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Posts: 3446
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
RE: Do you like MARMITE...?? (in reply to estebanana)
I believe I may have tasted Vegemite several years ago. The chief recollection that comes to mind is, "Don't ever do that again!"
Still, it seems possible this is just an intellectual aversion.
To explain the difference between an intellectual aversion and a physical one:
In my early days as a 16-year old freshman at University--early nights, actually--on one occasion I drank way, way too much Bourbon whiskey. A couple of weeks later I was offered a glass of Bourbon. As I brought it to my lips, as soon as I could smell it my elbow stopped bending. It just stopped. The only direction my arm would move was to move the whiskey away from my nose.
I have never cultivated a taste for Bourbon, though to be polite to my connoisseur friends, I can now take a sip or two--but I really like Scotch.
A few years after the Bourbon experience I was traveling solo in Mexico. I came down with a pretty serious case of Montezuma's Revenge. My brother calls it, with greater technical and political correctness, traveler's diarrhea. When presented with a new strain of bacteria, your gut sometimes loses its equilibrium, and the new strain flourishes almost out of control, though you may have been living happily with a different strain of the same species for years. Some of my Mexican friends used to get sick when they visited Austin. It's been decades since I have had it, having traveled pretty much over the globe, except for sub-Saharan Africa and Antarctica.
In Mexico I was feeling really bad: feverish, weak, dehydrated, bad enough to be a bit worried. I checked in to the Lincoln Hotel on Calle Cuauhtemoc, just off the Avenida Juarez in Mexico City. The rooms were clean and cheap, and the hotel had a well known restaurant, of much higher quality than its other accommodations.
Being quite hungry I ordered a big bowl of chicken soup from room service, and some black tea which I brewed up pretty strong. Some thoughtful citizen in the kitchen sprinkled the soup heavily with fresh cilantro leaves (coriander, Chinese parsley). For about 20 years I could not put fresh cilantro in my mouth. After that the aversion faded fairly quickly, and nowadays I really enjoy it.
As for Vegemite, once was enough. I suspect Marmite fits the criterion, "If I don't ever taste it, it would still be too soon."
Posts: 6440
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy
RE: Do you like MARMITE...?? (in reply to El Kiko)
It's very good on toast and butter, but spread really, really thinly. Full of vitamins and stuff. Though it's a bit like whisky and stilton cheese when you are 10 years old :-)
RE: Do you like MARMITE...?? (in reply to El Kiko)
The undecided voters are killing us... hopefully not a sign of things to come...
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Marmite is awesome stuff. As if it isn't already good simply spread on toast, it's equally awesome in lots of dishes. I like to mix 2 parts Marmite with one part honey, marinate some chicken in it, then grill it. Try it, you'll thank me later; or curse my name, whichever.
yes...what have i done ...is there more people in the world that like the stuff??? are we a minority ? .. . i will wake up from this soon ,,,,... the horror of Halloween has came early
RE: Do you like MARMITE...?? (in reply to El Kiko)
quote:
yes...what have i done ...is there more people in the world that like the stuff??? are we a minority ? .. . i will wake up from this soon ,,,,... the horror of Halloween has came early
Kiko, what's the cause of this paranoia, are people tying you to a chair and ramming this umami delicacy down your throat? You sound like you're being invaded from all sides by millions of jars of Marmite (like Leiningen and the ants). I suggest you build a wall around yourself. A beautiful wall. And make Unilever pay for it.
Posts: 3446
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
RE: Do you like MARMITE...?? (in reply to Estevan)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Estevan
quote:
The marmite wars of '16
No war; not while you hold The Natto Deterrent.
Natto is fermented soybean paste. I think I may have told my experience with it before now. When my girlfriend decided it was safe to take me to Kabuto, her favorite sushi place in San Francisco, she did the ordering. We finished off with natto maki. A cone of nori (seaweed) is partly filled with zushi rice, a chunk of dried fish is grated onto it, a generous dollop of gelatinous natto is stacked on top. A leaf of an herb whose English name I could never discover is stuffed down the side inside the cone. You pick it up and eat it like an ice cream cone.
I found the natto to be oily, bitter and generally disgusting. She said her mother used to make it when they lived in Tokyo, and it always reminded her of home. I kept my mouth shut about my reaction.
After several more visits and several more natto maki, a woman sitting next to me at the bar asked what the natto was. I told her. She asked whether it was good. Before I could reply, Sachio-san, the chef and owner came to my rescue. Tapping himself on the chest with a fist, he nodded in my direction and said, "Strong heart..."
After a couple of years of bravely choking it down, natto suddenly changed its flavor. One time it still tasted oily, bitter and disgusting. The next time it had a wonderful warm, nutty taste.
I have since tried natto at several other places, including Kyoto and Tokyo, and it tastes like it did at Kabuto the night of the revolution.
It is well known that there is genetic component to taste. Some compounds are intensely bitter for some people, but almost tasteless for others. I had the experience of gradually acquiring a taste for Scotch whisky (and better brands of it), but the sudden shift of the taste of natto is unique for me.
Is there a Marmite gene? Is there a Marmite conversion experience?
I found this ... someone else writing about just such a thing ... dont blame me for the complicated words .. Anyway its on chromosome 7.....maybe ....
"""I'm going to say that I'm ambivalent towards marmite in small quantities. Actually, there is a gene which determines how sensitive people are to compounds called phenylthiocarbamide and propil thiouracil. You find these bitter compounds in things like cabbage and grape seed. Now some people are very sensitive to these bitter compounds and some can't taste them at all and this is genetically determined. Apparently, it’s sitting somewhere on chromosome 7. It’s thought that maybe the people who can't take these PTC- like compounds are very sensitive to bitter things like grapefruit, tea, coffee, as well as cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables. So, it may be that Marmite is related. It’s got that bitterness element in it."""""
RE: Do you like MARMITE...?? (in reply to Leñador)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Leñador All this Marmite talk is making me crazy! I WILL try marmite this weekend! Headed to the British import shop on sunday and I will submit my verdict!
Still no sign of Lenny yet. Was this the foro's first death by Marmite overdose?
I'm alive, but barely, got a nasty bout of food poisoning from some questionable Chinese food. Even dry toast is turning my stomach so the great marmite experiment of '16 is off the table till my soul re-enters my body and I can be among the living. Stay tuned.
RE: Do you like MARMITE...?? (in reply to Leñador)
quote:
I'm alive, but barely, got a nasty bout of food poisoning from some questionable Chinese food. Even dry toast is turning my stomach so the great marmite experiment of '16 is off the table till my soul re-enters my body and I can be among the living. Stay tuned.
No, now is the time for Marmite, the salt and vitamins will help, and besides, it is well known to cure just about everything, including food poisoning. just put half a teaspoon of it in a mug, add hot water, stir and drink!
Finally got to try this stuff! Sorry Kiko, it's not so bad. I could easily add it to sauces, bases, soups, anything savory, it's got a nice meaty flavor and the after taste is good. I'm gunna petition to make it more available in the U.S. !
quote:
No, now is the time for Marmite, the salt and vitamins will help, and besides, it is well known to cure just about everything, including food poisoning. just put half a teaspoon of it in a mug, add hot water, stir and drink!
Hahaha, After tasting it, that does not sound like my cup of tea, but who knows, I hated fish sauce and now I eat tons of that. At least right now I don't mind marmite, I just don't know about marmite water...
Posts: 6440
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy
RE: Do you like MARMITE...?? (in reply to Leñador)
Brilliant. Thanks for taking the trouble but you forgot the butter (real butter) and spread the Marmite very, very thin on warm, white toast. You just want a hint of it, like it was in the same room with you
Ohhhhh the butter!! I was too excited to just dig in! haha I could see butter making a big difference. And yeah, I went too thick. It's like what I think Hemingway said about dry martinis, cold gin and just stare at a bottle of vermouth.
RE: Do you like MARMITE...?? (in reply to Escribano)
Oooleeee Leñador!!!
quote:
ORIGINAL: Escribano Brilliant. Thanks for taking the trouble but pay attention to the butter at 0:28.
Only on foroflamenco can you upload an exercise in eatting toast and someone on the other side of the world writes back saying you're doing it all wrong!! LOL!! Glad you found it better than the local Chinese takeaway at least.
RE: Do you like MARMITE...?? (in reply to Leñador)
hahaha. Best video I've seen in a while I'll have to grant everyone one on the "opposing side" that it just may be good as an ingredient with something else. All I've ever tried with Marmite is the classic bread and butter and I found it disgusting. Maybe it's even context-specific, like Cruz Campo which I find absolutely horrifying in general, unworthy of the title "beer", but I can actually enjoy if on a terrasse in Andalucia with some fried sea food.
_____________________________
"Anything you do can be fixed. What you cannot fix is the perfection of a blank page. What you cannot fix is that pristine, unsullied whiteness of a screen or a page with nothing on it—because there’s nothing there to fix."