Can anyone in the UK tell me what kind of food Hovis is?

Question

I was reading British writing from the 1970s and 1980s and they're forever eating Hovis. It sounds disgusting. What is it?

Answer 1

Hovis is a yummy brown bread that makes excellent toast. It used to be advertised on TV by a kid pushing his bicycle up a cobblestoned hill as Dvorak's "New World Symphony" played in the background and the narrator whittled on about what a steep climb it was, but it was worth it 'cos there was going to be some toast when he got home with the Hovis.

Thanks for reminding me!

Answer 2

Hovis is a UK brand of flour and bread, now owned by RHM.

The word "Hovis" was invented by London student Herbert Grimes in a national competition set by S. Fitton & Sons Ltd to find a trading name for their bread, which used a patent flour that was rich in wheat germ. Grimes coined the word from the Latin phrase hominis vis – "the strength of man".


Grave of Richard 'Stoney' Smith in Highgate Cemetery. The inscription details his discovery of the Hovis process.

The Hovis process was patented on 6th October 1887 by Richard 'Stoney' Smith (1836-1900), and S. Fitton & Sons Ltd developed the brand, milling the flour and selling it along with Hovis branded baking tins to other bakers. They became Hovis Limited in 1918.

After a succession of mergers, Hovis eventually became part of Rank Hovis McDougall in 1962, now the quoted food conglomerate RHM, which also owns the Mother's Pride and Nimble bread brands.

The Hovis part of the business still specialises in high wheatgerm wholemeal flour, the bread being baked independently.

In 1974 Hovis became lodged in the public imagination through an evocative television advertisement, "Bike Round", directed by Ridley Scott, featuring the slow movement of Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9. This advertisement is being repeated on British television to comemorate their 120th birthday.

Answer 3

HOVIS is a brand of bread and related products

One of the best availabe in the british food market

Answer 4

hovis is bread usually brown it very good

Answer 5

Yup its a brown bread made from dried locusts.

It is usually fried in butter.
Very nourishing and rich in iron.

Unfortunately most people who eat it dont ever know how it is made.

Answer 6

Bread (it's a brand name)

Answer 7

Bread and it is still made today under that name.