Kyle Kellams: This is Ozarks at Large. I’m Kyle Kellams. About once a month we invite two scientists from the University of Arkansas, Erin Howie and Jamie Baum, to the Anthony and Susan Hui News Studio for our series Balance. Each session is devoted to topics related to nutrition, exercise, health, and well-being.
In early September, they were here and we discussed the challenges the back-to-school season can bring for eating well and maintaining a regular exercise schedule. You can find that edition of Balance and all the others at kuaf.com or Ozarks at Large.
What also took place during that back-to-school visit from Jamie and Erin was our first-ever Balance food tasting. Erin, you see, spent the spring semester earlier this year in Australia, and she brought back something that’s a principal part of the Australian diet, Vegemite.
Howie: In Australia, the staple sandwich is Vegemite and cheese.
Buam: Cheese?
Howie: Usually cheese or just Vegemite and butter or just Vegemite sandwich. Yes. So I thought I would bring some Vegemite for us to try today.
Kellams: Jamie, have you ever had Vegemite?
Baum: Maybe once. Years ago.
Kellams: Okay, so Erin provided the Vegemite. A jet black spread that smells a little bit like catfish bait. And she also brought some saltine crackers to be the vessel for the Vegemite. Well, here’s how our tasting transpired.
Howie: Here, I’ll take it out here. I did bring this whole little jar. It’s quite heavy. It has “B vitamins for vitality” is written on the front, but it is concentrated yeast extract. If you’d like to see our practice reading nutrition labels.
Kellams: Oh my gosh.
Baum: How much sodium?
Kyle Kellams: It contains wheat and gluten.Okay. Sodium.It has 165 milligrams.
Erin Howie: That’s not terrible.
Kellams: That’s 7 percent of my daily allowance. Or at least it is in Australia, I guess, seven percent.
Howie: So here we go. And I would recommend it’s always the best joke when Americans try Vegemite is they just take a spoon like you might do with peanut butter. And, you know, take a little scoop and just try it that way. It will never be good that way.
Kellams: Okay, so we’re not gonna do the practical joke version.
Howie: No. I brought along some saltines. Okay, so we’re just gonna let you put as much as you’d like. Okay. And I would say not a heavy spread. Okay.
Baum: I think it’s funny because the address is One Vegemite Way of the company.
Kellams: Ah. I mean, Vegemite is huge, right? I mean, it is. Okay.
Howie: There are Vegemite flavored pastries. There’s chocolate with Vegemite in it. It’s everywhere.
Kellams: Okay. I’m gonna. Can I open it?
Howie: Yep.
Kellams: It’s sealed.
Howie: And I will say we have a stock at home.
Kellams: I just took a whiff. It’s. Oh, you know what’s. Oh, wow. Okay. I haven’t tasted it yet. That was just.
Howie: So you’ve never had it?
Kellams: No, I had it in 1985 once.
Howie: Okay. Cheers. Here we go.
Kellams: Should we have. What do you say? A water back or.
Howie: I mean, okay. Oh, I did bring a chaser.
Kellams: Oh.
Baum: How do you toast in Australia? Do they say any special
Howie: chocolate? So I did also bring some Australian chocolate. So we have some Caramello Koalas and caramel wallabies
Baum: because remember it’s about balance.
Howie: Yes, yes. And you might need them.
Kellams: I’m gonna go ahead and open my caramel wallaby just so it’s ready to go. Oh it’s in the shape of a wallaby, I see. It’s like a caramel rabbit, but it’s a wallaby.
Baum: Cheers.
Howie: Cheers.
Kellams: I’m not gonna do the whole cracker, though. At once. Cheers. I’m committed to eating the whole thing, but I’m gonna do a bite first. So.
Baum: It does have, like, a feet type. It’s.
Kellams: I’ll say this. It’s not. I might be able to get to used to that now that I’ve had a-
Baum: Well, I really tasted the saltine at first. And then I thought, oh, you’re making too big of a deal. But then it really does hit you. Second.
Kellams: No, I don’t know if I could get used to it.
Howie: There’s just I find that there’s no reason for it. Like, yes, I could eat it on toast, but I have no desire to.
Kellams: So while Jamie Baum and I were not instant converts to Vegemite, we thought we might be reacting a bit abruptly. So we decided we were going to wave down the first person to walk past the studio, which, as luck would have it happened to be Matthew, to get an additional opinion. Let me give you a caramel wallaby as a chaser.
Baum: As a chaser?
Moore: You’re really doing a great job of selling this to me, and we’re just-
Baum: Have you had it before?
Moore: No, no, I’ve heard of it, of course, but I’ve never had it before.
Kellams: Okay, so I just put a not a liberal amount on a saltine cracker. Smell it. Yeah. What does it smell like to you?
Moore: It smells more savory than I anticipated. Oh, way saltier than I expected. And that’s not the saltine either. I do not like that. Oh, the aftertaste really kicks you in the throat. Yeah.
Kellams: Jamie Baum and Erin Howie, scientists at the University of Arkansas, will be back with us, probably without Vegemite, for the next edition of our series Balance in October.
