# Does anyone remember a product called B-V?



## Horseyrider

I remember my parents cooking with B-V when I was a kid. It was used to make beef broth richer. A tablespoon added to meatloaf made it really pop with beefy flavor, and it was terrific in beef stew. If I remember right, it was apparently developed during WWII to help extend cheaper cuts of meat. The B stands for Beef, and the V stands for Vegetable. It's a combination of extracts of both.

My mom used to make this awesome French onion soup with B-V. We all loved it's deep, rich flavor. I was able to still buy it in grocery stores up until maybe twenty years ago, and then it seemed to disappear.

Along comes the internet, and I decided to google it. And it's still being made! I ordered a case, and tonight I made some French onion soup the way mother did. It was every bit as delicious as hers.

Here's how it's done, and it's astonishingly simple considering how complex it tastes. You take two sticks of butter (no kidding, two sticks!) and put them in a six quart kettle. Melt the butter over low heat, and when it's almost all the way melted, you throw in three pounds of peeled and sliced onions. You cook them gently in the butter until the onions are clear and wilted, but you don't want the butter or the onions to brown. Then you pour in about three quarts of water, two little bottles of B-V, and simmer for about five or six hours over the lowest heat. I use a diffuser and keep the lid ajar.

Now, the aroma is devastating. When you're getting to where you can't stand the torture any longer, you slice a nice French bread into one inch slices and butter (yeah, more butter!) each side. You ladle hot soup into heat resistant pottery bowls, and start heating your broiler up. The buttered slices of bread float on the soup, and you top the whole thing with the best Suiss Gruyere you can find, grated and heaped onto the slice of bread. If you can only find average Swiss, that's okay too. Load these bowls onto a cookie sheet and run them under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbly, and serve to the drooling people who have gathered around the stove. Ohhh, it's fine eating.

This is great homey fare, and fancy enough for company. Some use it for a first course, but here it's a main meal. 

So back to the original question. Anybody else remember B-V?


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## linn

I don't remember it, but googles and came up with this:

http://www.brandnamecooking.com/b-v.html


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## NostalgicGranny

It sounds a great deal like Kitchen Bouquet.


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## Horseyrider

Same idea as Kitchen Bouquet, but I never liked it as well. To me, the Kitchen Bouquet was flat and salty in comparison. 

Linn, I still remember those brown jars of paste! That was even more concentrated than the liquid in the jars. It's kind of like a demi glace. Oh my, so goooood. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!


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## farmergirl

This leads me to wonder if any of you have found a boullion type product that isn't full of msg and other chemicals. I would love to find veggie, beef or poultry boullion that is made from natural ingredients.


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## beaglebiz

farmergirl said:


> This leads me to wonder if any of you have found a boullion type product that isn't full of msg and other chemicals. I would love to find veggie, beef or poultry boullion that is made from natural ingredients.


the soup base at our Sam's Club does not list msg as an ingredient


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## lonelyfarmgirl

what are the ingredients for bv?


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## Horseyrider

Lonelyfarmgirl, from the site that Linn found:

"Wilson's B-V paste was developed during World War II and helped wartime homemakers cope with the cooking limitations caused by meat rationing. It was manufactured by Wilson & Co. of Chicago, one of the leading meatpacking companies in the U.S.

"B-V was a highly concentrated combination of rich meat juices and vegetable flavors that was dissolved in water and used to add flavor to stews, casseroles, soups, gravies, meat pies, and meat glazes."

The back of the bottle says: Water, hydrolyzed plant protein, autolyzed yeast extract, salt, beef extract, flavoring, sugar, vegetable gum, caramel coloring.

The front of the bottle says: B-V, Broth and Sauce Concentrate. The Beefer Upper. Beef Flavor You Pour.


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## whodunit

I think "autolyzed yeast extract" is another name for MSG or maybe what they get MSG from.


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## Horseyrider

If it is, then it's odd; I get headaches from MSG, but this stuff doesn't bother me.

Does anyone know?


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## Horseyrider

Okay, whodunit got me looking just a bit. I found this:

"Yeast extract is the common name for yeast autolysates, that is, concentrations of yeast cells that are allowed to die and break up, so that the yeasts' digestive enzymes break their proteins down into simpler compounds. 

"Yeast autolysates are used in Vegemite, Marmite and Cenovis, three spreads that are popular in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland respectively. Autolyzed yeast extract is also the primary source of monosodium glutamate for the food industry. 

"Yeast extract is a good source of vitamin B12."

Hmmmm..... Unrefined MSG? (Or is that a ridiculous statement?:hrm: )


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## linn

I like the Better than Bouillon Bases, they do not contain MSG. Here is a list of ingredients from the label of the beef base:

Roasted beef with concentrated beef stock, salt, hydrolyzed soy protein, corn syrup solids, sugar, flavoring (dried onion, dried garlic, and spice extractives), autolyzed yeast extract, dried whey, caramel color.

Sounds a lot like the B-V paste. They have a number of different bases listed on the following site.
http://www.soupsonline.com/m-48-better-than-bouillon.aspx?gclid=COrGufeGkaQCFRD75wodlnD1HQ


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## farmergirl

Thanks so much for the link, Linn!

I looked all through the ingredients in their different products, and found that the Better than Bouillon Organic chicken, mushroom, beef and turkey bases all are without autolyzed yeast product and msg 

I've been wanting something like this in our kitchen cupboard for years. 
Thanks again.


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## Peachy2

NostalgicGranny said:


> It sounds a great deal like Kitchen Bouquet.


Much better than Kitchen Bouquet but same idea. Hard to find now. Used to be at groceries. I think they sell in bulk mainly to restaurants.


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## chazd2014

Horseyrider said:


> I remember my parents cooking with B-V when I was a kid. It was used to make beef broth richer. A tablespoon added to meatloaf made it really pop with beefy flavor, and it was terrific in beef stew. If I remember right, it was apparently developed during WWII to help extend cheaper cuts of meat. The B stands for Beef, and the V stands for Vegetable. It's a combination of extracts of both.
> 
> My mom used to make this awesome French onion soup with B-V. We all loved it's deep, rich flavor. I was able to still buy it in grocery stores up until maybe twenty years ago, and then it seemed to disappear.
> 
> Along comes the internet, and I decided to google it. And it's still being made! I ordered a case, and tonight I made some French onion soup the way mother did. It was every bit as delicious as hers.
> 
> Here's how it's done, and it's astonishingly simple considering how complex it tastes. You take two sticks of butter (no kidding, two sticks!) and put them in a six quart kettle. Melt the butter over low heat, and when it's almost all the way melted, you throw in three pounds of peeled and sliced onions. You cook them gently in the butter until the onions are clear and wilted, but you don't want the butter or the onions to brown. Then you pour in about three quarts of water, two little bottles of B-V, and simmer for about five or six hours over the lowest heat. I use a diffuser and keep the lid ajar.
> 
> Now, the aroma is devastating. When you're getting to where you can't stand the torture any longer, you slice a nice French bread into one inch slices and butter (yeah, more butter!) each side. You ladle hot soup into heat resistant pottery bowls, and start heating your broiler up. The buttered slices of bread float on the soup, and you top the whole thing with the best Suiss Gruyere you can find, grated and heaped onto the slice of bread. If you can only find average Swiss, that's okay too. Load these bowls onto a cookie sheet and run them under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbly, and serve to the drooling people who have gathered around the stove. Ohhh, it's fine eating.
> 
> This is great homey fare, and fancy enough for company. Some use it for a first course, but here it's a main meal.
> 
> So back to the original question. Anybody else remember B-V?


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## chazd2014

My Dad used B-V as part of a steak sauce in the 60's...it was delicious. I have used it off and on my whole life. Sometime around 15 or 20 years ago they changed the recipe. It is mow thinner and delicious than it was before.k


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## weaselfire

B-V broth concentrate is still available, it gets used in a lot of BBQ sauces. Might not be in your local grocery but shows up in specialty stores. Better Than Boullion has a better flavor and is more readily available.

Jeff


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## KC Rock

linn said:


> I like the Better than Bouillon Bases, they do not contain MSG. Here is a list of ingredients from the label of the beef base:
> 
> Roasted beef with concentrated beef stock, salt, hydrolyzed soy protein, corn syrup solids, sugar, flavoring (dried onion, dried garlic, and spice extractives), autolyzed yeast extract, dried whey, caramel color.
> 
> Sounds a lot like the B-V paste. They have a number of different bases listed on the following site.
> Better Than Bouillon Soup Base and Stock


Sounds like something I could add to my monster dinty moore beef stew...along with the corn and xtra beef...


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## Alice In TX/MO

It's available on Amazon.


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