MAYrathon 2.0 Day 4 - Marmite

Much like my list of sodas I've always wanted to try (I'll get to cross two more off that list this month), I've always had a mental list of strange foods that I've always hoped to run into one day and shove down my gullet. Not because I think they would be necessarily tasty or gross, but just so I could say, "I've tried that." Items like turtle soup, rocky mountain oysters, chocolate covered ants and many more have continued to evade me for years, but today, at my local grocery store, I've finally found the fabled Marmite.

What is Marmite you say? Well it has quite the history and is one of the most polarizing and acquired taste foods out there. Their slogan is even "love it or hate it." It's huge in its native England, Australia (along with Vegemite) and especially in New Zealand where riots broke out when the country once decided to stop carrying it. So here's a brief history lesson. Marmite was invented by accident in 1902 when German chemist, Justus Liebig realized that brewer's yeast from a local brewery could be picked up off the assembly line, concentrated and eaten. With assistance from Bass Brewing Company, Marmite, packed with many vitamins, became a staple in the English diet, and being packed in the Allies' food rations in both World Wars. Not only good for you, but it apparently is extremely effective in keeping mosquitoes away!

This is not a popular spread in America and most people describe the dark black, savory spread as extremely salty and unbearable. It's typically eaten as a spread on toast or rolls or paired with cheese, but to get the full experience, I'm just going all in with a fork. The smell is very yeasty and salty with a bit of a soy sauce afterburn. I got some on the fork and it's very thick with a molasses texture. Well here goes....................whoa. Salty is an understatement. That may be the saltiest thing I have ever put in my mouth. Even saltier than salt which shouldn't even make sense. I immediately need some water. I don't know how anyone would eat this. Wow! Once the saltieness dies down, I'm left with a thick, malty, viscousy, film in my mouth and throat. It's so freaking strong. I'm glad I can cross this off my list, but I will never again eat Marmite. This may rival ketchup and Heineken as the thing I hate the most...

The Twelve Days of POPmas Day 3: Australian Style Hot Ginger Ale

Just got home after a long day, so this will probably be a short one. And a bit of a cheat, but more on that later. It's Australian Style Hot Ginger Ale.

Christmas in Australia! On Diggery Doo. On Wallaby. On Paul Hogan and Gibson. That's the extent of my Australian references. I also refuse to look up the spelling of diggery doo because I bleed American blood dammit! As expected, Christmas traditions are pretty similar in Australia and American except for one major difference - it's summertime! Instead of traditional holiday ham and snowmen, Australians celebrate with BBQs and water balloon fights. Santa wears sandals, and there's apparently a ton of random bush fires because Christmas typically falls on the hottest day of the year down under. This buzzfeed article shows some great comparisons between American and Australian Christmas. Right here

Alright so, not much in the way of funny, but like I said...long day! Let's try some Australian Style Hot Ginger Ale. So why is this one a cheat? Because technically it was made in America by the good folks at Rocket Fizz. But this one has been in my shelf for almost a year, and I have no other creative way of fitting this one in, so what the hell? First of all, what is Australian Style Hot Ginger Ale? The short answer is, no one knows. From what I can gather from the minimal, lazy research, it's a recreation of Australian's popular Bundaberg Ginger Beer. However, there's nothing that I can find about "hot" ginger ale/beer being an Australian drink. I think Rocket Fizz has some stock footage of a kangaroo lying around and decided to pull a fast one on us yanks. Either way, I AM a fan of spicy Ginger Ale. Goose Island makes one that is really, really good and I highly recommend seeking it out. Anywhoo, let's see what we got here...it smells a little like ginger ale, and a little like death. This one is definitely not in date, but there's no backing out now. It's got strong carbonation, decent ginger flavor, and it is indeed hot, after awhile. There's an after burn that comes on about fifteen seconds after swallowing. It's got some real heat! But it also tastes a bit old. This might be better if it were fresh, but we'll never know because I'll likely never buy it again. AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!  1.5 out of 5 Rudolph noses. So tired...I'm not even going to proofread this one. Publish. Post. Sleep.