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
It is quite possible to follow the history of written cooking instructions way back into distant history, in fact as far as the early Egyptians, and possibly even further. Having said that, sadly, these ancient cookbooks were just very simple pictorial instructions for food preparation.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to food historians is a collection of stone tablets in ancient Sumerian describing the making 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 on, there were a couple of books dating from the 1300s ; a cookery book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another called `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, these two books have no connection with the indian food that is served today, but instead accounts of the types of meals on the menues of the upper classes of that time. During the following few centuries, the upper-class families of the West strove to lay on the most exotic banquets, and consequentially chefs and their recipe collections were at a premium. Even so, it was during the 1800s that haute cuisine and cookery books became popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, dedicated years of their lives to collecting, trying out, and writing down the recipes that were being prepared for the better households. By the advent of the 1900s, cookery publications were starting to become popular due to better eduction, more spare time and having more money to spend. The revolution that is television brings us celebrity TV chefs and the accompanying recipe books. And that brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, permitting everyone to search through massive numbers of recipes such as those found on sites such as this. |
We hope you enjoy this Pavlova I recipe.
