I heard on the radio this morning that Bovril was to get its beef back. I never knew it had stopped because I'm a vegetarian. I only found out here, but no one knew why. Some ideas were suggested. This article gives the reason why it was removed in the first place.
I should add that Bovril used to make a warming and revitalising drink in the years before I became a vegetarian.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh ... bovril.xml
Bovril brings back the beef
(Filed: 31/08/2006)
Beef stock will once again be the main ingredient of Bovril, as its makers announced a return to tradition.
The famous drink, once a favourite of football fans to warm chilled bones on the terraces, went vegetarian in 2004 following the export ban on British beef.
The 40 per cent beef stock was replaced with a savoury yeast mix.
But owners Unilever announced today that beef was being reintroduced to the classic beef tea.
While its popularity at home may have waned in recent years, Bovril remains a favoured taste of home among British expatriates in France and Spain.
On the shelves for more than 120 years, Bovril has a huge following in the Far East where generations in Malaysia, Singapore and China have grown up with the brand.
In Malaysia it is even used in porridge and to flavour stir fries.
A Bovril spokesman said: "Now the ban on British beef export has been lifted, there was never any doubt that the beef would go back in to Bovril drink.
"I'm sure Bovril fans around the world will be 100 per cent behind this.
"There will not be a vegetarian version but it was never really popular with them, and we suggest Marmite as the closest thing."
Bovril was invented in 1886 by Scotsman John Lawson Johnston and was originally formulated to feed Napoleon's troops on the Russian front.
By 1888 more than 3,000 bars and public houses were serving Bovril in Britain and beef tea became a popular drink among football fans during the early 20th century.
Its heyday was in the early 20th century but even now more than three million jars are sold every year.
To coincide with the return of beef, the iconic packaging will also be redesigned to incorporate a new beef stamp on the logo.
© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2006.
