Pavlova: New Zealand vs. Australia
If you’ve never had Pavlova before then do yourself a favor and look up a recipe RIGHT NOW! This simple dish feels so sophisticated, it’s no wonder Australians and New Zealanders are arguing over who came up with it first!
Though it’s similar to an Eton mess (invented in 1893) thanks to the combination of cream, fruit and meringue, the beef here is between New Zealand and Australia, who both claim it as a national dish.
Both origin stories for the crisp meringue, whipped cream and pile of berries are kind of sweet, as both countries claim to have invented it in honor of Anna Pavlova, a Russian ballerina who toured there in the 1920s. Historians haven’t helped much, backing either side.
The most bizarre aspect of this story is the fact that the Oxford English Dictionary fueled the flames even further by claiming that the recipe for this sweet desert appeared in New Zealand first in 1927.
