Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion described the salty spread as a "precursor to misery". He said it was being bought in bulk to make moonshine. Brewer's yeast is a key ingredient in the spread and is used in the production of beer and ale.
In communities where alcohol is banned because of addiction problems, Mr Scullion said Vegemite sales should also be restricted. "Businesses in these communities ... have a responsibility to report any purchase that may raise their own suspicions," he said.
The minister added that in some cases, children were failing to turn up to school because they were too hung-over, and that Vegemite was an increasingly common factor in domestic violence cases. Vegemite started as a war-time substitute for Marmite, and is now something of an Australian culinary icon.
5 comments:
A precursor to misery? You don't need to brew it to get misery, have you tasted that stuff, it's misery incarnate on its own.
This makes no sense. It may be used, in the same way that marmite is used, to give the yeast the B-vitamins that it needs to thrive, but that is at the rate of about .25 of a teaspoon per gallon - in bulk it'd stop fermentation because of the salt levels.
Best tasting thing ever. Loved it the moment I tried it. Trick is to toast your bread, then add a small amount of Margarine or Butter, then add the Vegemite while toast still warm. Have the Vegemite at room temperature (do not put it in the fridge). Don't use a lot, a small amount can go a long way. Yuuuuummmmmmmm!
Anonymous, if you're not an Aussie, you get honorary status due to this comment. You should also try it on fresh, crusty bread – lashings of butter, so decadent! Or on Salada/Premium biscuits, or old school on SAOs! You'll have to Google them. Children Australia-wide love to squish the biscuits (crackers) together to make worms squeeze out of the holes.
However, although delicious, I agree with Clare that the story is a media beat-up. "Remote communities" equals "Aboriginal communities", where it's true that alcohol addiction is an incredibly serious problem, and people choose to live in dry communities to avoid its pitfalls. The story smacks of racism, as much as I hate to think that – and while maybe based on some true info, the media just love to jump and run. Sigh.
A good rebuttal here, from Indigenous media: http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2015/08/10/it-even-possible-make-vegemite-alcohol
Hard to believe that making alcohol contributes to anti-social behaviour.
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