Vegemite

Vegemite ( VEJ-ə-myte) is a brand of a thick, dark brown Australian food spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. It was developed by Cyril Callister in Melbourne, Victoria, for the Fred Walker Company in 1922 and was first sold in stores on 25 October 1923. A spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits as well as a filling for pastries, Vegemite is similar to other yeast-based spreads such as Marmite in the UK and its New Zealand version, Australian Promite, MightyMite, AussieMite, OzEmite, German Vitam-R and Swiss Cenovis. Vegemite has a strong flavour and is typically eaten in small amounts. It is salty, slightly bitter, malty and has an umami flavour similar to beef bouillon (because it is rich in glutamates). It is low-FODMAP, vegan, kosher and halal. It is known for being high in B vitamins. Following the death of Fred Walker in 1935, the Vegemite brand came under the ownership of the American company Kraft Foods. However, in 2017 the brand returned to Australian ownership when the Bega Group purchased it alongside other assets from Mondelez International (formerly Kraft Foods Inc.).