 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Meat extract" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Meat extract is highly concentratedmeatstock, usually made frombeef orchicken. It is used to add meat flavor in cooking, and to makebroth for soups and other liquid-based foods.
Meat extract was invented by BaronJustus von Liebig, a German 19th-century organic chemist. Liebig specialised in chemistry and the classification of food and wrote a paper on how thenutritional value of a meat is lost by boiling. Liebig's view was that meat juices, as well as the fibres, contained much important nutritional value and that these were lost by boiling or cooking in unenclosed vessels.[1] Fuelled by a desire to help feed the undernourished, in 1840 he developed a concentrated beef extract,Extractum carnis Liebig, to provide a nutritious meat substitute for those unable to afford the real thing. However, it took 30 kg of meat to produce 1 kg of extract, making the extract too expensive.[citation needed][2]
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(June 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Liebig went on to co-found theLiebig's Extract of Meat Company, (laterOxo), inLondon whose factory, opened in 1865 inFray Bentos, a port inUruguay, took advantage of meat from cattle being raised for their hides — at one third the price of British meat. Before that, it was the Giebert et Compagnie (April 1863).
In the 1870s,John Lawson Johnston invented 'Johnston's Fluid Beef', later renamedBovril. Unlike Liebig's meat extract, Bovril also contained flavourings. It was manufactured inArgentina andUruguay which could provide cheapcattle.
Liebig and Bovril were important contributors to the beef industry inSouth America.[citation needed]
On the market in 1919 and created by theFred Walker and Company Bonox is manufactured inAustralia. When it was created it was often offered as an alternative hot drink with it being common to offer "Coffee, tea or Bonox".[3]
Meat extracts have largely been supplanted bybouillon cubes andyeast extract. Some brands of meat extract, such as Oxo and Bovril, now contain yeast extract as well as meat extract. For example, the current formulation of Bovril contains 41% beef stock, 24% yeast extract, 1% dehydrated beef and salt (388 mgsodium per 100g), spice extracts andflavor enhancers among other ingredients.[4] High purity meat extract is still available from laboratory supply companies for microbiology.[5]
