There are 3 things I always wanted to try: Weetabix, lemon curd and Marmite. I read a lot of British mysteries, and people in them by the train-load.
So yesterday I found a British store and bought all three. The lemon curd turned out to be amazing but Marmite. . . God, folks, how do you eat this stuff? It’s disgusting. I read about people slathering it on toast but the taste must be hideous.
I have a colleague who likes it. She says that slathering is the wrong way to eat it on toast and that it should be a very thin coating. I’ve never tried it that way but use it as a vegetarian bullion.
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It’s supposed to be a fairly divisive taste. I guess you know what side you fall on!
And you’re right, lemon curd is amazing. And, you’re doubly-right, Weetabix is completely unremarkable and not worth commenting on.
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Weetabix is really nothing special, taste-wise. I only eat it because it’s healty (whole cereals, low sugars and whatnot). I’ve only tried the basic version, tho; never found the other versions you can see on their website.
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Orange curd is also lovely if you evet get the chance to try it. And marmite should only be spread incredibly thinly on hot buttered toast.
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Marmite also goes well on hot cheese scones.
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Please tell me you didn’t try to consume all three of them together. :p
Marmite just sounds disgusting.
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Marmite would be disgusting no matter what I mixed it with. Brrrrr.
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I think Marmite originally became popular because it has a lot of vitamin B and even before vitamins were discovered it was probably pretty healthy because of that (in a time and place were nutrition was harder).
I’ve had it (or the very similar Vegemite) and was kind of blah about it. I didn’t completely hate it and could see why some might like it almost as a seasoning but I would never go out of my way for it.
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Like somebody else said, it’s totally like the vegetable stock they sell in concentrate for soups. But you only need half a teaspoon for 3 liters of soup.
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Hahahaha! I like Marmite but you have to do it right: toast made from white bread, plenty of butter, then a bit of marmite smeared on top. But I agree that lemon curd is more generally palatable. It is one of my very favourite things to eat. The home-made version is, believe it or not, even better than the shop-bought stuff, and is very simple to make.
Here’s my Grandma’s recipe:
Finely grated rind and juice of 2 large lemons
2 large eggs
Sugar 6-8oz (depending on how sweet you like it)
Butter 4 oz.
Beat the eggs thoroughly.
Place sugar, butter, lemon rind and half of the lemon juice into a bowl, then place the bowl above a saucepan of hot water (bain marie).
Stir slowly until everything is dissolved.
Add the beaten eggs and remaining lemon juice.
Heat gently, stirring frequently until it will coat the back of a spoon (thick cream consistency). You can test it by dripping a bit onto a cold plate to see if it sets enough.
Pour into jars. Store in the fridge and use within six weeks.
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Thank you for the recipe!!! I’m totally making it because N looooves it.
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Yay! It’s not hard to love something made almost entirely from sugar, butter and eggs 🙂 I think I usually cook it for about 15 – 20 mins, like making an egg custard. Now I can’t wait until the lemons on our tree are ripe and I get to make all the lemon recipes I love again.
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Don’t slather marmite on toast, scrape about half a teaspoon AT MOST onto it! Delicious…
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The only people I know who like it are brits who grew up with it and my vegan friend. The vegan says that the similar product she found in Germany, Tartex, is better. I have a jar buried deep in the spice cupboard. Every so often a half teaspoon can give an otherwise meh vegetarian dish a boost of umami.
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