Popular snacks and Marmite - Kiwis' favorite spread

The advantage of living with locals is that you get a good insight into their daily life, habits, and preferences.

Emma is definitely introducing us to the Kiwi culture and always lets us taste various typical New Zealand delicacies.

First, there are the so-called 'Pineapple Lumps', foam sugar pieces with chocolate coating and pineapple flavor. We tried them and unfortunately didn't find them too good. The pineapple flavor is way too artificial. The chocolate is okay. ;-) However, New Zealanders simply love their Pineapple Lumps. They are even Emma's father's favorite treat.

Next: Marmite, a black yeast extract similar in consistency to our sugar beet syrup. We already had the 'pleasure' of trying Marmite when we were with Colleen. Pure on toast. Not a good idea. The taste is so savory and peculiar that even one bite was too much. After this traumatic experience, we were initially a bit hesitant when Emma highly recommended a cheese sandwich with Marmite that she made. When we told her about our first experience, she just laughed. No New Zealander would eat this paste pure! You only take a very small amount and use it, for example, for these mentioned cheese sandwiches. Surprisingly, we liked this combination very much and we have to expressly revise our first impression of Marmite. It tastes good if you know how. :-)

In addition, Emma taught us how to eat TimTams properly. TimTams are crisp chocolate-coated biscuits. They come in countless flavors. They are especially enjoyed with coffee or hot chocolate. First, you bite off the front and back end and then use the middle part as a straw for your drink. After one or two sips, the biscuit has soaked up the coffee or whichever beverage you chose and it's really a pleasure to eat the rest all at once. It's so good! This time we were immediately convinced.

And finally: Chocolate from Whittaker's, a traditional New Zealand family-owned company. They come in all imaginable flavors. Emma's favorite flavor is the pure milk chocolate, so we had to try that one first. It really tastes very, very good! We are slowly making our way through the assortment. ;-) I read in a book that Whittaker's chocolate is one of the foods that New Zealanders miss when they are abroad. Now we understand why.

Let's see what else there is to discover here!