Who invented pavlova?
Delicate and timeless, pavlova rarely disappoints. If many know its recipe, few know its origin.
To understand this, a little historical detour is necessary.
Composed of meringue, whipped cream and fruit, this dessert is as crunchy as it is soft. Little wonder therefore that his paternity is the subject of claims. A long-standing cultural battle that deserves attention.
The famous meringue dessert was actually created as a tribute to Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) during one of her tours in Oceania.
Pavlova was one of the most famous ballerinas of her time and traveled the world with her own ballet company. It was during one of her tours that she performed in Oceania in the 1920s. Her lightness on stage impressed so much that a dessert was invented in her honor. Thus was created the pavlova based on meringue (which represents the tutu) and whipped cream (which recalls the movements of the tulles). A light and airy dessert in the image of this dancer adored in several regions of the world.
- A paternity that is debating!
But if we know the origin of the dessert, we know less about its inventor. The reason ? New Zealand and Australia dispute the authorship of the meringue dessert.
Bert Sache, the chef of the Esplanade Hotel in Perth, Australia has long claimed that the pavlova was one of his creations. According to him, he developed the recipe in 1934 at the request of Elizabeth Paxton, the hotel manager. An assertion on which he returned in 1973 when he admitted that he had been inspired by a New Zealand recipe published in the magazine Women's Mirror.
Keith Mooney, the biographer of Anna Pavlova, believes that the dessert was created in 1926 in Wellington (the capital of New Zealand) by a young chef who fell in love with the ballerina.
The story could have ended there, but in 2007, the debate ignited. In question, a commercial listing the New Zealand specialties appropriated by Australia. Among them, the pavlova, particularly highlighted in the video.
In 2008, culinary anthropologist Helen Leach published her book “The Pavlova Story: A Slice of New Zealand's Culinary History” to shed some light on the subject once and for all. The anthropologist explains that he studied hundreds of recipes from different sources and claims to have found recipes similar to pavlova in old New Zealand cookbooks.
If the paternity of the pavlova is not assured, the sources therefore tend more towards a New Zealand origin.
