finger. He lapped it up, so I reckon he is a future member of the Marmararti.'
But not all families are so united in their love of the brand. Jude Down, a 63-yearold retired PA from Eynsford in Kent, has a more difficult time sharing her love of the stuff with her nearest and dearest.
She admits to smearing Marmite on chocolate cupcakes, but her favourite treat involves eating it on buttered toast while relaxing in a hot bath, much to the disgust of her husband Martin, a retired engineer.
'He hates the stuff and can't even bear the smell of it, but that's his hard luck,' she says.
'I think of poor Martin as I get my chance to sample the latest batch of Marmite XO.
Such samplings are usually restricted to the 30 or so employees who have passed a 'taste exam', proving that they can recognise the five flavours distinguishable by the discerning human tongue: sweet, salt, bitter, acid and savoury. But there is no requirement that they should actually like Marmite.
'About half the people in the factory hate the flavour and that probably reflects the population as a whole,' says St John Skelton. 'But that doesn't matter. You don't have to be a fan to know what tastes like Marmite and what doesn't.'
He hands me a tiny beaker, containing hot water and a tiny amount of XO. 'Drinking it is the best way to get at the pure taste,' he explains.
I sip cautiously. It doesn't taste too bad at first, a beefy flavour which belies the fact that Marmite is 100 per cent vegetarian. But then I get the aftertaste, a foul and bitter explosion on my tongue which makes me want to spit it out.
The only way I will ever like Marmite is if they produce a version which is less, well, Marmitey. But that's unlikely to happen anytime soon.
'We could try to appeal to the mass market by making a blander version but that would be unthinkable,' says Martin Beckford, himself a lover of the spread. 'After all, if everyone liked it, it just wouldn't be Marmite.'


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Brilliant stuff and without comprison, before the colonials stick their oar in.

Love it! get me some.

Originally Posted by Propagator

Marmite released a special Guinness spread

Our guy in Udorn will love this.

Shame it's too strong for the Aussie pussies. Even bigger shame that I'll probably never get to try any.

I'm gonna get the next person who comes out to visit me to pick me up a big jar.

Strange, he doesn't mention Twiglets.

Not sure I would like the champagne one - champagne gives me a headache.

Originally Posted by patsycat

Strange, he doesn't mention Twiglets.

They weren't made by Marmite, they just taste a bit like it.

Oh, right. Learn something new every day.

Just had a marmite and cheddar sanny for my lunch!!

Sweeeet! Just spoke to my mate who's coming over for Songkran and he's gonna bring me a jar

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Even bigger shame that I'll probably never get to try any

Props says he's coming back in June.

Get your order in!

Originally Posted by chassamui

Brilliant stuff and without comprison, before the colonials stick their oar in.

. . . and made it better

Originally Posted by Propagator

Yet Marmite's origins lie not here but in Germany.
Its creator was a 19th-century chemist named Justus von Liebig (who also invented Oxo).

Looks like the Aussies are still asleep, as they haven't mentioned their Vegeshite' yet

The only reason they changed it is to improve it so it tastes like Vegemite.

^See, some of us are awake

The Aussies won't touch it..they prefer Vegemite, it must have something to do with an allergy to BREAD AND WATER! (Yeast intolerance and the hate of large buildings made of stone with bars on the windows)

Originally Posted by Missismiggins

it must have something to do with an allergy to BREAD AND WATER!

I thought it soap and water ?

Ha Ha! Maybe both eh? They seem to HATE MARMITE!...they all seem to go for that VEGEMITE SHIT!

They have a distinct palate for citrus fruit...limes and lemons.. it prevented their teeth dropping out on the long voyage!

Originally Posted by Missismiggins

They have a distinct palate for citrus fruit...limes and lemons.. it prevented their teeth dropping out on the long voyage!

Also taking it up the arse. Something to do " on the long voyage".

Fuck me, crap from 200 years ago, That's all you got........

I've had 4 offers from people now to bring me some over in the next 2 months. I might have to start flogging it.

Originally Posted by Propagator

Last year, the company defied the recession to record a 2 per cent growth in sales, and it continues to rattle out 60 million jars annually, some of them even finding their way into the royal pantry.

and this is from Wiki

Vegemite is produced in Australia at Kraft Foods' Port Melbourne manufacturing facility which produces more than 22 million jars per year.


I think this really shows which is the most popular, nearly three times the poduction rate for Marmite.

Marmite rules

I'm outta greens for ya but I' glad that once and for all we can put that argument to rest. Good work.

Now we just need to settle the bacon, tea bags, pizzas, beer and general directions round the city arguments.

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Even bigger shame that I'll probably never get to try any.

Hmmm, I'm coming out soon, Marmers. Want some, if I can find it?

Originally Posted by The Fresh Prince

I'm gonna get the next person who comes out to visit me to pick me up a big jar.

Is that a double order?

Originally Posted by The Fresh Prince

I've had 4 offers from people now to bring me some over in the next 2 months. I might have to start flogging it.

Just saw this. So, that's a 'no', then?

Are they allowed to dump that shit in landfill sites then ? They surely don't sell that much. Wiki tells me that the total population of Australia is 21,000,000
If every poor deprived inhabitant ( including kids) struggle through a jar a year they still have to dump a million jars!