A nourishing drink made by slowly simmering beef to extract its juices, once a standard restorative for hospital patients, invalids, and convalescents. Victorian medicine prized it as a digestible, strengthening food for those too weak to eat solid meals, and it was prepared in sickrooms and hospital kitchens as a matter of routine. In truth its nutritional value was modest: the broth contains flavor compounds, some minerals, and gelatin, but little of the protein and energy a recovering patient needs, a fact that later nutrition science made clear. Its psychological value was considerable, though, the warm savory cup signaling care. It survives today in concentrated bouillon and in the memory of traditional nursing, a reminder of how far clinical nutrition has come.