Vegemite is Australia’s favourite national dish, according to YouGov survey

Our favourite national dish is as Aussie as it gets - and experts say you need to be born here to appreciate it. See the surprising full list of results.

THE humble jar of vegemite should be enshrined as the country’s national dish, Aussies have told a YouGov survey.

The pungent black paste has beat out other contenders such as the meat pie and pavlova in the survey, which also found the BBQ was Australia’s favourite leisure activity.

Vegemite was tops for 27 per cent of the 2297 people surveyed between December 27 and January 10, just ahead of the meat pie, at 26 per cent and lamb roast that was third on 21 per cent.

Chef Colin Fassnidge said a love of Vegemite seemed to be part of the DNA of Australians.

“The technical term is Umami, like sense and taste – sort of like what you get from mushrooms and things like that. I think it’s a taste people get addicted to … I think you have to be born in Australia to like it to be honest. It’s in the DNA,” he said.

Mr Fassnidge said Vegemite was popular in a number of dishes to add flavour, like you would with stock cubes.

“I would Vegemite into a stew, I would make a pie with Vegemite but I wouldn’t eat it raw … I think you have to be born here to appreciate it,” he said.

Melbourne’s Saville family are Vegemite lovers and always have a jar of Vegemite in the cupboard.

The Saville family love vegemite ,Mum Belinda and Zoe, 8, Isabella, 11, tuck into a Vegemite sandwich. Picture:Rob Leeson.

“It’d be interesting to see actually how many Australians have Vegemite at home. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t have Vegemite. When you go to someone’s house, you find that everyone’s got it,” Belinda Saville said.

It’s a product the mother-of-three enjoyed when she was young and now gives to her children.

“I think you just sort of grow up on it, you have it at school, in your sandwiches. It just seems like an item that you can take anywhere,” she said.

Vegemite on toast was the only thing she could stomach when she was pregnant and now her children are all big vegemite vans. Her 11 month old, Bailey, also loves it on toast, but so do her other children, Isabella, 11, and Zoe, 8.

Vegemite is Australia’s favourite dish, a new YouGov survey shows.

“When the kids are sick, the only thing that they feel like is Vegemite on toast. It’s something that they go to when they’re not feeling well as well. Like when they don’t feel like they need much,” she said.

Australia’s love of cooking and entertaining is also reflected in what we like to do in our free time.

Asked in the YouGov poll what their favourite leisure activity is, a barbecue with friends was top, at 18 per cent, just ahead of watching television, at 16 per cent and going to the beach, in third place at 13 per cent.

Originally published as Vegemite is Australia’s favourite national dish, according to YouGov survey