Letter: Sweet note

Michael Bateman's "New Zealand" national pudding, pavlova, is anything but ("The first fruits of Kiwi cuisine", Review, 30 June). Not only is kiwi fruit not "de rigueur as topping for pavlova" but this alien fruit hadn't been heard of when pavlova was invented. What is de rigueur for pavlova is passion-fruit pulp, which cuts through the sweetness of this confection. A confection which is a stranger to the ice-cream sandwiched between slabs of meringue illustrated. The true pavlova starts with a meringue case filled (not topped) with soft fruits, topped with cream and the passion fruit pulp.

Len Clarke

Uxbridge, Middlesex