Oxo (food)
Oxo is a brand of stock cubes manufactured by Van der Bergh Food Ltd in England. The best known flavour is the original beef cube, but now, in addition to beef, chicken and some ethnic flavoured cubes are produced, e.g. Chinese Recipe and Indian Recipe. The cubes are broken up and used as flavouring in meals or gravy or dissolved in boiling water to make a hot drink.
History The concept of concentrated meat was invented by Justus Liebig around 1840, it was first imported into England in 1865 from Liebig's factory in Uruguay and became very popular. In 1899 the product was trademarked Oxo, the origin of the name is unknown but may have been as simple as a mark made on crate of the extract at the docks. In 1908 Oxo sponsored the London Olympic Games and supplied athletes with Oxo drinks to fortify them. The first Oxo cubes were produced in 1910, Oxo having been a liquid until then, this furthur increased the popularity as the cubes were cheaper than the liquid version. During the first half of the 20th century Oxo was promoted through issues of recipes, gifts and sponsorships before fading into the background as a part of the fabric of British life in the latter parts of the century. For the beginning of the 21st century a new image was promoted with modern television advertising and sensibilities.
Ingredients Beef Oxo Cubes Wheatflour, Salt, yeast extract, cornflour, colouring, flavour enhancers, beef fat, yeast, flavouring, dried beef bonestick, sugar, onion pepper extract.
External links Oxo UK web site
See also OXO Tower
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