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Bovril in a 250g jar

Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick, salty beef extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston and sold in a distinctive, bulbous jar. It is made in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire and distributed by Unilever UK.

Bovril can be made into a drink by diluting with hot water. It can also be used as a flavouring for soups, stews or porridge, or spread on bread, especially toast, rather like Marmite.

The first part of the product's name comes from Latin bos (genitive bovis) meaning "ox" or "cow". Johnston took the -vril suffix from Bulwer-Lytton's then-popular 1870 "lost race" novel The Coming Race, whose plot revolves around a powerful energy fluid named "Vril".^[1]

History

Poster for Bovril, about 1900 V&A Museum no. E.163-1973

The Two Infallible Powers - The Pope & Bovril

In the year of 1870, in the war against the Prussians, Napoleon III found that his armies could not 'march on empty stomachs'. He therefore ordered one million cans of beef to feed his starving troops. The task of providing all this beef went to a Scottish man named John Lawson Johnston. Unfortunately, Britain did not have a large enough quantity of beef to meet the French people's and Napoleon III's demand, so Johnston created a product known as 'Johnston's Fluid Beef' -- later called Bovril.

By the year 1888, in excess of 3000 British pubs, grocers and chemists were beginning to sell Bovril. In 1889, the Bovril Company was formed. 1966 saw the beginnings of Bovril's instant beef stock, followed by the 'King Beef' range of instant flavours for stews, casseroles and gravy in 1971.

Bovril continued to function as a "war food" in World War I, and was frequently mentioned in the 1930 account "Not So Quiet... Stepdaughters of War" by Helen Zenna Smith (Evadne Price). As a drink mixing the beef-flavouring with hot water, it helped sustain ambulance drivers.

A thermos of "beef tea" was the favoured way to fend off the chill of winter matches for generations of Scottish and English football enthusiasts; to this day Bovril dissolved in hot water is sold in stadiums all over the United Kingdom.

Bovril was based in Argentina, and at the height of the Bovril empire, the company owned ranches in Argentina that were equivalent in size to half of England and sustaining over 1.5 million livestock.

When John Lawson Johnston died, George Lawson Johnston inherited the Bovril business. In 1929, George Lawson Johnston was recognised by the British Government and monarchy and was ennobled as Lord Luke, of Pavenham in the county of Bedford. This hereditary title passed to Ian St John Lawson Johnston in 1943 and to Arthur Charles St John Lawson Johnston in 1996. The current Lord Luke is one of the ninety hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom after its 1999 reform.

Bovril holds the unusual position of having been advertised with a Pope. An advertising campaign of the early 20th Century in Britain depicted the Pope seated on his throne, bearing a mug of Bovril. The campaign slogan ran: "The Two Infallible Powers - The Pope & Bovril".

Product Range

Jar of Bovril and Bovril on bread

Chicken Bovril

• Bovril 125g
• Bovril 250g
• Bovril 500g
• Bovril 125g (Chicken)
• Bovril cubes (12x71g)

Recipe

In November 2004, the manufacturers, Unilever, announced that the composition of Bovril was being changed from beef extract to a yeast extract, claiming it was to make the product suitable for vegetarians and vegans, although at the time fear of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) may have been a factor. According to Unilever, "in blind taste tests, 10% didn't notice any difference in taste, 40% preferred the original and 50% preferred the new product."

The manufacturer also hoped to increase exports (Unilever UK Export) to Asian countries such as Malaysia, a primarily Muslim country where the government was becoming restrictive regarding non-halal meat. By changing Bovril to a non-meat base, Unilever hoped to increase sales in the country, where people enjoy Bovril stirred into porridge.

The removal of beef from the recipe in 2004 was not without criticism, with many complaining that the new variant did not taste the same and had a different mouth feel^{[citation needed]}. Beef extract was eventually re-introduced as a key Bovril ingredient in 2006, after the European Commission lifted its ban on the export of Britain's beef products - it was only at this point that the manufacturer stated explicitly that this had been the main reason for beef's removal.

Culture

Bovril is served at the Groucho Club and is associated with football culture, being commonly drunk on the terraces from thermos flasks in winter. At Scottish football stadiums, containers such as thermos flasks are banned by law, so Bovril is purchased inside the grounds, where it is served in polystyrene or plastic cups.

Some Bovril lovers (as seen at football matches) like to shake white pepper and a little cayenne into the drink. Burton Albion have named their home end after Bovril due to the sponsorships between club and company.

Famous Bovril Drinkers include former Coventry City stalwart Boncho Guenchev, BB7's Aislene Horgan-Wallace and London Scottish's Martin Tattersall.

In July 2008 NME magazine famously referred to up-and-coming Manchester based indie band 'MUCKY MiNDS' as, "Vampire Weekend on Bovril".

See also

• Marmite
• Vegemite (An Australian yeast extract)
• Soup

External links

• Official Bovril Website
• Unilever Website
• Bovril: A short official history
• Unilever explains the reintroduction of beef to Bovril.
• BBC: No beef over Bovril's veggie move
• Bring Back Beefy Bovril site
• Bovril Beefs It Up Again
• The Bovril Shrine

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