Bovril 4961 224221263 2008-07-07T21:32:18Z Rjwilmsi 203434 no 'of' between a month and a year per [[Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_%28dates_and_numbers%29#Longer_periods|MOS]] using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] [[Image:Bovril 250g.jpg|200px|thumb|right| Bovril in a 250g jar]] '''Bovril''' is the trademarked name of a thick, salty [[beef]] extract, sold in a distinctive, bulbous jar. It is made in [[Burton upon Trent]], [[Staffordshire]] and distributed by Unilever UK. It can be made into a drink by diluting with hot water. It can also be used as a flavouring for [[soup]]s, [[stew]]s 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". The ''-vril'' comes from [[Edward George Bulwer-Lytton|Bulwer-Lytton]]'s once-popular 1870 "lost race" novel, ''[[The Coming Race]]'' (also reprinted as ''[[Vril: The Power of the Coming Race]]''), in which a subterranean [[humanoid]] race have mental control over, and devastating powers from, an energy fluid named "Vril."[http://www.ubfoods.co.uk/ourbrands/foods/bovril.asp] ==History== [[Image:Bovrilvanda.jpg|thumb|Poster for Bovril, about 1900 V&A Museum no. E.163-1973]] [[Image:The Pope and Bovril.jpg|thumb|The Two Infallible Powers - The Pope & Bovril]] In the year of 1870, in the war against the [[Prussia]]ns, [[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 people|Scottish]] man named [[John Lawson Johnston]]. Unfortunately, [[United Kingdom|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 [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] [[pub]]s, [[grocer]]s and [[Dispensing chemist|chemist]]s 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 [[George Lawson Johnston, 1st Baron Luke|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 of the House of Lords|reform]]. Bovril holds the unusual position of having been advertised with [[Papal]] approval. 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== [[Image:Bovril on 60% rye bread.JPG|250px|thumb|right|Jar of Bovril and Bovril on bread]] [[Image:Bovril chicken.jpg|250px|thumb|right|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 to a [[yeast extract]], both in the hope of allaying fears of [[bovine spongiform encephalopathy]] (BSE), and to make the product suitable for [[vegetarian]]s and [[vegan]]s. 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]]{{Fact|date=June 2008}}. 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. ==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 [[Black pepper#Varieties of pepper|white pepper]] and a little [[Cayenne pepper|cayenne]] into the drink. [[Burton Albion]] have named their home end after Bovril due to the sponsorships between club and company. ==See also== *[[Marmite]] *[[Vegemite]] (An Australian yeast extract) *[[Soup]] ==External links== *[http://www.unilever.co.uk/ Unilever Website] *[http://www.ubfoods.co.uk/ourbrands/foods/bovril.asp Bovril: A short official history] * Unilever [http://www.unilever.co.uk/ourbrands/cookingandeating/bovrilbeefsup.asp explains] the reintroduction of beef to Bovril. *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/4023239.stm BBC: No beef over Bovril's veggie move] *[http://graemestickings.members.beeb.net/bovril/index.htm Bring Back Beefy Bovril site] *[http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30400-13540318,00.html Bovril Beefs It Up Again] *[http://www.medianet.ca/bovril/bovril.htm The Bovril Shrine] {{Unilever}} [[Category:Yeast extract spreads]] [[Category:British brands]] [[Category:British cuisine]] [[Category:Scottish inventions]] [[Category:Unilever brands]] [[Category:Umami enhancers]] [[es:Bovril]] [[fr:Bovril]] [[pt:Bovril (culinĂ¡ria)]] [[sv:Bovril]]