The History of Australian "Cuisine": Vegemite

    I've been told that Americans are viewed as obstinate and stubborn by much of the outside world and people point to things like the refusal to embrace the metric system and the continued high TV ratings of Jay Leno as hard to refute evidence. But I submit that nothing on this planet shows so bright a light on national stubbornness as the Australian obsession with the salty black byproduct of yeast love known as Vegemite.

Following are excerpts from The History of Vegemite:

In 1922, Fred Walker (1884-1935) of Melbourne, Australia decided to try to make a special "yeast extract" that would be as delicious as it was nourishing for his Fred Walker Cheese Company to sell.

He saw what a hit MSG was and he wanted in!

 The chief scientist in the company Fred owned was Dr. Cyril P. Callister, and it was Dr. Callister who invented the first Vegemite spread. He used brewer's yeast and blended the yeast extract with a few secret ingredients to make this paste. In 1912, a national competition and a prize of 50 pounds was offered to the winner or winners to name the new product.. The name ‘Vegemite’ was finally chosen from the entries by Fred’s daughter Sheilah.

Why does it not surprise me that an Australian came up with an idea to try to make food out of the essential ingredients of beer.

With its unusual and unique flavor, Vegemite was not an immediate success and sales were slow. In 1928 Vegemite was renamed and registered as Parwill in an attempt to boost its sales and to attract customers of the rival spread Marmite (an English yeast spread that dominated the Australian market sinc 1910). "If Marmite...then Parwill" was the rationale behind Walker's strategy to carve a niche in the market for his spread.The name Parwill and Walker's play on words didn't catch on and the original name was reinstated.

I should have been an ad copywriter in the twenties "Go to Macy's; you may see fantastic savings... " these things practically write themselves!

Earlier, in 1925, Walker had arranged with the Chicago, Illinois firm of James L. Kraft to make processed cheese in Australia. A company called the Kraft Walker Cheese Co. was established alongside Fred Walker and Co. In 1935, Walker used the success of his processed cheese to launch a new campaign to revive Vegemite. The company launched 2-year coupon redemption scheme whereby a jar of Vegemite was given away with every purchase of other products in the Fred Walker Cheese Company. Australians tried the product and loved it. Vegemite was well and truly on the road to success.

So they basically had to give it away for free for 2 years before people were willing to pay for it. That just proves two things, Australians are cheep and people can get used to anything with enough exposure. I bet they would eat fried potting soil if you told them that breakfast was on you for the next two-tenths of a decade.

In 1935, the recipe and manufacturing methods was sold to Kraft Foods and has been wholly owned and made by American companies. In 1939 Vegemite received endorsement from the British Medical Association which allowed doctors to recommend it as a Vitamin B-rich, nutritionally balanced food for patients.

Ok, well if you compare Vegemite to other vitamin B rich foods it doesn't look so bad. Next to liver and fish eggs I guess a salty tar-like sandwich spread might seem like a perfectly sane and edible choice.

In World War II, soldiers, sailors, and the civilian population of Australia all had Vegemite included in their rations. Soldiers’ Vegemite came in three sizes: seven-pound tins for the platoon, eight-ounce tins for soldiers on the go, and half-ounce rations for behind enemy lines. This war-time demand meant that civilian were limited. Hence, advertisements were run to explain the situation: “Vegemite fights with the men up north! If you are one of those who don’t need Vegemite medicinally, then thousands of invalids are asking you to deny yourself of it for the time being.”

It's a good marketing strategy to evoke the health benefits for our "fighting Men" but let's not forget that cigarettes were also handed out as a staple for the soldiers. It's hard to image with today's laws but I'm sure they had a rule that smokers had to be at least 25 feet away from the entrance of the fox hole.

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