4 egg whites (at room temperature)
1 cup sugar, castor
1 tbsp vinegar
1 cornflour
Directions
With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form,
then gradually add the sugar (about 1 t every 30 seconds). This will
take around 15 minutes. Beat until firm. Add the vinegar. When
combined, turn out onto a flat baking sheet that has been greased and
dusted with cornflour. Shape it so that there will be a hollow in the
centre to hold the fruit.
Cook in a pre-heated, warm oven (350-375 degrees F.) for 10 minutes,
then at 200-250 degrees F. for 40-50 mins.
When cooked, turn the oven off and allow to cool slowly in the oven
for at least an hour, preferably overnight. Gradual cooling is
important. Serve cold, topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit such
as strawberries, bananas and kiwi fruit.
NOTES:
* Pavlova (Australian meringue dessert) -- This is a quintessentially
Australian dish. The legend behind it is that it was created by a
chef in Adelaide after he had seen Anna Pavlova dance, saying that he
wanted to create a dessert that was as light and airy as her dancing.
Australians pride themselves on their ability to cook a good Pavlova.
When important visitors come to an Australian household, they are
likely to be served a Pavlova with plenty of fresh fruit. There are
many variations on the recipe. This one comes from my friend Janet
Wiles. Yield: Serves 6-8.
* Castor sugar is known in North America as "granulated sugar."
Cornflour is likewise "cornstarch." The higher temperature initially
is to form a crust on the outside of the meringue base, it should be
crisp on the outside, though not browned, and soft inside. It's
important that the beaters and the bowl are really dry and clean.
Uneven temperatures will cause the base to collapse (keep the oven
door closed and let it cool slowly). Experienced Pavlova cooks claim
that electric ovens work best because they heat more uniformly.
: Difficulty: moderate.
: Time: 30 minutes preparation, 1 hour cooking, 1 or more hours
cooling. : Precision: Measure the ingredients.
:
: Janet Wiles (Janetw@basser.oz), Sydney University, Australia
: Transcribed by Kathy Morris (morris@diablo.ARPA), Stanford
University
: Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust
Servings: 6 servings
Pavlova I Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Australian
The History of Recipes
Historians have proved the existence of recipes back into the far past, at least as far back into history as pharonic Egypt, and maybe further still. Having said that, mostly, these ancient cook books were just basic pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing food.
In an interesting twist, the oldest recipe discovered, according to historians is a series of stone tablets in Sumerian which show the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who tried it feel `blissful`. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, we find some recipe books dating from the 14th Century - one book called `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are a little misleading though, these two books are nothing to do with the spicy food that is served today, but rather descriptions of the types of meals on the tables of the rich and wealthy people of that period. In the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought us many foods, spices and herbs from the holy lands, such as coriander, parsley, and rosemary. The introduction of these new tastes created an outbreak in books on cooking, the majority of which are now in private collections. Over the next few hundred years, the families of Europe competed to offer the most exotic banquets, and consequentially cooks and their recipes were greatly in demand. Notwithstanding that, it was during the 1800s that fine cooking and cookery books rose to prominence. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collecting, trying out, and recording recipes that were common in the better off homes of the day. When we get to the 1900s, cookbooks were in great demand, due to better eduction, people having more free time and having more money. The arrival of TV gave us TV cookery programs and the accompanying recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the internet revolution, permitting us all to access thousands of recipes such as those found on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Pavlova I recipe.
