Seamus O’Connor-Walker starts his morning off with singing birds, blue skies and a thin spread of gelatinous black Vegemite on toast. This scrumptious snack has been a long time favorite of Seamus’s, but what exactly is it? This food paste is made from the leftover yeast extract from beer breweries, supplemented by various vegetable and spice additives.

“It’s pretty savory and salty,” explained Seamus as though attempting to describe the indescribable. He admits that many don’t like this Australian phenomenon, but he attributes this not to its poor taste, but to the failure of the eater to apply it correctly. “With a knife. You spread it with a knife,” he said, as though it was obvious.

Later, he explained this in more detail while responding to President Obama’s comment on vegemite that, “it’s horrible.” He stated,“I would say [Obama] didn’t eat it correctly. I would say he probably consumed it in a way that would make it taste horrible.” Seamus went on to explain that his sister once tricked a friend into eating a spoonful of Vegemite, claiming it was chocolate pudding, and how now his friend has developed a powerful hate of Vegemite. “I would tell Obama to have it on toast with butter and try that.”

In case Seamus’s passionate testimony about Vegemite was not enough to explain how well loved this food is, here is some information about Vegemite’s close cousin, New Zealand Marmite. The 2011 Earthquake left the only marmite factory damaged and forced it to close. With no production taking place the stocks of Marmite dwindled until Marmageddon had officially set it. In the worst months the ‘black gold’ was selling new or used for up to 800 dollars per 250 gram jar. This love of Marmite is comparable to the Australian’s love of Vegemite.

Seamus said that ultimately Vegemite has changed his life in two ways. The first is that it has been a food that starts his morning strong, giving him energy to be the best he can be. The second he summarized brilliantly when he said, “It also has resulted in me being interviewed for the Web. So this could change my life in a big way. This is kind of my breakthrough moment.” So whether Vegemite interests you, scares you, or offends – still give it a try. It might become something you love so much that you would pay $800 a jar for it. It might even change your life.