Talk:Bovril/Archives/2012

Vril

The vril component of the name comes from Bulwer-Lytton's once-popular 19th century "lost race" novel, The Coming Race,

Is that true?

Unilever state this on their Bovril webpage. It be intersting to know what source they use. ant_ie 22:51, 2 October 2005 (UTC)

Marmite

I edited the article to say it tastes similar to its cousin, Marmite. Hope nobody minds. 81.86.76.6 06:07, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

Illegality of Thermos Flasks

Surely that's not true? Is there a citation we can use? Unless it's from alcohol and stuff Ultre (talk) 14:40, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

See http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/ukpga_19950039_en_3#pt2-l1g20

It stems (mostly) from the Scottish Cup final in 1980 which ended in a riot attributed primarily to alcohol consumption. It is now against the law to enter a football ground in Scotland with a "controlled container" defined in the Law as:

…any bottle, can or other portable container, whether open or sealed, which is, or was, in its original manufactured state, capable of containing liquid and is made from such material or is of such construction, or is so adapted, that if it were thrown at or propelled against a person it would be capable of causing some injury to that person; but the term does not include a container holding a medicinal product for a medicinal purpose. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Grievous Angel (talk • contribs) 17:39, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

Bovril was always largely yeast

I have a jar of beef Bovril in front of me, bought in England in 2006, and the first two ingredients listed are Beef Extract (43%), and Yeast Extract (24%). As a long time Bovril enthusiast, I know that it also had a large proportion of yeast even before the changeover to the vegetarian version. In fact I rather think that the proportion of yeast was higher back then (but I cannot prove this). In any case, to speak of yeast as opposed to beef Bovril is misleading, as all types contain a lot of yeast extract. As I recall, a significant ingredient of the vegetarian Bovril is celery extract. Personally, I found the vegetarian version acceptable. I never did a side-by-side taste test, but it certainly tasted remarkably similar to the traditional Bovril, and quite different from Marmite or Vegemite. Treharne (talk) 01:31, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

History makes no sense

The last sentence of the first paragraph of the history makes no sense to me: "Unfortunately, Britain did not have a large enough quantity of beef to meet the French people's and Napoleon III's demand, so Johnston created a product known as 'Johnston's Fluid Beef' -- later called Bovril." Why would not having enough beef to meet demand lead to the creation of a product made from beef? The label on the Bovril jar in front of me says, "In 1871, a Scot, won a 'canned beef' contract to FEED Napoleon's troops with his INVENTION "Johnston's Fluid Beef". This has evolved into the BOVRIL we know today." (Capitalization and inconsistent use of quote marks as in original.) This implies that the original contract was for " Fluid Beef," which must, therefore, already have been invented (although the failure to note that this must have been Napoleon III rather than the Napoleon throws some doubt on its reliability).

Also, no sources are cited for the History section. Is it from the Bovril web site? Treharne (talk) 01:47, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

Because Bovril is less than 50% beef (about 20% yeast). It stretches the meat. A similar concept to (American) meatloaf: "During the Great Depression, cooking meatloaf was a way to stretch the food budget for families, using an inexpensive type of meat and other ingredients as leftovers; along with spices, it was popular to add cereal grains to the meatloaf to stretch the meat." Air (talk) 03:49, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

Bovril with milk

After an earlier claim was deleted, I had placed a clear, cited notation that Bovril can be mixed with milk. The citation, from a reliable published book on food history, clearly shows that this has been done. One could also say "can be mixed with water or (less commonly) milk." In my work on Bovril in the 1930's, I found numerous trade adverts recommending such a mixture (these are harder to cite, simply because copyright restrictions make them impossible to reproduce here on Wikipedia). Nevertheless, another editor has seen fit to delete this reference as well, claiming that such mixture was not common, but I don't think that is the point -- it is simply that this is one known preparation. It is well-documented.

Claims with cited reliable sources should not be removed without discussion, that is my understanding. Unless someone wishes to argue that Bovril cannot or is not mixed with milk -- which is clearly not the case -- I do not see why this very modest statement ought not to be in the entry. Can we reach a consensus here?? Clevelander96 (talk) 21:59, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Far from a reliable source..this one snippet does little to suggest that making bovril with milk is common practice. Seems to be more of an historial footnote that may possibly be worth mentioning somewhere further down the article, if a better, more descriptive, source can be found, but it certainly has no place in the opening section. magnius (talk) 22:07, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

There is ample and extensive evidence of such a practice -- I simply chose the most authoritative and current one-- Richard Tames, Feeding London: a Taste of History, p. 92. London: Historical Publications, 2003 ISBN 0948667850 [1]. This is a standard historical text on British food.

But there is ample additional evidence: A brief search through newspapers, magazines, or Google Books shows dozens of references to such a mixture. An Oxford medical publication of 1908 describes it [2]; it's mentioned in Great Britain, Parliamentary Papers [3], and also described in a biography of Dorothy Sayers as something she took at bed after finishing a novel [4]. There is even a current Facebook discussion about such a practice [5]. Such references make it clear the practice has long been known, and still exists. Clevelander96 (talk) 22:13, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Here [6] is another link showing a typical 1930's trade advert: "A spoonful of Bovril, stirred into a glass of milk -- hot or cold --makes a delicious beverage." Similar adverts ran in the Illustrated London News at the time, and in other UK and commonwealth papers. Clevelander96 (talk) 22:20, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Hearing no objections, I have placed a nuanced, sourced statement "or (less commonly) with milk" in the entry. It seems to me it belongs where it is, as this section describes the different manners in which Bovril may be prepared. Clevelander96 (talk) 15:35, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

Date of Pope Poster

I think we can narrow the date of the "Two Infallible Powers" poster from 'early 20th century' to pre-1903. The pope depicted is recognisably Leo XIII (died 1903); the nose, in particular is quite distinctive. ANB (talk) 14:03, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

name

its called bovril because its bovine, am i right? NorthFarWest (talk) 23:59, 14 August 2011 (UTC)

• yes sort of. Bos (cow) and a magnet substance in a fictional universe called Vril. JJhashisreasons (talk) 23:42, 11 August 2012 (UTC)