Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick, salty meat extract, developed in
the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston. It is sold in a distinctive, bulbous jar.
Bovril is made in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire; owned and distributed by
Unilever UK. Bovril can be made into a drink by
diluting with hot water, or less commonly, with milk. It can be used as a
flavouring for soups, stews or porridge, or spread on bread, especially toast.
Etymology The first part of the product's name
comes from Latin bovem, meaning "ox". Johnston took the -vril suffix from
Bulwer-Lytton's then-popular novel, The Coming Race, whose plot revolves around
a superior race of people, the Vril-ya, who derive their powers from an
electromagnetic substance named "Vril". Therefore, Bovril indicates great
strength obtained from an ox. History
In 1870, in the Franco-Prussian War, Napoleon III ordered one million cans of
beef to feed his troops. The task of providing all this beef went to a
Scotsman living in Canada named John Lawson Johnston. Large quantities of
beef were available across the British Dominions and South America, but its
transport and storage were problematic. Therefore, Johnston created a product
known as 'Johnston's Fluid Beef', later called Bovril, to meet the needs of
Napoleon III. By 1888, over 3,000 UK public houses, grocers and dispensing
chemists were selling Bovril. In 1889, the Bovril Company was formed.
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. One account from the book describes it being prepared for the
casualties at Mons where "the orderlies were just beginning to make Bovril for
the wounded, when the bearers and ambulance wagons were shelled as they
were bringing the wounded into the hospital".
A thermos of beef tea was the favoured way to fend off the chill of winter
matches for generations of British football enthusiasts; to this day,
Bovril dissolved in hot water is sold in stadiums all over the United Kingdom.
Bovril beef tea was the main warm drink that Ernest Shackleton's team had to
drink when they were marooned on Elephant Island during the Endurance
Expedition. When John Lawson Johnston died, his son
George Lawson Johnston inherited and took over the Bovril business. In 1929,
George Lawson Johnston was created Baron Luke, of Pavenham, in the county of
Bedford. Bovril's instant beef stock was launched
in 1966 and its "King of Beef" range of instant flavours for stews, casseroles
and gravy in 1971. In 1971, Cavenham Foods acquired the Bovril Company but
then sold most of its dairies and South American operations to finance further
take-overs. The brand is now owned by Unilever.
Bovril holds the unusual position of having been advertised with a Pope. An
advertising campaign of the early 20th century in Britain depicted Pope Leo
XIII seated on his throne, bearing a mug of Bovril. The campaign slogan read: The
Two Infallible Powers – The Pope & Bovril.
Licensed production Bovril is also produced in South Africa
by the Bokomo division of Pioneer Foods During the Siege of Ladysmith in the
Second Boer War, a Bovril-like paste was produced from horse meat within the
garrison. Nicknamed Chevril with Chev- in the Bovril name) it was produced by
boiling down horse or mule meat to a jelly paste and serving it as a beef
tea. Recipe changes
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; at that time,
fear of bovine spongiform encephalopathy may have been a factor.
However, it now makes Bovril using beef extract and a chicken variety using
chicken extract, although the vegetarian formula is still sold in some areas,
such as Australia and Hong Kong. Cultural significance
Since its invention, Bovril has become an icon of British culture. It is
commonly associated with football culture, since during the winter British
football fans in stadium terraces often drink it from thermoses.
During a 2011 episode of Top Gear, James May drank from an urn of Bovril while
driving a snowplough in Norway and commented: "We all know that when it's
snowing and it's cold you have Bovril. That's a rule of life." Bovril
reappeared in another episode of Top Gear in the form of Jeremy Clarkson's V8
Food Blender, wherein it was used to make a "Man's V8 Smoothie" complete with
raw beef and brick. James May was the only presenter who actually drank the
disgusting smoothie. See also
Bovril boats; informal name for sewage transport vessels
References External links
Official Bovril Website Unilever Website
Unilever explains the reintroduction of beef to Bovril.
BBC: No beef over Bovril's veggie move The Bovril Shrine