Review of Bovril 125g

Powdered boullions have nothing on Bovril. This thick, tarry paste dissolves in hot water to make a beefy tasting drink or can be spread thinly on bread or toast and topped with a tomato for a sandwich.

This is a popular drink with the working man; once at a soccer (that is, football) game in Stevenage, a local fan of the "Burrah" recommended a banger and a cup of "Bowvrew" as a fine snack during the match. In a cold damp country like Britain, this is not a bad piece of advice. "It's luvly" he asserted. It was.

Bovril drink was invented in 1886 by Scotsman John Lawson Johnston and was originally formulated to feed Napoleon's troops on the Russian front. (Not many of those troops came back; something like a half million left for Mother Russia and fewer than 20,000 straggled back after the campaign.)

The problem lately is that British Mad Cow disease has thrown Bovril into a tizzy. Prions, or tiny molecules of proteins that act like vicious virus, aren't destroyed even by cooking, so British Bovril was banned in other countries. So, since 2004, Bovril has been vegetable based, essentially hydrolyzed yeast protein, not beef based. Therefore, it turned into Marmite. THEN, in 2006, it was announced by Unilever that beef was to be put BACK into Bovril. But what KIND of beef? I am soooo confused...Aha, Unilever tells us that the beef in Bovril is not British. It still may not be "halal" which is why it was getting a dim view in Malaysia, where it is stirred into rice and porridge after the Asian taste for savory gruels. But the beef is back.

Product Description
Bovril is a traditional British beef flavored concentrated yeast extract spread made for snacks, savoury toast and hot drinks

Click Here to see more reviews about: Bovril 125g