Marmite: Revolting Or Delicious? Either Way, Danes Are Banning It
Seeing this headline in The Guardian -- "Marmite Ban Spreads Consternation Across Denmark" — made us wonder if bureaucrats in Denmark had decided that the spread is just too unappetizing to allow on their store shelves.
You've never had it?
Well, here's how a Kitchen Window post from April 2010 begins:
"Few foods inspire the kind of revulsion that Marmite does."
Still, we know that many folks think the stuff is delicious.
They love it even though, as Kitchen Window wrote:
The "yeast extract ... is basically what gets scraped from the bottom of the beer barrel. The British breakfast staple, which was originally sold in earthenware jars that resembled the French stockpot called a marmite, was born more than 100 years ago in a small town called Burton-On-Trent.
"B-on-T is also the birthplace of Bass Ale. Bass was there because the water was considered so fine. Marmite was there as Bass' garbage man: It created a use for spent brewer's yeast."
But, according to the Guardian and other news outlets, it's not the taste that has gotten Marmite in trouble in Denmark. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration has cracked down on Marmite because it is fortified with added vitamins and to sell such a product in Denmark requires some special approvals.
The news from Denmark has led to groups on Facebook such as "Save Marmite In Denmark, Boycott Danish Bacon And Lego Now!!"
All this makes raises a question for those of you who've tasted Marmite: