Marmite is a food spread produced in New Zealand by Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company and distributed in Australia and the Pacific. Marmite is made from yeast extract, a by-product of beer brewing. It is similar to the British equivalent, but the two products are made by different companies; the UK version is made by Unilever.
Marmite has been manufactured in New Zealand since 1919. It is the only product sold as Marmite in Australasia and the Pacific Islands, whereas elsewhere in the world, the British variant predominates.
History
In the late 19th century German scientist Justus von Liebig discovered that brewer's yeast could be concentrated, bottled, and eaten.[1][2] In 1902 the Marmite Food Extract Company was formed in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England with Marmite as its main product and Burton as the site of the first factory.[3]
The product's popularity prompted the Sanitarium Health Food Company to obtain sole rights to distribute the product in New Zealand and Australia in 1908.[4] They later began manufacturing Marmite under licence in Christchurch, albeit using a modified version of the original recipe, most notable for its inclusion of sugar and caramel. Common ingredients are also slightly different quantities from the British version;[5] the New Zealand version has high levels of potassium, for example. New Zealand Marmite is described as having a "weaker" or "less tangy" flavour than the British version.
Usage
Sanitarium recommends spreading Marmite on bread with potato chips added to make a "Marmite and Chippie" sandwich.[6]
Nutritional information
Marmite is rich in B vitamins including thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), folic acid (B9) and vitamin B12. The sodium content of the spread is high and has caused concern, although it is the amount per serving rather than the percentage in bulk Marmite that is relevant. The main ingredient of Marmite is yeast extract, which contains a high concentration of glutamic acid.
Ingredients: Yeast, sugar, salt, mineral salt (potassium chloride), colour (caramel III), corn maltodextrin, mineral (iron), vitamins (niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, B12), herbs, spices. Contains derivatives of barley and wheat.[7]
Availability worldwide
As Unilever has the exclusive right to the Marmite name in the United Kingdom, and Sanitarium has the exclusive right to the name in Australia and New Zealand, their respective versions of Marmite must be sold under a different name in the other countries. Unilever International sells the British Marmite as Our Mate in Australia and New Zealand, while Sanitarium sells the New Zealand Marmite as "NZ-Mite" in the UK.
In November 2008, Marmite was rebranded as 'Mo-mite' in support of Movember, the annual moustache-growing charity event.[8]
2012–13 "Marmageddon" shortage
In November 2011, Sanitarium shut down the sole production line of New Zealand Marmite at its Christchurch factory after a cooling tower at the factory was deemed unsafe, having cracked in the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake and its aftershocks. On 19 March 2012, the company announced that its own stocks of Marmite had run out and the production line was not expected to be running again until July. Some supermarkets reported at the time they had already run out of stock, and there was only a few weeks' worth of stock left in their distribution centres, leading to the dubbing of Marmite as "black gold" and the crisis as "Marmageddon".[9][10]
See also
External links
References
- Marmite: Ten things you'll love/hate to know BBC News, 25 May 2011^
- A brief history of Marmite ihatemarmite.com, retrieved 26 August 2016^
- Marmite Food Extract Co. Grace's Guide, retrieved 15 July 2014^