Bovril - Have a Cow, Man

BOVRIL

Noun. B- and b-. Late 19th century.

[from Latin bov, bos ox; perhaps based on VRIL.]

(Proprietary name for) a concentrated essence of beef; a drink of this.

Also: bovrilize verb trans. (archaic, colloquial) condense, epitomize. E20

When I was little, my Dad used to take me to his workshop. It was always freezing there, so one thing I looked forward to was a rich cup of steaming Bovril, something he always kept in stock along with Ryvita and peanut butter. For anyone that's never sampled this culinary delight, Bovril comes as a viscous black liquid, somewhat akin to tar or molasses. You put a spoonful in a cup, add hot water, and voila! A deliciously salty beef drink is yours to savour. Now, I grant you, its dictionary definition - a concentrated essence of beef - does sound rather gag-inducing, as do meat drinks generally (a porkshake, anyone?). While the idea of a hot beef drink may not sound appetising, it sounds a lot better than adding Bovril to porridge (as they do in Malaysia apparently), and infinitely less barf-worthy than a hot Bovril milk drink which, even to my British-cuisine hardened stomach, makes me retch just a little at the thought of it.

In saying all of this, however, there is a dogged pride in foods that should otherwise be found repellent, and I dare say that if someone slapped down a cup of hot Bovril in front of me right now, I'd knock it back with a hearty laugh and derisory sneer at the delicately constituted tastebuds of modern youth. Because that's what we're supposed to do as we get older, isn't it? After all, my parents regaled me with tales of gratefully dining on tripe and sugar sandwiches, so Bovril will give me that, and I'm thankful for it. I eagerly look forward to the day when I can disdainfully dismiss the modern palate: "Why, when I was a baby, my mother fed me bottles of beef essence washed down with a quart of wolf's milk. Thankful I was too! Now that was a real generation, not like today's workshy, namby-pamby, good-for-nothing, know-it-all ... climbed a mountain ... blind drunk at the time ... took on seven of them ..." and so on for several hours of further incoherent rambling. Where was I? Oh yes - Bovril. You really must try it. Essence of beef ... mhmmmm.

Do you have any memories of Bovril or another meat drink? 

Are there any loathsome foods you want to reminisce over in your old age?

Do please leave your most moo-ving comments below.