Captain Create has floated in his hot air balloon all the way around the world to New Zealand! This beautiful island nation is made up of 2 big islands — the North Island and the South Island —and over 700 smaller islands, but most of the people live on the northern island. New Zealand is also known as Aotearoa in the Maori language. Māori are the tangata whenua (indigenous people) of Aotearoa/ New Zealand and their culture is an integral part of local life. If you visit New Zealand, you’ll be able to see many ways the Maori influence the culture, art, and food across the country. One of the most noticeable Maori traditions is their Ta Moko.
Modern New Zealand is famous for the itty bitty kiwi birds, raising sheep on their mountain ranges, and their love of rugby! They learned the rough game of rugby, and other less rough games like soccer and cricket, from the British during the time they ruled over New Zealand as a colony. The British colonizers brought their traditional recipes with them from Europe and over time as they cooked and lived in New Zealand, the cuisines combined to create modern New Zealand food.
One such tasty food is the Pavlova! It was brought to both New Zealand and Australia in the 1920’s and has been a much loved dessert ever since. It is usually made with whipped egg whites and sugar, then topped with fresh fruit, whipped cream, and sometimes tart lemon or lime curd. The baked egg whites are crispy and crunchy on the outside, but soft and fluffy on the inside like a marshmallow!
Captain Create knows that some folks can’t eat eggs, or that they choose not to, and there is a way to make a pavlova without eggs! The liquid from inside a can of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) can be whipped with sugar and it makes a fluffy white foam, just like whipped egg whites! You can try it either way, and see which you like better!
