# Pavlova. Is it popular in Australia? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953 "2013-09-04T02:03:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/21 "2013-09-05T01:49:38Z")
I looove pavlova. It is common at social events and birthday parties in New Zealand. Most women take some pride in baking a pav but pre-made ones are available in all of the supermarkets. Covered with whipped cream and strawberries I cannot think of anything more divine. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/22 "2013-09-05T02:31:11Z")
Anyone care to enlighten those of us on the top half of the globe as to just what pavlova is? ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/23 "2013-09-05T02:38:06Z")
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavlova\_(food)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavlova_(food)) > [@](#): > > Pavlova is made by beating egg whites (and sometimes salt) to a very stiff consistency before folding in caster sugar, white vinegar, cornflour, and sometimes vanilla essence, and slow-baking the mixture, similarly to meringue.[13] > > The major difference between the pavlova and a large meringue is the addition of cornflour, which results in the pavlova having a crisp and crunchy outer shell, and a soft, moist marshmallow-like centre, unlike meringue which is usually solid throughout. The consistency also makes the pavlova significantly more fragile than meringue. Because the Pavlova is notorious for deflating if exposed to cold air, when cooking is complete it is left in the oven to fully cool down before the oven door is opened. > > Pavlova is traditionally decorated with a topping of whipped cream and fresh soft fruit such as kiwifruit, passionfruit, and strawberries.[14] ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/24 "2013-09-05T06:06:20Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > Not arguing that at all. > > I just love the fact that when you look around the world and see all the wars and strife and border disputes - we argue about rugby, cricket and who invented the dessert we’ll be having after the BBQ. 😃 Not to mention Phar Lap!! ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/25 "2013-09-05T06:12:16Z")
> [@Silver\_Fire](#): > > One of my foster parents was from NZ and helped me make a pavlova once for some project in junior high. History, maybe? I don’t remember. > > It had sliced kiwi and was fantastic. I’ve only ever had the one. This seems the appropriate place for my ongoing campaign… It’s a blardy kiwiFRUIT dammit!! :mad::mad:😃 ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/26 "2013-09-05T06:25:09Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > It’s a blardy kiwiFRUIT dammit!! :mad::mad:😃 You don’t like sliced Kiwis on your pav? They do taste better than sliced Aussies. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/27 "2013-09-05T07:05:57Z")
If you buy them, are they dry inside? Or mushy like they should be? I’m glad they’re not _that_ ubiquitous in the UK (and certainly not in the Netherlands), that way I can impress people with the easiest pud ever and they think I’m a genius. Ha! 😃 I did one recently with pomegranate and pistachios, the hot pink and green really popped. It looked very pretty, though the pistachio was a little too delicate. I might try to make the pavlova itself with pistachio paste, see if that works (might be too greasy, but I managed with hazelnuts). I’ve also done rose water and rose petals+fruit on top. You can do endless variations, really. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/28 "2013-09-05T07:33:34Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > I’m glad they’re not _that_ ubiquitous in the UK (and certainly not in the Netherlands), that way I can impress people with the easiest pud ever and they think I’m a genius. Ha! 😃 Me too - in fact, on more than one occasion, I’ve been asked to do the making of the Pavlova at the dinner table as a performance. I have a couple of tricks and variations for my version of Pavlova (purists, please look away now): I make two large, flattish but slightly concave meringue discs I prepare all of my fruit in advance, comprising: Orange segments (peeled by slicing them out of the whole peeled orange) Kiwi slices (peel kiwi with a teaspoon - it’s the easiest way) Strawberry slices Blueberries Physalis (cape gooseberries) with the papery cases torn open and twirled back like the flights of a dart. Passionfruit sauce (a carton of passionfruit juice, thickened with cornstarch, chilled and stored in a squirty bottle) Sweet vanilla sabayon (=custard, chilled, made from the separated egg yolks) Chantilly cream Then at the table, I assemble thus: Lay down one of the meringues Spread the sabayon Arrange the orange slices (saving a few for decoration) Dress with passionfruit sauce Add the second meringue Add the cream Artfully arrange the kiwi, strawberries, blueberries Do a chef-y zigzag lattice of passionfruit sauce across the top Add the remaining orange wedges and cape gooseberries as a garnish ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/29 "2013-09-05T08:16:34Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > If you buy them, are they dry inside? Or mushy like they should be? I’d say “chewy” rather than “mushy” - I make my own plain, but I buy the chocolate-coffee ones and that’s how I’d characterise them. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/30 "2013-09-05T08:31:30Z")
Haven’t had one for years. They aren’t as popular as they were in the 70’s, but those who were in their 20’s 30’s in the 70’s still break em out at family gigs. I’m quite partial to a slice of Pav given the chance but ceebs making one myself. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/31 "2013-09-05T09:08:26Z")
The best pavlova topping is [Peppermint Crisp - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppermint_Crisp). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/32 "2013-09-05T13:11:45Z")
I first encountered pavolvas at _Anna’s Pavlova Parlor_ in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the late 1970s, where they served them with your choice of fruit. I’d never heard of them before. Nor, to be honest, have I encountered them since, and I doubt if they’re widely known here in the States. Anna’s is long gone, but a quick internet search shows that there are several restaurants in Boston and Cambridge that serve them. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/33 "2013-09-05T13:52:31Z")
This thread needs a recipe or two. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/34 "2013-09-05T14:03:25Z")
My wife has a really simple pavlova recipe that has you weigh the eggs in their shell, and then use that much sugar. If she is making a chocolate pavlova she uses some coffee in the mix (which I don’t like, so she sometimes doesn’t add it). Some people bill this as a _cappuccino pavlova_. She then uses the yolks to make a rich chocolate sauce (I guess more a chocolate custard) to pour over the pav. That is yummy. But I grew up with a traditional kiwi (_nation_) pav with cream and fruit: kiwifruit (siding with **bengangmo** ), banana, passionfruit, cape gooseberry, peach, nectarine, mandarin segments and combinations thereof. ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/35 "2013-09-06T05:10:38Z")
Pav was the very first Australian food I ever had. It was followed by a lamington. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/36 "2013-09-06T05:49:04Z")
I went to my brother’s wedding in Sydney two months ago (his bride is from there). Instead of having a wedding cake, they had a wedding pavlova. First time I’d had it, but I loved it! ---
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/37 "2013-09-06T06:23:22Z")
Now I want a piece of pavlova. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/38 "2013-09-06T08:12:22Z")
> [@Gleena](#): > > Pav was the very first Australian food I ever had. > > It was followed by a lamington. I had a lamington the other day. I’d forgotten how good they are. I hate, \*hate, \*HATE, shredded coconut. Lamingtons are so good I like them even though they are covered in shredded coconut. They are that good. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/39 "2013-09-06T08:14:56Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > This thread needs a recipe or two. Here you go mate, enjoy. [http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/collections/pavlova+recipes](http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/collections/pavlova+recipes) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953/40 "2013-09-06T12:01:51Z")
> [@Gleena](#): > > Pav was the very first Australian food I ever had. > > It was followed by a lamington. Pav’s are still around – and much easier now that the supermarket always sells pav. shells. But the lamington as a cultural icon is almost extinct. Lamingtons used to be a tarted-up version of a basic Aus recipe: A sponge cake (about as exciting as it sounds) coated in chocolate, coated in shredded coconut. The sponge cake is still one of the basic common catagories of show competition (agricultural fair), but home baking is down. Because this is so basic, simple, and common, in the 60’s parent groups used to raise money by cooking vast amounts of sponge cake, coating and selling it. This was so common it had it’s own name: a Lamington Drive. In the Late 70’s, a Lamington drive was re-selling a cheap commercial product, and then the practice dissappeared into history. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavlova-is-it-popular-in-australia/667953.md?page=3)