Bovril Beef Flavoured Drink - 450gm

Product Information

As a brand that for decades stood the test of time and still boasts iconic status in the public imagination, Bovril encapsulated notions of health and energy, stamina and stoicism. Bovril is good for you. It helps to build healthy bodies. Bovril is what explorers drink to keep their spirits up when times are tough. It’s what your British granny gives you to sip when you’re recovering from a bug. Bovril makes your Sunday roast gravy dark and strong. Bovril is made from cows, which is crucial to the difference between Marmite and Bovril. Heaven knows which bits are eyelashes and hooves. Marmite is 100% vegetarian and has been approved by the Vegetarian Society. Promite are made with yeast. Well, it’s not really a difference at all. How did Johnston build his brand – and how did he create an image for a gloopy substance that has its own niche in the history of British food? Steinitz looks at the ways in which Johnston built a huge market for Bovril which is just one of the products covered by her wider study of industrial health foods and culture between 1880 and 1920. It was an era marked by a new decadence as an expanding sector of the population could afford new-style convenience foods while many worried about a reversal of Darwinian evolution towards the physical and moral degeneration of the human race, caused by the evils of industry, drink and squalor. 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, of Pavenham, in the county of Bedford.

Bovril is produced in South Africa by the Bokomo division of Pioneer Foods. [18] Cultural significance [ edit ] Advertisement for Bovril at Southsea, c. 1914 Bovril advertising token issued for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria 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. [1] 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. [2] Etymology [ edit ] Copper alloy promotional medal or token for Bovril, c. 1866–1914 Since its invention, Bovril has become an icon of British culture. It is associated with football culture. During the winter British football fans in stadium terraces drink it as a tea from Thermos flasks – or from disposable cups in Scotland, where thermoses are banned from football stadiums. [20] [21] "The Two Infallible Powers: The Pope & Bovril"; poster for Bovril, c. 1900Bovril holds the unusual distinction 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. In the film In Which We Serve, the officers on the bridge are served "Bovril rather heavily laced with sherry" to warm them up, after being rescued during the Dunkirk evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force. [ citation needed] The scientific theories that surrounded Bovril linked it with electricity, another marvel of science that was changing people’s lives. “In the late Victorian era, there were many popular therapies that used electricity as a stimulant and tonic for nervous complaints and constipation,” said Steinitz. “Bovril also slotted into the temperance movement as a drink that was alcohol-free and yet not namby-pamby. It has a suitable dark, macho look and a meaty, macho smell.” It might not be the most appealing thing to Americans, but products like Bovril and Marmite contain high levels of vitamins C and E, which have been shown to reduce the risk of colon cancer. The first part of the product's name comes from Latin bovīnus, meaning "ox". [3] Johnston took the -vril suffix from Edward Bulwer-Lytton's then-popular novel, The Coming Race (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. [4] History [ edit ] Poster for Bovril, about 1900; V&A Museum no. E.163-1973

a b c Wong, Cecily; Thuras, Dylan (2021). Gastro obscura: a food adventurer's guide. New York: Workman Publishing Company. p.2. ISBN 9781523502196.Thompson, William Phillips (1920). Handbook of patent law of all countries. London: Stevens. p. 42 . Retrieved 5 August 2009. One serving provides a fifth of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of folic acid, a quarter of our riboflavin needs and 15 per cent of the niacin requirement. One serving provides a third of the Recommended Daily Allowance, and is rich in vitamins B12 and B6, which are essential for the formation of red blood cells.