Young AMERICAN tries VEGEMITE! EWWWW!!

Even if you’re not Australian, you’ve probably heard of Vegemite. It’s that stuff made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with vegetable and spice additives. And I’ll bet you’ve wondered how a non-Australian pallet would react to its … strong flavor? Well, watch this video to find out.

What is Vegemite, anyway? Similar to Marmite, it’s a salty, slightly bitter, spread that people put on bread or crackers. Vegemite was developed by Cyril Callister in Melbourne, Victoria in 1922, when the company he worked for gave him the task of developing a spread from the used yeast being dumped by breweries. Callister used autolysis to break down the yeast cells from waste obtained from breweries. Concentrating the clear liquid extract and blending it with salt, celery and onion extracts formed a sticky black paste.

So, how did Vegemite become such a staple in the Australian diet?

Well, in a 1925 campaign, Vegemite was given away free with Kraft cheese products. Then the company sponsored poetry competitions with American Pontiac cars being offered as prizes. Sales responded! An additional boost was provided in 1939, when Vegemite was officially endorsed by the British Medical Association as a rich source of B vitamins.

Vegemite's rise in popularity was also helped by the marketing campaigns written by J. Walter Thompson advertising that began in 1954, using groups of smiling, healthy children singing a catchy jingle titled "We're happy little Vegemites":

We're happy little Vegemites
As bright as bright can be.
We all enjoy our Vegemite
For breakfast, lunch, and tea.
Our mummies say we're growing stronger
Every single week,
Because we love our Vegemite
We all adore our Vegemite
It puts a rose in every cheek.

In Australia during World War II, Vegemite was included in army rations, and by the late 1940s it was used in nine out of ten Australian homes.

Today, Vegemite is produced in Melbourne, Australia at a rate of more than 22 million jars per year!