The chemistry of the humble pavlova

The first time I tasted pavlova was probably on my first visit to New Zealand – a whirlwind trip to see glow worms and spend the festive season with my prospective in-laws. Until then, I’d only ever experienced crunchy meringues and wasn’t a fan.

But that first mouthful of pavlova.

The surprising combination of the crunchy outside with a melt-in-your-mouth interior, topped with cream and summer fruits. What a delight.

Have you ever wondered how a bowl of gloopy translucent egg whites can be transformed into the meringue that makes a pavlova? It’s all down to chemistry.

Egg whites are about 90 per cent water and

10 per cent proteins. Proteins are made up of strings of amino acids that twist and curl and fold in on themselves to form shapes.

Some amino acids love water (they’re hydrophilic) and others hate water (hydrophobic). When egg whites are in their natural state, the amino acid strings are curled up so that the hydrophobic amino acids are in the centre, hidden away from water molecules.

Beating egg whites causes two things to happen. It introduces air bubbles and it makes the tightly twisted and curled strings of amino acids start to unfurl, exposing the hydrophobic amino acids.

This causes the water molecules and amino acids to jostle about to get as close to the components they prefer and as far away as possible from the ones they don’t like.

The end result is a bowl of fluffy white proteincoated bubbles.

Adding sugar and a little acid, like vinegar, lemon juice or cream of tartar, binds the proteins together and stops the whole thing from collapsing. Apply a little heat, and voila, you have a pavlova base.

For best results, use fresh eggs that are at room temperature as this helps the protein strings unfurl quicker.

And keep fats and oils away. Don’t use your hands to separate the eggs, make sure there are no traces of egg yolk in the whites, and do the whipping in a glass or stainless steel bowl rather than a plastic one.

Meri Kirihimete everyone.