Is pavlova from Australia or New Zealand?
Both Australia and New Zealand claim to have invented the pavlova, a meringue dessert named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who toured both countries in the 1920s. Research suggests the earliest recipes appeared in New Zealand.
A pavlova has a crisp meringue shell and a soft, marshmallow-like centre, usually topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit such as strawberries, kiwifruit and passionfruit. It is a favourite at Christmas and summer celebrations.
In Australia, a popular story credits Bert Sachse, a chef at the Esplanade Hotel in Perth, with creating the dessert in 1935 and naming it after Pavlova, said to be as light as the ballerina.
The evidence
Food historians have found recipes for meringue cakes called pavlova in New Zealand cookbooks from the late 1920s, earlier than the Perth story. Some researchers also point to similar meringue desserts in Europe and the United States.
New Zealand food historian Helen Leach studied hundreds of old cookbooks and found meringue pavlova recipes published in New Zealand by 1929.
The rivalry is good-humoured, and both countries continue to claim the pavlova as a national dessert. Many families serve a pav every Christmas, often with summer berries and mango.
Did You Know?
In Australia and New Zealand, the dessert is often simply called a pav.