The confection of a nation: the social invention and social construction of the Pavlova

Abstract

Both Australians and New Zealanders claim the Pavlova (a large meringue cake, covered in cream and fruit) as their national dish. The historical record does not settle its birthplace. On the contrary, published recipes reveal the complex process of social invention through the swapping of practical experience across both countries. The illusion of a singular creation can be explained by distinguishing a second, associated level of social construction. This applies to the more ideal processes through which cooks and eaters attached a name, meanings and myths, producing a widely-held concept that was deceptively distinct. The Pavlova evolved along with other social constructs, notably femininity and nationalism, which became ironic in tone. Typically consisting of a set of instructions (“take 1/2 lb sugar”) and an often figurative title (“Pavlova”), recipes are valuable historical sources for mapping the social invention of material items and the social construction of ideas about them.

Keywords:

• recipes
• Pavlova
• social invention
• social construction
• ironic nationalism

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Helen Leach and other members of the team, along with Duncan Galletly, Marion Maddox and this journal's anonymous reviewers.

Notes

1. Cookery books are presented chronologically after the references.

2. The use of cookery books as social and culinary indicators (particularly, in my case, of the shift from modernity to postmodernity) was supported by the Marsden Fund of the Royal Society of New Zealand from 2005 until 2008.

3. The National Library of Australia dates the book as 1924?; it contains a testimonial from opera singer Nellie Melba, dated 15 August 1922.

4. The corollary would be that other women chose nasty or just plain food to show off their inferiority.

5. Duncan Galletly, personal communication. Helen Leach provides another set of ratios restricted to her “type IIIA” recipes, closest to the conventional Pavlova: 1:2.25 (1930s), 1:0.86 (1940s), and 1:0.22 (1950s).

6. Lady Lamington's unpublished memoirs credit their French chef Armand Galland for devising them for unexpected guests in either Toowoomba or Brisbane between April 1900 and June 1901 (Dr Katie McConnel, Curator, Old Government House, Brisbane, personal communication).

7. Signs throughout Sydney airport stated: “Joking about aviation safety and security is … taken seriously and may lead to;/Being denied the right to fly; or/Criminal Prosecution/Let's Keep Sydney Airport Safe + Secure” (author's photograph, Monday 5 January 2007).