Vegemite

One of the most "interesting" foods that you find in Australia and New Zealand is vegemite. Vegemite is a yeast extract, tastes extremely salty, and is spread on bread to make a sandwich, just like we spread peanut butter on bread to make a peanut butter sandwich. Children in Australia like to bring vegemite sandwiches in their lunch boxes to eat at school.

After my first trip to Australia, I decided to let my students try vegemite. I found a place to order it in the United States and put a little bit on an unsalted cracker to give to each of my students. Only one or two liked it and the rest threw it away. I did this with several classes and even brought some back the second time I went to Australia. I also had the students write a descriptive paragraph about it and never saw so many words that meant "yukky".

That was years ago and I still run into students, now grown, who tell me they remember the nasty stuff I gave them from Australia. Now I can buy it locally and I just let the students smell it rather than have them eat it. Of course, actually eating the stuff wasn't a requirement but all the students wanted to try it.