the country. those of you that do like it how often do you eat it and is it expensive? Tell us non vegemite eaters what you like about it.

I had a friend that was a Aussie and was giving him a hard time about eating that black gooey stuff. He said he felt the same thing about us eating peanut paste [peanut butter]. He thought it was just nasty

Grits are popular in the southern US. They are derived from corn and are often cooked for breakfast similar to the way you would cook, say, oatmeal, except they are usually served as a savory type thing instead of sweetened like oatmeal. They come dry and are cooked on the stovetop by adding water. Also, they are a popular night-time dish -- made into casseroles. My favorite is garlic cheese grits. This way they are first cooked on the stove, then added to a casserole dish with cheese, perhaps some eggs, cream, garlic, etc. and then baked a while. I have heard some northerners say they hated grits because they were sandy or gritty. All I can say is whatever they ate was not cooked properly. Grits are the same as polenta, I believe.

2 comments

by meganne 03 Aug 2011

Thanks for that explanation. I like polenta but I was a bit daunted cooking it as it is not a staple food here.
I'd like to make a good corn bread but have no real idea what constitutes a good recipe. Hugs n roses, Meganne

by dlonnahawkins 03 Aug 2011

Oh, Meg - we have cornbread here at least 2-3 times a month. DH loves it - have you tried fried cornbread? He likes that too. I had to learn to make it when we got married. But we only cook it in a cast iron skillet. LOL

I have some I bought here in US and I find it quite salty.

http://malcolm.screensound.gov.au...


............. :} :} :} :}

AlmaG.

1 comment

by mi30kaja 04 Aug 2011

Could you hear me singing along?

Marmite and Vegemite are yeast extracts - a bi-product of brewing. Bovril is a sort of concentrated beef stock so they are totally different.
No-one quite likes Marmite. You either like it or hate it! Iexpect Vegemite is the same. We like it in our house, especially under cheese on toasted crumpets.

As a child I loved to have a teaspoon full of it to lick like a ice block .Didn't like it spread on bread
Its very salty & now days I don't like salty foods.My grandmother use to be always going off at me for eating too much salt but now we have to hunt for the salt shaker when visitors ask for salt.
How our tastes change as we get older.

Grits and vegemite together, may start a new taste trend. None for me thank you.

I think it is very much like Marmite or Bovril!! It is an aquired taste but is very nice. What are grits???????

1 comment

by bevintex 03 Aug 2011

Marmite and Bovril are also something new to me.

Looks just like Marmite.

Another aussie ....our family was bought up on vegemite also...my eldest son loves vegemite and tomato sandwiches he has at time gone to a shop and asked for vegemite & tomato sandwiches and the assistant said cut the jokes out what do you really want..the others have said it the trick is not to spread it on too thick...thin is much better and it is delicious on warm buttered toast....soozie

You can buy it in the USA, I was in Meadeville Pa, and I got some in a supermarket near there.

As for Aussies and Vegemite, well of course we love it! We were brought up on it, by well meaning parents who obviously knew that sugar is bad for you so we would get Vegemite on our Dummies (pacifiers) and on Rusks (Hard, long, finger biscuit chew for teething)

I never liked it spread thickly, which is where most non-Aussies go wrong, they spread it thick like they do their Jam, (Jelly) then wonder why it is so horrible. LOL!!!

I always used to put a layer of margarine, a thin layer of Vegemite, then another layer of margarine, then I sort of mix it up with the knife. OH YUM!!
I still have it that way but I'm finding I have the Vegemite a lot thicker now.

I especially love Vegemite with Cheese, any vintage or even not so vintage, cheddar. But our cheeses taste much nicer than any of the cheeses I tried on my trips to the USA. All your foods seem to be so much sweeter, even your chewing gum tastes differently to ours, which is probably why most Americans don't like Vegemite.

My American husband used to say it was so bad: "it would gag a maggot" LOL!!!! He also didn't like Lamb's Fry and bacon!!!

Aussies (that I know) seem to bring up their kids to like the more piquant flavoured foods and sweets were a 'once a week' treat.
Though that is all changing as we seem to be becoming more Americanised. Though they did try to bring in Dr Pepper here and I think it bombed big time. When I tried it over there I found it revolting, tasted like a cough medicine I had as a child.

So you see we are even on this one thing, so you can keep your Dr Pepper (Oh and Sarsaparilla) and we'll keep our Vegemite. LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!

I buy the large jar in the middle.

It's also great as a beef additive in casseroles etc, is fabulous spread over a beef joint before roasting, and awesome under grilled cheese, on toast. (last pic)

Ok, now that I am thoroughly hungry, it's time to go and have my sage, sprinkled on Vegemite, topped with Bega cheese, sandwich. YUMMMMMM! :-)

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3 comments

by meganne 02 Aug 2011

PS, all my fur babies just love it too. :-)

by pennifold 02 Aug 2011

I'm glad you and your furries love it Meg - for me never! Love Chris

by meganne 03 Aug 2011

That's ok Chris you have your smelly cheese. LOL!!!!!

Well, I must be the only AUSTRALIAN who can't stand Vegemite. Trevor absolutely loves the stuff and always has it on his toast for breakfast.

It's gross - thick, black as the ace of spades and SALTY!!!!!!!!!

As Koala says it's like Marmite or similar to Promite (not as salty).

Of course it depends if you love salty things and I don't!

I would rather have Stringy Bark Honey on toast! Now that is an Australian Gum tree and the bees harvest it. Can't get it everywhere, but I know of a place in Berrima which sells it!

Love and blessings Chris

We're going to Berrima next week so I'll go to Mrs Oldbuck's Pantry shop stock up on some Stringy Bark Honey.

I like a thin layer on toast every morning

Guess I have never had it either, but I would try it. I did not grow up on grits in East Tennessee, but I married a grits guy. No instant grits for him. Had to be the slow cook kind. He is long gone , but I still eats grits occasionally. Much better for you than the hash browns( potatoes). Kay

I did not care for it, but my son likes it alot...we get it at World Market in El Paso, TX...I guess it is an aquired taste.

I have a friend who shared it with me when she moved from Australia. I tried it only once and that was enough. You can get it here in the US. Just go to "Bruno's", or the fancy stores that sell foods from other countries (we have one called "Fresh Market". Needless to say she never ran out of it while she was here. It is an acquired taste. How many of you love "Grits"?

4 comments

by bevintex 02 Aug 2011

I never developed a taste for grits, growing up my mother never served them. I know it's a southern thing.

by meganne 02 Aug 2011

OK, I've always wondered, just what IS grits???

by drro 02 Aug 2011

I love grits! and I like Vegemite too!

by jrob 03 Aug 2011

Grits are ground corn. Similar to Polenta.

Whoever said you could not get it in the US was wrong, I found all kinds of it on ebay, even a sample with enough for a sandwich. I think it is best left to the Australians. LOL
Bev

Marji....I have laughed and laughed at your comments. It made me think of the very same thing. Here is the link to part of the skit....FUNNY, funny lady.;)

We Australians ( or most of us) were brought up on vegemite and really don't know why the rest of the world does not like it. Can remember as a little kid rushing home from School to have my Fresh bread and Vegemite. Hide myself in my room so I didn't have to share.

I think vegemite is an acquired taste, I love it but I spread it very thin on my toast, other people will spread it thick, I think it is a little over powering to spread that thick myself(I was born in Scotland though, not Australia) . It is similar but not the same as marmite or promite. I am not sure if you can get those in the U.S.

Being a "true blue Aussie" my favourite snack is warm fresh bread, buttered and topped with vegemite it is also great on toast for brekkie. Fabulous on warm damper by a campfire while out camping too. It tastes a little like the British "marmite" but is saltier and packed with vitamins. Babies love a smear of it on a toast finger. Shame you can't get it in the US.

How good can yeast extract be? Must be good as 9 out of 10 Australians have it in their pantries. Suppose to make a great sandwich. I think I saw a site in San Antonio Tx where you can purchase it. There you go Bev, you can take a nice trip to their store in San Antonio and give it a try. You can also get it at amazon. Hugs...Carol

Ok, that sounds like what Lucy (I Love Lucy) Ricardo was making a commercial for, and it was 50% alcohol, and she got drunk before the live commercial, hee hee hee. I hope the non-USA folks know the comedy of Lucille Ball, it would be a shame to have missed that incredible comedic talent. She was born about 30 miles from where I live, actually, in Celoron, New York, USA. But I digress. What the heck is Vegemite, and why won't they let anybody bring it in?? Is it that good? We never get anything good. Please, Ms. Meganne and Aussies, tell, tell!!! Hugs, Marji

5 comments

by bevintex 02 Aug 2011

I loved that Lucy episode, they do not do comedy like that anymore. Also the one where her and Ethel were working in the candy factory. You can find the Vegemite jingle on you tube.

by mariahail 02 Aug 2011

one of their best shows!!!!

by fannyfurkin 02 Aug 2011

We did get I love Lucy here in Aus, and still get re-runs.

by meganne 03 Aug 2011

I remember that episode really well. I really loved Lucy and often watch the re-runs, her humour never dates.

by 1allamericangirl 03 Aug 2011

I also grew up watching I Love Lucy. Those were the good old days of comedy No matter how bad your days was you could always unwind watching TV at night. Carol Burnette, Jackie Gleason, Red Skelton,etc. Now all the stuff on TV pertains to blood & gore & they wonder why our youth is having such problems. I think the FCC should band a lot of stuff they put on TV nowdays. It's a shame there is nothing sacred anymore. Back in the days you did not see a man & woman in bed together and you couldn't even mention the word pregnant. Now everything goes. We only watch about 10 channles out of the 250 plus that they make you take as a package to get the Animal Planet, History, etc. We do not subscribe to any of the movie channles. They keep trying to push them on us but we just tell them we don't watch the movies that are full of the F word. Seems they can't make a movie nowdays without that kind of language. They could still make good movies without all that language but they are trying to get the younger generation to watch more TV because most think that language is cool. It really is a shame what this world is coming to. I also watch a lot of re-runs.