Pizza Hut has been changing a lot of things about their menu for 2015, but this new idea for a dark brown, gooey combination of yeast extracts is nothing new for Australians. Although most headlines about Pizza Hut center around their new drizzles, they are also prone to attracting weird press. For example, Pizza Hut delivery in the UK has been banned by a hospital as being a contamination risk .
http://youtu.be/0yA98MujNeM
Now, Pizza Hut is moving away from its balsamic vinegar drizzles and honey sriracha crust flavors to something completely different in the Southern Hemisphere. While Americans are enjoying the new flavors of the Pizza Hut menu, Australians are also getting a twist on the traditional pepperoni pizza with a brown brewer’s yeast byproduct called Vegemite.
Vegemite crusted pizza is surprisingly not that bad. Just tastes like Vegemite toast. pic.twitter.com/6iTtBt8YJS
— Harry Tucker (@harrytuckerr) January 20, 2015
Invented in 1922 in Australia, Vegemite is full of B vitamins and used as a spread for bread. The flavor is very savory and potent, but many Australians always have a jar of it in their house. Triple M 104.9 says Vegemite is, “that salty breakfast spread we all love.” The Chronicle in Australia says that the new Vegemite infused pizza from Pizza Hut, “It is the pizza Waltzing Matilda [the main character presented in the lyrics from the unofficial national anthem of Australia] would order, to have delivered within 30 minutes to his billabong.”
In a press release , Pizza Hut and Yum! Brands stated that they would release the new Vegemite-infused pizza in Australia to celebrate Australia Day on January 26. The Vegemite will be sold with any Pizza Hut pizza inside of a cheese filled crust.
The name that Pizza Hut gave the pie is a play on words for Vegemite and is called the Mitey Stuffed Crust Pizza. The pizza crust was introduced by Pizza Hut because the Doritoz Crunchy Crust Pizza was so popular when it went on the Australian market in December 2014.
Pizza Hut Australia Head of Marketing and Innovation, Fatima Syed said about the mozzarella and Vegemite stuffed crust:
“This flavor duo is an Australian rite of passage, a combination many of us have enjoyed since childhood, and we’re excited to have adopted it into our Stuffed Crust pizza family.”
http://youtu.be/Wj2J9_FXyJ0
But what do people actually think of this new Pizza Hut crust flavor? A video was released by Pizza Hut in Australia of complete strangers from around the world taking a bite of the Vegemite crust. After examining the pizza, taste testers wanted to know what the black stuff was in the crust and one said that the Vegemite did not smell bad. At the end of the Pizza Hut Mitey Crust Pizza video, the foreigners sampling all made sounds of disgust — one after another.
Some said they thought the Pizza Hut Vegemite crust pizza tasted like petrol, medicine, or “fish jam.” One opponent said, “If the Australian people like this… I don’t know… they are very crazy people.”
[All images from the linked references.]
