Disgusting Food Museum: Sweden museum upsets Australian over Vegemite

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03:07

A museum in Sweden has triggered a good natured war of sorts with Australia over one of its cultural icons. The Disgusting Food Museum has included Vegemite in a display that some Australians see as an insult to a food staple enjoyed by millions of people every day. Greg Navarro explains.

The reaction on the faces of people at Sweden's Disgusting Food Museum is what you would expect.

Even a whiff of a foul smelling food is enough to elicit the kind of response that organisers say is essential to our survival.

SAMUEL WEST, CURATOR THE DISGUSTING FOOD MUSEUM "The evolutionary function of disgust is to help us avoid foods that might be dangerous, that are contaminated, toxic, gone off."

For Australian chef Aaron Teece, there's one Aussie staple in the museum.

AARON TEECE OWNER AND DIRECTOR, STUDIO NEON "Yeah look I don't understand how it became one of the world's most disgusting foods."

That just doesn't make sense. One that he considers far from disgusting.

"It's Australia, it's just what you have."

Vegemite has become a staple in Australian cupboards since it was first created in the 1920's.

The thick, dark, salty spread with its unique flavour.

"Something like a umami."

"It's sort of a molassesy."

"Meaty but without meat, if you know what I mean."

"It has found its way on to toast for millions in the morning as a healthy start to the day."

PROFESSOR JAYASHREE ARCOT FOOD SCIENCE AND TECH, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES "We find thiamine which is otherwise vitamin B-1, riboflavin which is B-2, niacin which is B-3 as well as folate."

Vegemite has also earned a special place in the nation's collective cultural consciousness.

"It's just something that I grew up with."

While some Australian media outlets have feigned outrage over Vegemite's inclusion into the Disgusting Food Museum - people here are well aware of its acquired taste.

That was underscored in a recent Pizza Hut ad featuring a limited Vegemite stuffed crust pizza sampled by overseas visitors.

"Oh my God, ew, that's disgusting."

GREG NAVARRO SYDNEY "The museum's curator - who happens to be a fan of Vegemite - reportedly said that he could understand how eating it could be traumatic for people who mistook it for a hazelnut spread."

But Vegemite - in limited amounts - can also be found in culinary creations - including Teece's croquettes with a Vegemite Aioli.

"You know what? That's not disgusting."

SAMUEL WEST, CURATOR THE DISGUSTING FOOD MUSEUM "I want people to come here and be fascinated by some disgusting foods, from - for them - exotic cultures, but then also see some familiar foods that they like, and then ask themselves the question - what is this doing in The Disgusting Food Museum?"

Conveying the idea that disgust is culturally learned - and determining what's delicious, depends on where you come from.

Greg Navarro, CGTN.