I can’t eat this anymore! People are learning how to make marmite and the secret ingredient freaks them out
Love it or hate it, Marmite is a British staple—we eat it by the bucketload, or rather, 25 million packages a year.
And whether it’s on toast, in a cheeseburger, or mixed into stews, if you’re a fan of those things, there’s not much that can’t be improved by adding a spoonful.
But have you ever thought about how it is made? A resurfaced video showing the process behind the spread has caused sharp divisions among people.
On Channel 4’s Food Unwrapped, presenter Kate Kelton, 39, traveled to a factory to see for herself how marmite and other yeast extracts are made.
Located in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the business has been making the black stuff since 1902, and Kate went behind the scenes to chat with the official ‘Makers of Marmite’.
Speaking to Sinjin Skelton, the plant’s quality specialist, he explained how yeast extract is created.
Have you ever wondered how marmite is made? A documentary revealing the inner workings of a yeast extract spread has left some fans frustrated and declaring they’ll never be able to eat it again (Stock Image)
“When breweries make beer,” he said, “they take a sugary solution and add yeast to it, and the yeast converts the sugar into alcohol.”
Explaining the science behind it all, Kate revealed that as yeast cells multiply they produce alcohol, and as a result, breweries end up with up to seven times more yeast than they started with.
Then it is sold to factories to make yeast extract and pumped into large vats.
Giant vats, or braziers as they’re officially called, are heated to 95 degrees which kills live yeast and destroys their cell walls.
“What happens there is we adjust the temperature so that the yeast starts to break down,” Singin says.
Kate explains that the “yeast soup” is separated using a centrifuge into two liquids, leaving the broken cell walls and cell entrails.
Upon realizing that Marmite is actually the internal parts of an alcohol by-product, viewers were horrified.
Channel 4’s Kate Quilton went behind the scenes at a factory that’s been making Marmite for more than 100 years to find out exactly what goes into the famous spread
Viewers of the show had mixed reactions to finding out exactly what went into Marmite and learning how to make it
“Oh my God I can’t eat this anymore. But my childhood,” one former fan wrote.
‘Marmit people!’ They are the people!! exclaimed a second person, exaggerating greatly.
A third viewer wrote: He wasn’t expecting his answer (sort of). I was expecting him to say that, but come back and say not just kidding or something.
Another viewer added, “It’s basically dried yeast offal mixed with vegetable broth.”
While another person said: “Toast, marmite and beer. The yeasty way to start the day.”
After explaining how Marmite was started, Sinjin then reveals six secret ingredients have been added.
Kate shared, “According to the label, it has malt, salt, vegetable juice concentrate, and celery — but whatever it is, it’s mixed with yeast extract and fills 25 million jars a year.”
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