What is Bovril? Is it like Marmite or Vegemite? Do you eat it on chips or something? I am shockingly ignorant of British food.
-ahem-.
Bovril, formerly a beef extract, now is the trademarked name of a thick, salty yeast extract, sold in a distinctive, bulbous jar.
A spoonful of the semi-liquid paste in hot water makes a savoury drink. It can also be used as a flavouring for soups, stews or porridge, or spread on bread, especially toast.
In 1870-1871, in the war against the Germans, Napoleon III found that his armies could not 'march on empty stomachs'. Because of this he ordered one million cans of beef to feed his starving troops. The duty to provide all this beef went to a Scot called John Lawson Johnston. The only trouble was that Britain did not have a large enough quantity of beef to meet the French people's and Napoleon III's demand. John Lawson Johnston's first beef product was known as 'Johnston's Fluid Beef'. By the year 1888 in excess of 3000 English pubs, grocers and chemists were beginning to serve 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 was based in Argentina and at the height of the Bovril empire the company owned ranches in Argentina that totalled the equivalent size of half of England, and owning over 1.5 million livestock. When John Lawson Johnston died, George Lawson Johnston inherited Bovril business. In 1929 George Lawson Johnston was recognised by the British Government and monarchy and was knighted, with the title Lord Luke or Baron Luke. The title Lord Luke is a hereditary title, which was passed to Ian St John Lawson Johnston in 1943 and Arthur Charles St John Lawson Johnston in 1996, who is one of the very few hereditary peers who was voted to remain a Lord in the House Of Lords in London, England.
The name, like many late 19th and early 20th century tradenames, comes (partially) from Latin, bos meaning "ox." The vril component of the name comes from Bulwer-Lytton's once-popular 19th century "lost race" novel, The Coming Race, in which a subterranean humanoid race have mental control over, and devastating powers from, an energy fluid named "Vril."
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 vegetarians and vegans. 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 manufacturers also hoped to increase exports to Asian countries such as Malaysia, a primarily Muslim country whose government was becoming restrictive on non-halal meat. By changing Bovril to a non-meat base, Unilever hopes to grow sales in the country, where people enjoy Bovril stirred into coffee and porridge.
The removal of beef from the recipie has not gone without criticism, with many complaining that the new variant does not taste the same and even has a different mouth feel. One individual even set aside space on his own website to try and pursuade Unilever to re-release the old formula bovril with beef extract.
It is served at the Groucho Club and is associated with football culture, commonly being drunk on the terraces from thermos flasks in winter.
A potential serving suggestion (as seen at football matches) is to shake white pepper and maybe a little cayenne into it before drinking. It can also be spread on buttered toast and eaten in a similar way to Marmite.
In short: It's meat-flavoured paste that you can either drink or spread.
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