Editing Bovril

{{for|the village|Bovril, Argentina}}
{{Short description|Meat extract (food)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox product
| title            = Bovril
| image            = Jar of Bovril (yeast extract version).jpg
| image_size       =
| caption          = Bovril (250&nbsp;g jar)
| inventor         = John Lawson Johnston
| creation year    = 
| launch year      = {{start date and age|1889}}
| company          = Bovril Company
| current supplier = [[Unilever]]
| notes            =
}}

'''Bovril''' is a thick and salty [[meat extract]] paste, similar to a [[yeast extract]], developed in the 1870s by [[John Lawson Johnston]]. It is sold in a distinctive bulbous jar and as cubes and granules.  Its appearance is similar to the British [[Marmite]] and its Australian equivalent [[Vegemite]]. Bovril is owned and distributed by [[Unilever]] UK.

Bovril can be made into a drink by diluting with hot water or, less commonly, with milk.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1302&dat=19310701&id=CV0RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=P5YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3083,128400 |title=Try Bovril and milk (advert) |newspaper=[[The Sydney Mail]] |date=1 July 1931 |page= 23}}</ref> It can be used as a flavouring for soups, broth, stews or porridge, or as a spread, especially on toast.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wainwright|first1=Martin|title=Bovril drops the beef to go vegetarian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/nov/19/foodanddrink|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=28 May 2018|quote=In Malaysia they stir it into porridge and coffee}}</ref> In 2004 Unilever removed beef ingredients from the Bovril formula, rendering it [[vegetarian]], but in 2006, reversed that decision and reintroduced beef ingredients to the formula.

==Etymology==
[[File:Copper alloy promotional medal or token for Bovril c. 1866-1914AD (FindID 993302).jpg|thumb|Copper alloy promotional medal or token for Bovril, {{circa|1866–1914}}]]

The first part of the product's name comes from [[Latin]] {{Lang|la|bovīnus}}, meaning "pertaining to an ox".<ref>OED entry at ''bovine''.</ref> 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.<ref name="patent-law-42">{{cite book | last=Thompson| first=William Phillips| title=Handbook of patent law of all countries| publisher=Stevens| location=London| year=1920| page=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofpatent00thomiala/page/42 42]| url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofpatent00thomiala| access-date=2009-08-05}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Bovril poster c1900.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Poster for Bovril, about 1900; [[V&A Museum]] no. E.163-1973]]
In 1870, in the [[Franco-Prussian War]], [[Napoleon III]] ordered one million cans of beef to feed his troops.<ref name="WongThuras">{{cite book |last1=Wong |first1=Cecily |last2=Thuras |first2=Dylan |title=Gastro obscura : a food adventurer's guide |date=2021 |publisher=Workman Publishing Company |location=New York |isbn=9781523502196 |page=2}}</ref> The task of providing this went to John Lawson Johnston, a Scottish butcher living in Canada.<ref name="WongThuras"/> 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.<ref name="uni">{{cite web | title=Bovril| url=http://www.unilever.co.uk/brands-in-action/detail/Bovril/293591/| publisher=Unilever.co.uk| access-date=12 October 2015}}</ref> By 1888, over 3,000 [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|UK]] [[public house]]s, grocers and [[dispensing chemist]]s were selling Bovril. In 1889, Bovril Ltd was formed to develop Johnston's business further.<ref>{{cite news |title=Money-Market and City Intelligence |work=The Times |issue=32638 |date=5 March 1889 |location=London |page=12}}</ref>

During the 1900 [[Siege of Ladysmith]] in the [[Second Boer War]], a Bovril-like paste was produced from horsemeat within the garrison. Nicknamed ''Chevril'' (a portmanteau of ''cheval'', French for ''horse'', and Bovril) it was made by [[boiling down]] horse or [[mule]] meat to a jelly and serving it as a tea-like mixture.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Watt|first=S|title=Intombi Military Hospital and Cemetery|journal=Military History Journal|publisher=Die Suid-Afrikaanse Krygshistoriese Vereniging|volume=5|issue=6|url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol056sw.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Jacson|first=M|title=The Record of a Regiment of the Line|publisher=Hutchinson & Co. |year=1908 |page=88 |chapter=II |chapter-url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15972}}</ref> Bovril also produced concentrated, [[pemmican]]-like dried beef as part of the [[British Army]] emergency [[field ration]] 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 [[chocolate|cocoa drink]] on another half. The dried beef could be eaten alone, or mixed with water to create a beef tea.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZoHuMwZwTk|title=1899-1902 British Emergency Ration Field Service Oldest MRE Beef Eaten Survival Food Review Test|date=16 April 2018 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref>

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]]. It describes the drink being prepared for the casualties at [[Mons, Belgium#Battle of Mons|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".<ref name="ramc-99">{{cite book|last=Vivian|first=Evelyn Charles|title=With the Royal army medical corps (R.A.M.C.) at the front|publisher=Hodder and Stoughton|year=1914|page=[https://archive.org/details/withroyalarmymed00vivirich/page/99 99]|url=https://archive.org/details/withroyalarmymed00vivirich}}</ref>

When John Lawson Johnston died, his son [[George Lawson Johnston, 1st Baron Luke|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's instant beef stock was launched in 1966 and its "King of Beef" range of instant flavours for stews, casseroles and gravy in 1971.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} In 1971, [[James Goldsmith]]'s [[Cavenham Foods]] acquired the Bovril Company but then sold most of its dairies and [[South America]]n operations to finance further takeovers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ketupa.net/goldsmith.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105040319/http://www.ketupa.net/goldsmith.htm|title=Goldsmith|archivedate=5 January 2009}}</ref> The brand is now owned by the Anglo-Dutch multinational [[Unilever]], which bought Bovril in 2001.<ref name="uni"/>

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]], religious dietary requirements, and public concerns about [[bovine spongiform encephalopathy]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wainwright |first=Martin |date=18 November 2004 |title=Bovril drops the beef to go vegetarian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/nov/19/foodanddrink |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301134505/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/nov/19/foodanddrink |archive-date=1 March 2017 |access-date=1 March 2017 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> In 2006, Unilever reversed that decision and reintroduced beef ingredients to their Bovril formula once sales increased and the beef export bans were lifted.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 September 2016 |title=Unilever puts the beef back into Bovril |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/sep/01/lifeandhealth.foodanddrink |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301140333/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/sep/01/lifeandhealth.foodanddrink |archive-date=1 March 2017 |access-date=1 March 2017 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> Unilever now produces Bovril using beef extract and a chicken variety using chicken extract.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bovril Unilever food brands |url=http://www.unilever.co.uk/brands/foodbrands/bovril.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411060207/http://www.unilever.co.uk/brands/foodbrands/bovril.aspx |archive-date=11 April 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In November 2020, [[Forest Green Rovers F.C.|Forest Green Rovers Football Club]] announced a collaboration with the makers of Bovril to create a [[Beta vulgaris|beet]]-based version of Bovril to be sold at their [[The New Lawn|New Lawn]] stadium, where meat-based products had been removed from sale some years prior.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 November 2020 |title=Rovers bringing Bovril back |url=https://www.fgr.co.uk/news/november-2020/news-rovers-bringing-bovril-back |access-date=2 November 2020 |website=Forest Green Rovers F.C|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102154238/https://www.fgr.co.uk/news/november-2020/news-rovers-bringing-bovril-back|archive-date=2 November 2020}}</ref>

==Licensed production==
In [[South Africa]] Bovril is produced by the [[Bokomo]] division of [[Pioneer Foods]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pioneerfoods.co.za |title=Pioneer Foods |publisher=pioneerfoods.co.za}}</ref>

==Cultural significance==
[[File:Clarence Pier, Southsea, ca. 1914.png|thumb|left|Advertisement for Bovril at [[Southsea]], {{circa|1914}}]]
[[File:Bovril 1897 token with 'VR'.JPG|thumb|upright|Bovril advertising token issued for the [[Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria]]]]

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]].<ref name="WongThuras" />

Bovril jars are commonly excavated as part of archaeological assemblages, such as at [[Knowles Mill]] in Worcestershire.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last1=Halsted |first1=Jon |title=Knowles Mill, Wyre Forest, Bewdley, Worcestershire - Historic Building Recording, Archaeological Evaluation |last2=Hewitson |first2=Chris |last3=Booth |first3=Tim |publisher=Birmingham Archaeology |year=2010 |location=Birmingham |pages=14–22}}</ref> 

Since its invention, Bovril has become an [[cultural icon|icon]] of [[culture of the United Kingdom|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 cup]]s in Scotland, where thermoses are [[Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995#Part II - Sporting Events: Control of Alcohol etc.|banned]] from football stadiums.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/top-stories/bovril-it-s-a-drink-a-spread-even-a-crisp-flavouring-and-it-was-created-in-edinburgh-1-814491 | title=Bovril: It's a drink, a spread, even a crisp flavouring, and it was created in Edinburgh | work=[[The Scotsman]] | date=8 June 2010 | access-date=20 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2009/08/07/8176-1549/ | title=Tribute to Scots Bovril inventor | work=Deadline News | date=7 August 2009 | access-date=20 October 2013 | author=Alexander Lawrie}}</ref>[[File:The Pope and Bovril.jpg|thumb|right|upright|"The Two [[Papal infallibility|Infallible Powers]]: The Pope & Bovril"; poster for Bovril, c. 1900]]Bovril 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.''

Bovril beef tea was the only hot drink that [[Ernest Shackleton]]'s team had when they were marooned on [[Elephant Island]] during the 1914–1917 [[Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition|Endurance Expedition]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/09/11/104690619.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/09/11/104690619.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Shackleton's men kept hope of rescue high; Marooned Scientists, Living on Penguin and Seaweed, Watched Daily for Relief.|date=1916-09-11|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2009-05-11 }}</ref>

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 [[Operation Dynamo|Dunkirk evacuation]] of the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]].{{Cn|date=July 2022}}

British mountaineer [[Chris Bonington]] appeared in TV commercials for Bovril in the 1970s and 1980s in which he recalled melting snow and ice on the first ascent of [[Baintha Brakk]] (known as "The Ogre") to make hot drinks.<ref>{{Citation |title=Bovril advert featuring Chris Bonington from 1979 | date=13 December 2012 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH3PHL6vTJw |access-date=2023-10-11 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Scott |first=Doug |title=The Ogre |publisher=[[Vertebrate Publishing]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-1912560929 |publication-date=}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Bonox]]
*[[Liebig's Extract of Meat Company|Liebig's Extract of Meat]]
*[[Portable soup]]
*[[Oxo (food)|Oxo]]
*[[Bovril, Argentina]]
*[[Bovril boats]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bovril}}
*[https://www.friendsofkingswoodhouse.co.uk Friends of Kingswood House Dulwich: The home of John Lawson Johnston] 
* [https://www.unilever.co.uk/brands/foods-refreshment/bovril/ Unilever Website]
* Unilever [https://web.archive.org/web/20071201114613/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://www.medianet.ca/bovril/bovril.htm The Bovril Shrine]
* {{PM20|FID=co/053826|TEXT=Documents and clippings about|NAME=}}

{{Unilever}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Drink brands]]
[[Category:Food brands of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1888]]
[[Category:Scottish drinks]]
[[Category:Scottish brands]]
[[Category:Scottish inventions]]
[[Category:Umami enhancers]]
[[Category:Unilever brands]]