Pavlova (food)
Encyclopedia
Meringue
Meringue is a type of dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar, occasionally some recipes may call for adding an acid such as cream of tartar or a small amount of vinegar and a binding agent such as cornstarch found in icing sugar which may be added in addition to the corn starch which...
-based dessert
Dessert
In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...
named after the Russian ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
dancer Anna Pavlova. It is a meringue with a crisp crust and soft, light inner. The name is pronounced pævˈloʊvə or pɑːvˈloʊvə, unlike the name of the dancer, which was /ˈpɑːvləvə/ or /ˈpævləvə/.
The dessert is believed to have been created in honour of the dancer either during or after one of her tours to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in the 1920s. The nationality of its creator has been a source of argument between the two nations for many years, but formal research indicates New Zealand as the probable source.
The dessert is a popular dish and an important part of the national cuisine of both countries, and with its simple recipe, is frequently served during celebratory and holiday meals.
Origin
Research suggests the recipe originated in New Zealand. Keith Money, a biographer of Anna Pavlova, wrote that a hotel chef in WellingtonWellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand, created the dish when Pavlova visited there in 1926 on her world tour.
Professor Helen Leach, a culinary anthropologist at the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
in New Zealand, has compiled a library of cookbooks containing 667 pavlova recipes from more than 300 sources. Her book, The Pavlova Story: A Slice of New Zealand’s Culinary History, states that the first Australian pavlova recipe was created in 1935 while an earlier version was penned in 1929 in the rural magazine.
The Australian website "Australian Flavour" gives the earlier date of 1926 for its creation, suggesting that Home Cookery for New Zealand, by Australian writer Emily Futter, contained a recipe for "Meringue with Fruit Filling". This recipe was similar to today's version of the dessert.
It has been claimed that Bert Sachse created the dish at the Esplanade Hotel in Perth, Australia in 1935. In defence of his claim as inventor of the dish, a relative of Sachse's wrote to Leach suggesting that Sachse may have accidentally dated the recipe incorrectly. Leach replied they would not find evidence for that "because it's just not showing up in the cookbooks until really the 1940s in Australia." (However, a 1937 issue of the Australian Women's Weekly
Australian Women's Weekly
The Australian Women's Weekly is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by ACP Magazines, a division of PBL Media based in Sydney. Audited circulation in 2009 exceeded 500,000 copies monthly, making it the largest magazine in Australia.-History:...
contains a "pavlova sweet cake" recipe.) Of such arguments, Matthew Evans, a restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
, said that it was unlikely that a definitive answer about the pavlova's origins would ever be found. "People have been doing meringue with cream for a long time, I don't think Australia or New Zealand were the first to think of doing that."
The first known recorded recipe named "pavlova" was published in the fifth Australian edition of Davis Dainty Dishes in 1926. However this "pavlova" recipe was not meringue based, but was instead a multi-coloured gelatine dish.
A newspaper article from January 1927 claims an American ice-cream was named after Pavlova: "Dame Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
, of course, has found fame apart from her art in the famous sweet composed of peaches and cream
Peach Melba
The Peach Melba is a classic dessert, invented in 1892 or 1893 by the French chef Auguste Escoffier at the Savoy Hotel, London to honour the Australian soprano, Nellie Melba. It combines two favourite summer fruits: peaches and raspberry sauce accompanying vanilla ice cream.In 1892, Nellie Melba...
, while Mme. Anna Pavlova lends her name to a popular variety of American ice-cream."
Preparation and consumption
Pavlova is made by beating egg whitesEgg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
(and sometimes salt) to a very stiff consistency before folding in caster sugar, white vinegar
Vinegar
Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional...
, cornstarch
Cornstarch
Corn starch, cornstarch, cornflour or maize starch is the starch of the corn grain obtained from the endosperm of the corn kernel.-History:...
, and sometimes vanilla
Vanilla
Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...
essence, and slow-baking the mixture, similarly to meringue
Meringue
Meringue is a type of dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar, occasionally some recipes may call for adding an acid such as cream of tartar or a small amount of vinegar and a binding agent such as cornstarch found in icing sugar which may be added in addition to the corn starch which...
. This makes the outside of the pavlova a crisp crunchy shell, while the interior remains soft and moist. The pavlova's internal consistency is completely different from that normally associated with meringue, having a soft, marshmallowy texture. This difference is due to the addition of cornstarch, the use of which is the defining feature of a pavlova recipe.
Pavlova is traditionally decorated with a topping of whipped cream and fresh soft fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
such as kiwifruit
Kiwifruit
The kiwifruit, often shortened to kiwi in many parts of the world, is the edible berry of a cultivar group of the woody vine Actinidia deliciosa and hybrids between this and other species in the genus Actinidia....
, passionfruit, and strawberries
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
. Factory-made pavlovas can be purchased at supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s and decorated as desired. A commercial product is available that includes pre-mixed ingredients for baking the meringue shell, requiring only the addition of water and sugar.
Leftover decorated pavlova can be refrigerated overnight, but the dessert will absorb moisture from the air and lose its crispness. Undecorated pavlova can safely be left overnight in the oven in which it was baked, to be decorated in the morning.
World's largest pavlova
Te PapaMuseum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
, New Zealand's national museum in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, celebrated its first birthday in February 1999 with the creation of the world's largest pavlova, named "Pavzilla", which was cut by the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
of the time, Jenny Shipley
Jenny Shipley
Dame Jenny Shipley, DNZM , served as the 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand from December 1997 to December 1999, the first woman to hold this office and the first, and to date only, woman to serve as parliamentary leader of the National Party of New Zealand.-Early life:Shipley was born as Jennifer...
. This record was broken by students at the Eastern Institute of Technology in Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay is a region of New Zealand. Hawke's Bay is recognised on the world stage for its award-winning wines. The regional council sits in both the cities of Napier and Hastings.-Geography:...
, New Zealand in March 2005. Their creation 'Pavkong' stretched 64 metres long in comparison to Te Papa's 45 metre long pavlova.
In August 2010, chef Aaron Campbell displayed a 50 square metre rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
-themed pavlova, with the Bledisloe Cup
Bledisloe Cup
Rugby Union's Bledisloe Cup is contested by the Australia national rugby union team and New Zealand national rugby union team. It is named after Lord Bledisloe, the former Governor-General of New Zealand who donated the trophy in 1931. The trophy was designed in New Zealand by Nelson Isaac, and...
in the centre, in the ChristChurch Cathedral in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, to raise money for the official charity of the All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
.
NZI advertising campaign
In 2007, insurance company NZIInsurance Australia Group
Insurance Australia Group Limited is an Australian publicly-listed company with its shares traded on the Australian Stock Exchange as ....
ran a humorous series of television advertisements in New Zealand highlighting what are locally considered to be historic New Zealand icons being adopted elsewhere, including the pavlova playing on its status as a common feature of the friendly trans-Tasman
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...
rivalry. NZI's parent company is Australian owned.