George Harrison's Go-To Sandwich Was A 3-Ingredient British Masterpiece

Devotees of the band anxiously awaited the release of Peter Jackson's 8-hour documentary, "The Beatles: Get Back," in 2021. The director was said to have spent nearly half a decade culling more than 60 hours' worth of film and audio recordings, and fans hoped it would reveal secrets long-held by the furtive Fab Four. Perhaps there would be new, unheard music. A hint at why the beloved band broke up. Secret conversations between Lennon and McCartney. What they didn't expect to learn was which side of the great British debate George Harrison was on. Turns out the late Beatle was indeed a Marmite fan, asking, as he was about to start playing, for a sandwich with the yeasty spread, lettuce, and cheese.

The divide over Marmite has been ongoing since it was introduced by a German scientist who concentrated brewers' yeast and turned it into a spread in 1902. Even the product's current maker, Unilever, acknowledges that Brits fall into one of two camps: "lovers" and "haters." Harrison, who also suggests it would make a great flavor for crisps (what we call potato chips), was clearly a lover. But, as we also learn in the documentary, fellow Beatle Ringo Starr was a hater, rejecting his bandmate's suggestion of Marmite-flavored snacks.

There is a misunderstood difference between Marmite and Vegemite, an Australian spread also made from brewers' yeast but with additional species, celery, and onion flavors. Although the former is often used on toast for breakfast, it is a great umami ingredient for your pantry and can be a tasty addition to many savory dishes.

George Harrison's choice of sandwich during the 1969 recording sessions may have been necessitated in part by his vegetarianism. Although he had grown up enjoying a typical English Sunday roast dinner (roast beef, potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding, and plenty of gravy) and loved his wife Pattie's Shepherd's Pie, he adopted a vegetarian diet in 1965, saying he disliked the idea of killing animals and found meat-based diets unhealthy and unnatural. Harrison, who spent a lot of time in India, is thought to have enjoyed the country's food as much as he liked its music and its spirituality. Among his favorite dishes were curried cauliflower with brown rice, lentil curry, samosas, and vegetable biryani.

Harrison's die-hard fans may have an easier time adopting his vegetarian diet and love for Indian food. While some U.S. flavors and restaurants have made their way across the ocean, such as Chick-fil-A opening permanent locations in four UK cities, Americans have not developed a taste for Marmite. But, if you want to go down a rabbit hole for an afternoon, you can spend a lot of time on social media watching videos of "Americans trying Marmite for the very first time."