Australians and Vegemite

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When the northern hemisphere is having its winter and perhaps suffering a little from the cold and snowy conditions, I have been known to brag a little about the sunshine and warmth of my little patch of turf. This led Four Walls (@FourWalls) to threaten to bring a host of people to stay with me. Of course, I had to pretend this was much against my wishes and in the course of our to and fro chiacking (banter), Vegemite was mentioned. This is a dark yeast extract somewhat similar to Marmite and perhaps Bovril. I would have Vegemite on bread and butter when I’d get home from school and my boys had it every day for their school lunches. If I changed to something else they’d ask for Vegemite next time. Vince has it most mornings on toast. Don’t ask me what it tastes like as aside from being very salty it’s hard to describe the taste. Perhaps a bit like a stock cube. It seems to be an acquired taste with most Australians loving it and most non-Australians abhorring it. However I know one household in Egypt which takes half a suitcase of Vegemite home from Bunbury every time they visit. My niece married an Egyptian and now lives in Luxor. However the four children were all born in Australia and have all spent quite long periods of time here every few years. They now love Vegemite and stock up on it whenever they visit. Gumption (a cleaning paste) and Weet-Bix (a breakfast cereal) are also on their shopping list. I wonder that the customs officers think if and when they inspect their cases. Oh and note that we buy the economy size 560 grams.