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Pavlova: a great Australian dish Pavlova: a great Australian dish
(7 months later)
Phar Phar Lap. Crowded House. New Zealand-born head chef of Melbourne’s Attica restaurant, Ben Shewry. Just three of the trans-Tasman bones of contention Australians and New Zealanders are wont to argue over.
Lap. Crowded House. New Zealand-born head chef of Melbourne’s Attica Until recently, loyalists on both sides of the ditch frequently locked horns over the origins of our beloved pavlova – Australia’s alleged “theft” of the Antipodes’ famous meringue-based dessert has been a popular leitmotif for New Zealand insurance company, NZI. But following an Oxford English Dictionary ruling in favour of the Kiwis, the debate seems to have calmed down some, at least on this side of the Tasman Sea.
restaurant, Ben Shewry. Just three of the trans-Tasman bones of The story, so far, goes a little like this. During Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova’s first tour down under in 1926, a Wellington hotel chef creates the pavlova in her honour, citing the dancer’s tutu as inspiration for the meringue-based dessert. It wasn’t until 1929, however, till New Zealand’s first pavlova recipe was published. Having said that, recipes for similar dishes – “meringue cake” and “meringue with fruit”, both entirely apt pseudonyms for pavlova – have been unearthed in older books, thanks largely to the research of professor Helen Leach, Central Otago University food historian and author of The Pavlova Story: a Slice of New Zealand's Culinary History.
contention Australians and New Zealanders are wont to argue over. By comparison, Australia’s earliest pavlova recipe is dated 1926, although the recipe is, interestingly, for a dessert based on jelly rather than eggs. Our earliest meringue-based contender is from 1935, care of Herbert Sachse, a former wheat farmer who worked his way to the head chef position at Perth’s defunct Esplanade Hotel. According to local legend, on tasting the dessert, hotel licensee Elizabeth Paxton remarked that the cake was “as light as Pavlova”.
Until recently, loyalists on both sides of the ditch frequently locked horns over the origins of our beloved pavlova – Australia’s While trawling the archives and following food paper trails can be entertaining – I can’t help but wonder what sort of desserts today’s touring artists might inspire – this fierce interest in pavlova can only come down to one thing: universal appeal. Regardless of whether home is Townsville or Timaru, the allure of crisp-skinned, fluffy meringue, cream and fruit is impossible to resist. Eventually.
alleged “theft” of the Antipodes’ famous meringue-based dessert has “As a young kid, I would open the pre-made pavlova shells in my parent’s supermarket and eat the whole box, just like that,” confesses pâtissier Adriano Zumbo. “I was pretty much just a shell-eater. I loved the marshmallowy inside and the crisp outside. If there were finished pavs around, I used to scrape off the cream and eat the shells as I didn’t like whipped cream back then. It wasn’t until I worked in the industry that I started eating the whole thing.”
been a popular leitmotif for New Zealand insurance company, NZI. But following an Oxford English Dictionary ruling in favour of the
Kiwis, the debate seems to have calmed down some, at least on this side
of the Tasman Sea.
The story, so far, goes a little like this. During Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova’s first tour down under in 1926, a Wellington hotel chef creates the pavlova
in her honour, citing the dancer’s tutu as inspiration for the
meringue-based dessert. It wasn’t until 1929, however, till New
Zealand’s first pavlova recipe was published.
Having said that, recipes for similar dishes – “meringue cake” and
“meringue with fruit”, both entirely apt pseudonyms for pavlova
– have been unearthed in older books, thanks largely to the research of
professor Helen Leach, Central Otago University food historian and
author of The Pavlova Story: a Slice of New Zealand's Culinary History.
By comparison, Australia’s earliest pavlova
recipe is dated 1926, although the recipe is, interestingly, for a
dessert based on jelly rather than eggs. Our earliest meringue-based
contender is from 1935, care of Herbert Sachse, a former wheat farmer who
worked his way to the head chef position at Perth’s defunct Esplanade
Hotel. According to local legend, on tasting the dessert, hotel licensee
Elizabeth Paxton remarked that the cake was “as light as Pavlova”.
While
trawling the archives and following food paper trails can be
entertaining – I can’t help but wonder what sort of desserts today’s
touring artists might inspire – this fierce interest in pavlova
can only come down to one thing: universal appeal. Regardless of
whether home is Townsville or Timaru, the allure of crisp-skinned,
fluffy meringue, cream and fruit is impossible to resist. Eventually.
“As a young kid, I would open the pre-made pavlova shells in my parent’s supermarket and eat the whole box, just like that,” confesses pâtissier Adriano Zumbo. “I
was pretty much just a shell-eater. I loved the marshmallowy inside and
the crisp outside. If there were finished pavs around, I used to
scrape off the cream and eat the shells as I didn’t like whipped cream
back then. It wasn’t until I worked in the industry that I started
eating the whole thing.”
While remixing familiar flavours is a popular pastime for chefs – like Zumbo’s “pavlingtons” (pavlova-inspired lamingtons) and passionfruit pavlova cronuts; or George Calombaris’ meringue sphere pavlova – the dish also offers plenty of scope for imaginative home cooks. Nail the shell – essentially a meringue spiked with vinegar and cornflour – and the sky really is the limit.While remixing familiar flavours is a popular pastime for chefs – like Zumbo’s “pavlingtons” (pavlova-inspired lamingtons) and passionfruit pavlova cronuts; or George Calombaris’ meringue sphere pavlova – the dish also offers plenty of scope for imaginative home cooks. Nail the shell – essentially a meringue spiked with vinegar and cornflour – and the sky really is the limit.
For the curious and/or committed, Harold McGee scientifically breaks down the whys and wherefores of meringues in his seminal On Food and Cooking. For the curious and/or committed, Harold McGee scientifically breaks down the whys and wherefores of meringues in his seminal On Food and Cooking. Some notes from the man that inspired Heston Blumenthal: even a trace of yolk in your whites can be disastrous to whipping efforts, as can using plastic bowls for beating purposes (as a surface, plastic tends to retain fat – the sworn enemy of stiff meringue peaks – more than metal).
Some notes from the man that inspired Heston Blumenthal: even a Using a blast of high heat to help set your pavlova is another insider’s tip. Pre-heating the oven higher than the recipe calls for and then reducing the heat once the pav is in has served me well in the past. Don’t be in a rush to admire or Instagram your handiwork, either. Any sudden changes in temperature can cause your pavlova to deflate. Instead, allow it to begin cooling in the oven, door slightly ajar.
trace of yolk in your whites can be disastrous to whipping efforts, as While tradition calls for nothing more than whipped cream and passionfruit as filling, there’s very little you can’t put on a pavlova (indeed, a heavy hand with the decoration can help salvage a cracked or crumbly case). But like any form of cooking, less is often more and bakers more accomplished than I advocate keeping things simple and seasonal: three different fresh fruit toppings, max. With a little imagination, it’s easy to make the pavlova your own, no matter whose side of the story you take.
can using plastic bowls for beating purposes (as a surface, plastic
tends to retain fat – the sworn enemy of stiff meringue peaks – more than metal).
Using a blast of high heat to help set your pavlova
is another insider’s tip. Pre-heating the oven higher than the recipe
calls for and then reducing the heat once the pav is in has served me well in the past. Don’t be in a rush to admire or Instagram
your handiwork, either. Any sudden changes in temperature can cause your
pavlova to deflate. Instead, allow it to begin cooling in the oven, door slightly ajar.
While tradition calls for nothing more than whipped cream and passionfruit as filling, there’s very little you can’t put on a pavlova
(indeed, a heavy hand with the decoration can help
salvage a cracked or crumbly case). But like any form of cooking, less
is often more and bakers more accomplished than I advocate keeping
things simple and seasonal: three different fresh fruit toppings, max.
With a little imagination, it’s easy to make the pavlova your own, no matter whose side of the story you take.