WEIRDNESS

 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about

VEGEMITE

Vegemite is 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 in 1922. The Vegemite brand was owned by Mondelez International (formerly Kraft Foods Inc.) until January 2017, when it was acquired by the Australian Bega Cheese group in a US$460,000,000 (equivalent to about $480,000,000 in 2019) agreement for full Australian ownership after Bega would buy most of Mondelez International's Australia and New Zealand grocery and cheese business.

A spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits as well as a filling for pastries, Vegemite is similar to British Marmite, New Zealand Marmite, Australian Promite, MightyMite, AussieMite, OzEmite, German Vitam-R, and Swiss Cenovis.

A common way of eating Vegemite is on toasted bread with a layer of butter or margarine. Only a small amount of Vegemite is required due to its strong flavour. A Vegemite sandwich may consist of two slices of buttered bread, Vegemite, and cheese, but other ingredients such as lettuce, avocado and tomato can be added as well.

Vegemite can be used as a filling for pastries, such as the cheesymite scroll, or it may even be used in more exotic dishes.

The official Vegemite website contains several recipes using Vegemite in foods such as pasta, burgers, pizzas, casseroles and ice cream.

Kosher and halal certification

Limited quantities of kosher Vegemite were first produced in the 1980s; a 2004 decision to cease certification was reversed after a backlash from Jewish consumers. Around 2009, Kraft contracted with the Kashrut Authority in New South Wales for their kashrut supervision services, and by 2010, all jars and tubes of ordinary Vegemite were labelled with the authority's stamp. In 2010, Vegemite also received halal certification.

Vegan certification

While the makers of Vegemite have long claimed that Vegemite was suitable for vegans, it was not until World Vegan Day 2019 that it received vegan certification from the Vegan Australia Certified program. A Vegemite nutritionist said that "the spread had always been a fitting choice for vegans"

Vegemite is salty, slightly bitter, malty, and rich in glutamates – giving it an umami flavour similar to beef bouillon. It is vegan, kosher, and halal.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking.