Marmite (food)
Marmite is the brand name for a vegetarian seasoning paste invented in the United Kingdom in 1902 , which is still popular today , particularly in English-speaking countries. Today the brand belongs to the Unilever group .
As a yeast extract , Marmite has an intense yeast taste and is mainly used as a spread , as well as for seasoning soups and stews or as a bouillon poured with hot water . Marmite is in Britain with the campaign " Love it or hate it " ( love it or hate it ) sold.
history
In French , marmite refers to a large, covered saucepan made of earthenware or metal. This is therefore also found in the logo of the product and the shape of the vessels - originally made of earthenware , but today made of glass or plastic - is still reminiscent of the ancient cooking pots.
The Marmite Food Extract Company , whose main product was Marmite, was founded in 1902 in Burton-upon-Trent , Staffordshire ( England ). The product was in high demand; In 1907 a second production facility was built in Camberwell Green, London .
Marmite is considered to be rich in B vitamins and therefore a health-promoting food concentrate. For this reason, all soldiers of the British Commonwealth received the supposedly fortifying yeast concentrate during the two world wars . The thiamine (vitamin B1) contained in Marmite should also protect troops stationed in the tropics against beriberi , a disease caused by thiamine deficiency.
In 1990 Marmite Limited - meanwhile a subsidiary of Bovril Limited - was bought up by CPC (United Kingdom) Limited . This changed its name to Best Foods Inc in 1998 , before it was finally taken over in 2000 by the large group Unilever , which is now the owner of the Marmite brand.
On the manufacturer's side there is a separate area for people who hate the product, as well as z. B. a category "10 ways to ruin your sandwich with Marmite".
Manufacturing
The main component of Marmite is yeast extract , i. H. a concentrate of decomposed yeast cells. Yeast is a by-product of various food technology processes. The yeast cultures produced during the alcoholic fermentation of beer are used for marmite . The yeast cells are disrupted by autolysis . This releases cell sap that is rich in proteins . These are further broken down into their amino acids by enzymatic action , which have a significant share in the typical taste of the wort and partly, such as. B. glutamic acid , also act as a flavor enhancer . The extract, which is initially liquid, is then concentrated, filtered several times and freed from bitter substances - in principle according to a process that was previously discovered by Justus von Liebig .
Other ingredients, the exact composition of which is a company secret, are salt , plant extracts and spices . Although yeast extract is rich in various B-series vitamins , thiamine (formerly vitamin B1), nicotinic acid (formerly vitamin B3), riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic acid and cobalamin (vitamin B12) are also added to the product . The latter does not occur naturally in yeast extract and is only added during the manufacturing process.
ingredients
| in 100 g | in 8 g (usage amount) | |
|---|---|---|
| Calorific value | 1100 kJ (260 kcal) | 88 kJ (21 kcal) |
| fat | <0.5 g | <0.5 g |
| of which saturated | <0.1 g | <0.1 g |
| carbohydrates | 30 g | 2.4 g |
| of which sugar | 1.2 g | <0.5 g |
| Proteins | 34 g | 2.7 g |
| salt | 10.8 g | 0.86 g |
| Thiamine | 7.7 mg (700%) | 0.62 mg (56%) |
| Riboflavin | 6.8 mg (485%) | 0.54 mg (39%) |
| niacin | 69 mg (431%) | 5.5 mg (34%) |
| Folic acid | 1250 µg (625%) | 100 µg (50%) |
| Vitamin B12 | 24 µg (960%) | 1.9 µg (76%) |
(%) = Daily requirement (RDA = Recommended Daily Allowance )
Others
According to a persistent modern myth , the consumption of marmite (or other vitamin B-rich products) protects against mosquitoes , as the skin supposedly gives off an odor that is imperceptible to humans but is unpleasant to mosquitoes. For this reason, some British travelers in the tropics take marmite with them for consumption, even though there is no scientific basis whatsoever for the purported protective effects of yeast extracts.
In Switzerland there has been a similar product called Cenovis since 1931 and in Germany Vitam Hefe-Produkt GmbH in Hameln has been producing Vitam-R since the late 1920s . Similar foods are also found in New Zealand, Australia ( Vegemite ) and the USA (Vegex).
In the series Mr. Bean , since he has no food at home, Mr. Bean serves twigs with marmite. However, the guests notice this and do without it (episode 9, "Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean", German: "The DIY enthusiast").
swell
- ↑ The Marmite Story ( Memento from May 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Liebig and nutrition (Chapter 3: Practical nutrition) (PDF)
- ↑ Urban Legend
- ^ AR Ives et al .: Testing vitamin B as a home remedy against mosquitoes. In: Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. Vol. 21, June 2005, pp. 213-217, PMID 16033124
