What is the difference in flavor between Vegemite and Marmite?

Question

I've had Vegemite a couple of times (a friend of mine gave me a bottle of it after a trip to Oz), and boy was it salty! } X ^ P We Yanks aren't used to that, at least I'm not. I did dissolve it into water to steam veggies with, and as soup base it would be good. It's straight up that's hard for me to handle.

I saw Marmite in the grocery store a couple of months ago, and was hesitant to buy it, but still curious. Does it taste the same as Vegemite? Is it different? If so, how so?

Thank you all for the details, much appreciated.

A friend of mine from Oz was visiting, she was in my kitchen while I whipped out the Vegemite. She told me how to eat it, just a thin scraping with butter on toasted bread. I did as she said, and she was there to watch too, but even then...... { X ^ P Ooo, better I use that as soup base.

Now I wanna try both, side by side. Just a tiny dab at full power, and also diluted in water.

Answer 1

I'm Australian and I have to say I prefer Vegemite. I love it on toast. Anyway, getting back to your question, I find Marmite a little bit tangy compared to Vegemite. They both are very strong flavoured. I always recommend to people who don't like it to maybe put a tiny scraping of Vegemite on toast or a sandwich ( I think sometimes people use too much for their first try and get put off) and margarine or butter must be used, this is very important people and I can't stress that enough! LOL!!! Vegemite is so thick and it tastes too strong on bread on it's own.
I use Vegemite in soup bases and it is good for that. ;)

Answer 2

Walter's answer is absolutely the pick of the bunch. I will go further by adding that English Marmite is quite different from the New Zealand version (the English stuff being 'hotter' and more intense), and there is a difference between Aussie and NZ Vegemite too - not sure why. I recently heard that the Marmite factory in the North had burned down. People will be devastated or thrilled, depending on their point of view...

Answer 3

Pretty much the same... like Coke and Pepsi. If you try them side by side you may notice a slight difference though.
Marmite was first and story of how vegemite came about here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite.