Vegemite - i don't hate it, i don't love it. Am i missing something? (piefed.social)

submitted 3 days ago by bright@piefed.social to c/australia@aussie.zone

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I'm an American (sorry for ruining the world) and i just tried Vegemite. I was surprised to find that i neither love it or hate it. From the way people talk about it I thought it was this EXTREME thing that supposedly you love or hate. It's certainly a strong flavor, but it's not like wasabi level intense. To me it tastes very similar to the burnt bits stuck to the pan after cooking a burger.

I tried it straight and the first taste made me say "huh" out loud. The best thing I've tried it on is croutons (because i didn't have bread to toast). I've tried it with a few other random foods and it doesn't seem to improve anything.

Is it unusual for someone to have a neither love or hate opinion of it?

Is there any specific food you recommend to use it with?

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[-] naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

It's just a pungent salty umami flavour. Like miso, doenjanj, or furu.

Some people have palates that enjoy intense flavours, some people prefer mild flavours. It's not better or worse than anything else one might add to a dish or spread on bread to accompany breakfast.

I prefer the flavour of furu personally, although the texture and smell are intense enough that vegemite often becomes the default by convenience.

As australia has no culture people just get up in arms about the little things. You could read about schismogenisis if you wanted a broader overview of how similar peoples amplify little things to differentiate themselves.