Hello Paulr and good to see you back on your feet\\\\sailing shoes again and giving Altair a good seeing-to. Now you mention the Duke of York I feel hungry. Alas, not for Marmite but certainly for everything else. Virus or no virus, the weather gods are doing their best to keep us away from Cowes this weekend. If you'd like a close encounter with Marmite, the closest you might get is making contact with the Commodore's family cat, the same colour as and named after that pot of, er, stuff. Apparently single-nucleotide polymorphisms are associated with Marmite taste preference I definitely don't have the right ones to enjoy it.
As it is a wet indoor day, I did some web searching and share the results to amuse Marmite lovers:
Marmite was invented in the late 19th century by German scientist Justus von Liebig.The scientist discovered that brewer's yeast (a byproduct of the brewing process) could be concentrated, bottled and eaten.
The product is named after a 'marmite' - a French earthenware pot.
British Marmite was initially supplied in earthenware pots.
In the 1920s it changed to glass jars of approximately the same shape as the pots.
There are two versions of Marmite - a British version, and New Zealand version.
New Zealand Marmite is said to have a "less tangy" flavour than the British version.
During WW1, Marmite was part of the rations for British troops.
Marmite has annual sales of approximately £46 million, equal to 20 nights of marina parking in the Solent these days
The 'Love It or Hate It' slogan was invented in 1996 by agency DDB.
It's popular in prisons.
In 2002 and 2009, there were rumours that prisoners in UK prisons were using Marmite and fermented fruit to make alcohol.
Marmite is thought to be gluten-free, although, Unilever will not confirm that it contains less than 20 PPM of gluten, which is the current European standard and the proposed U.S. FDA standard for gluten-free labeling.
In Sri Lanka, hot Marmite is a hangover cure. Marmite is dissolved in boiling water and some lime juice and a fried, sliced onion is added.
In Singapore and Malaysia, Marmite is used as a seasoning for congee and seafood.
People use it for sweet things too, like this Marmite cake with caramel buttercream.
Even pop stars are divided on opinion. The Rolling Stones ask for Marmite when they are on tour.