Marmite v Bovril

[c00ky83]

On the face of it, these products are nearly the same - same shape jar, same texture and colour, yet one's a spread and one's a drink. Has anyone ever drank Marmite or spread Bovril?

[khana]

Bovril on hot buttered toast.......lovely.

[Gef]

OXO is a better drink than Bovril :-)

[irisred]

Erm other than the fact that Bovril is beef based and Marmite is vegetarian!!

I've drunk marmite - yummy! I've spread Bovril - also yummy but apparently best avoided if you have high blood pressure!

[joko]

i thought marmite was a yeast spread and bovril was a king of gravy/beefy type drink??

[joko]

i meant 'kind' of... though i am sure it is the king of these type of drinks...

[glenis]

why are they never together on the supermarket shelves? bovril is always over the meats with oxo and gravy ,whilst marmite is with the jams . i find that bovril is easier to spread as it's runnier

[nickmo]

Useless info.... Bovril was invented as 'Beef Tea'. Derived from boiled stock, reduced to syrup and dried. The powder is dispersable in water and the 'syrup' is the spread. Use Bovril to thicken stews and stocks. Beef Oxo is about 0.6% beef I think, and Beef Bisto - no meat in that at all.

Vegemite in Australia is like Marmite as a yeast spread. Both will make a drink, but may not be to everyones liking.

[c00ky83]

For the record, I was quite aware of what each one was...and found it odd that they were so different yet similar! Good answers, cheers.

[WendyS]

Bovril used to be beef-based but some months ago they changed the ingredients and it's now yeast-based. We didn't realise until my husband tried to make a hot Bovril drink and said it didn't taste the same. When we checked the labels of two different jars, one said Bovril Original, and the other label looked similar but omitted the word Original. So both Marmite and Bovril are now both yeast based. I think the two products are virtually inter-changeable. You can eat and drink both. But my husband swears that New Bovril is dreadful compared to the old beef-based product.

[nickmo]

Suggest if you want the drink dont use the spread, but if you have a trade card for Makro or similar, get a tub of Bovril drinking powder. That hits the spot!! and lasts ages.

[barb1314]

At work we daily have this discussion as we are all addicted to both...drinking or spreading either...everyone has their own opinions. Add to the mix that we also have my mate,an Aussie, who is addicted to Vegemite! Interesting fact too...did you know that eating lots of either repels mosquitos because of the Vit B content??!The little blighters hate it apparently. Not much use here in December but I'm overdosing on both at the mo so I can try to stop myself getting eaten on holiday at Christmas!! WHAT A GREAT EXCUSE!

[chriswithun]

Before yeast took over, Bovril was 40% beef stock. Fortnum & Mason do a beef tea which is 80% beef extract plus 6% beef stock ... and is delicious

[annierak]

Glenis....... Marmite is now with the jams etc as someone has decided that marmite is a spread and should be with other spreads whether or not it's savoury or sweet.. Personally I think it's a stupid idea.