Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick and salty
meat extract
Meat extract is highly concentrated meat stock, usually made from beef or chicken. It is used to add meat flavour in cooking, and to make broth for soups and other liquid-based foods.
Meat extract was invented by Baron Justus von Liebig, a Germ ...
paste similar to a
yeast extract
Yeast extracts consist of the cell contents of yeast without the cell walls; they are used as food additives or flavorings, or as nutrients for bacterial culture media. They are often used to create savory flavors and umami taste sensations, a ...
, developed in the 1870s by
John Lawson Johnston
John Lawson Johnston (1839– 24 November 1900) was a Scottish entrepreneur and the creator of Bovril. He was born in 29 Main Street, Roslin, Midlothian. A memorial plaque is on the property and can be seen above the door. The plaque was put th ...
. It is sold in a distinctive bulbous jar, and as cubes and granules. Bovril is owned and distributed by
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...
UK. Its appearance is similar to the British
Marmite
Marmite ( ) is a British savoury food spread based on yeast extract, invented by the German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing ( lees) and is produced by the British company Unilever. Marmite is a vegan ...
and its Australian equivalent
Vegemite
Vegemite ( ) is a thick, dark brown Australian food spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. It was developed by Cyril Callister in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1922.
A spread for sandwiches, ...
.
Bovril can be made into a drink (referred to in the UK as a "beef tea") by diluting with hot water or, less commonly, with milk. It can be used as a flavouring for soups, broth, stews or porridge, or as a spread, especially on toast in a similar fashion to Marmite and Vegemite.
Etymology
The first part of the product's name comes from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''bovīnus'', meaning "ox". Johnston took the ''-vril'' suffix from
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secret ...
's then-popular novel, ''
The Coming Race
''The Coming Race'' is a novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, published anonymously in 1871. It has also been published as ''Vril, the Power of the Coming Race''.
Some readers have believed the account of a superior subterranean master race and th ...
'' (1871), the plot of which 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
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
ordered one million cans of beef to feed his troops.
The task of providing this went to John Lawson Johnston, a Scottish butcher living in Canada.
Large quantities of beef were available across the British Dominions and South America, but transport and storage were problematic. Therefore, Johnston created a product known as 'Johnston's Fluid Beef', later called Bovril, to meet Napoleon's needs.
By 1888, over 3,000
UK public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
s, grocers and
dispensing chemist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...
s were selling Bovril. In 1889, Bovril Ltd was formed to develop Johnston's business further.
During the 1900
Siege of Ladysmith
The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.
Background
As war with the Boer republics appeared likely in June 1899, the War Office ...
in the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
, a Bovril-like paste was produced from horsemeat within the garrison. Nicknamed ''Chevril'' (a portmanteau of Bovril and ''cheval'', French for ''horse'') it was made by
boiling down
Boiling down was the term used in Australia for the process of rendering the fat from animal carcasses to produce tallow. It was a common activity on farms and pastoral properties to produce tallow to be made into soap and candles for domestic us ...
horse or
mule
The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...
meat to a jelly and serving it as a beef tea-like mixture. Bovril also produced concentrated,
pemmican
Pemmican (also pemican in older sources) is a mixture of tallow, dried meat, and sometimes dried berries. A calorie-rich food, it can be used as a key component in prepared meals or eaten raw. Historically, it was an important part of indigenou ...
-like dried beef as part of the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
emergency
field ration
A field ration (combat ration, ration pack, or food packet) is a type of prepackaged or canned military ration. Field rations are distinguished from garrison rations by virtue of being designed for minimal preparation in the field, as well ...
during the war. The ration came in the form of a pocket-sized tin can that contained the beef on one half alongside a dried
cocoa drink on another half. The dried beef could be eaten alone, or mixed with water to create a beef tea.
Bovril continued to function as a "war food" in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and was frequently mentioned in the 1930 account ''
Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War'' by
Helen Zenna Smith. It describes the drink being prepared for the casualties at
Mons
Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...
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".
Bovril beef tea was the only hot drink that
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...
's team had when they were marooned on
Elephant Island
Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...
during the 1914–17
Endurance Expedition
The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing ...
.
When John Lawson Johnston died, his son
George Lawson Johnston inherited and took over the Bovril business. In 1929, George Lawson Johnston was made
Baron Luke
Baron Luke, of Pavenham in the County of Bedford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1929 for the businessman George Lawson Johnston. He was the second son of John Lawson Johnston, the founder of Bovril Ltd. the ...
, 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,
James Goldsmith
Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier, tycoon''Billionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith'' by Ivan Fallon and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family.
His contr ...
's
Cavenham Foods
Cavenham Foods was one of the United Kingdom's largest food processing businesses.
History
The company was founded by Sir James Goldsmith in 1965 when he bought up a series of bakeries. In 1971 Cavenham acquired the Bovril Company but then sold ...
acquired the Bovril Company but then sold most of its dairies and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
n operations to finance further take-overs. The brand is now owned by the Anglo-Dutch multinational
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...
, which bought Bovril in 2001.
Bovril holds the unusual distinction of having been advertised with a
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
. An advertising campaign of the early 20th century in Britain depicted
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
seated on his throne, bearing a mug of Bovril. The campaign slogan read: ''The Two Infallible Powers – The Pope & Bovril.''
Licensed production
Bovril is produced in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
by the Bokomo division of Pioneer Foods.
Recipe changes
In 2004, Unilever removed beef ingredients from the Bovril formula, rendering it vegetarian. This was mainly due to concerns about decreasing sales, particularly from exports due to an export ban on British beef, as a result of the growing popularity of
vegetarianism
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism may ...
, religious dietary requirements, and public concerns about
bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of t ...
. In 2006, Unilever reversed that decision and reintroduced beef ingredients to their Bovril formula once sales increased and the beef export bans were lifted. Unilever now produces Bovril using beef extract and a chicken variety using chicken extract.
In November 2020,
Forest Green Rovers Football Club announced a collaboration with the makers of Bovril to create a
beet
The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...
-based version of Bovril to be sold at their
New Lawn stadium, where meat-based products had been removed from sale some years prior.
Cultural significance
Bovril was promoted as a
superfood in the early 20th century. Advertisements recommended people to dilute it into a tea or spread it on their morning toast. Some adverts even claimed that Bovril could protect one from
influenza
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...
.
Bovril jars are commonly excavated as part of archaeological assemblages, such as at
Knowles Mill
Knowles Mill is the remains of an eighteenth-century water-powered grain mill, located in the Wyre Forest in Worcestershire, England. The mill has been owned by the National Trust since 1938. The mill and its surroundings feature extant machiner ...
in Worcestershire.
Since its invention, Bovril has become an
icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
of
British culture
British culture is influenced by the combined nations' history; its historically Christian religious life, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the traditions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and the impact of the British Empire. ...
. It is associated with
football culture. During the winter British football fans in stadium terraces drink it as a tea from
Thermos
A vacuum flask (also known as a Dewar flask, Dewar bottle or thermos) is an insulating storage vessel that greatly lengthens the time over which its contents remain hotter or cooler than the flask's surroundings. Invented by Sir James Dewa ...
flasks – or from
disposable cup
A disposable cup is a type of tableware and disposable food packaging. Disposable cup types include paper cups, plastic cups and foam cups. Expanded polystyrene is used to manufacture foam cups, and polypropylene is used to manufacture plasti ...
s in Scotland, where thermoses are
banned from football stadiums.
In the film ''
In Which We Serve
''In Which We Serve'' is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by Noël Coward and David Lean. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information (United Kingdom), Ministry of Information.
The scree ...
'', the officers on the bridge are served "Bovril rather heavily laced with sherry" to warm them up, after being rescued during the
Dunkirk evacuation
The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...
of the
British Expeditionary Force.
British mountaineer
Chris Bonington
Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer.
His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest.
Early life and expeditions
Bonington's father, w ...
appeared in TV commercials for Bovril in the 1970s and 1980s in which he recalled melting snow and ice on Everest to make hot drinks.
See also
*
Bonox
Bonox is a beef extract made in Australia, currently owned by Bega Cheese after it acquired the brand from Kraft Heinz in 2017. It is primarily a drink but can also be used as stock in cooking.
History
Bonox was invented by Camron Thomas for ...
*
Liebig's Extract of Meat
*
Portable soup
Portable soup was a kind of dehydrated food of English origin used in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was a precursor of meat extract and bouillon cubes, and of industrially dehydrated and instant food. It is also known as pocket soup or veal ...
*
Oxo
References
External links
Unilever Website* Unileve
explainsthe reintroduction of beef to Bovril.
BBC: No beef over Bovril's veggie move*
{{Authority control
Drink brands
Food brands of the United Kingdom
Products introduced in 1888
Scottish drinks
Scottish brands
Scottish inventions
Umami enhancers
Unilever brands