Jan 19, 2016 Words of Appreciation from Down Under

This kind note came to us from a happy patron who was looking for proof that a particular meringue dessert actually had existed at one point in human history. After spending many hours unsuccessfully searching for the elusive meringue a la russe recipe, the patron, who resides in the state of Queensland in Australia, learned about our cookbook collection in Special Collections  and inquired. Fortunately, one of the cookbooks in our Horst E. Schober collection, Dictionnaire Universel de Cuisine (1891-92), did have the recipe for this dessert and the mystery was solved!

The patron’s word of thanks to us:

“Oh wow! Thank you so much, I am entirely grateful.

This citation is just brilliant and it is possibly the most important recipe sourced to date. A year go I found an 1879 menu citation for ‘meringue a la russe’ in the UK, but I was not able to locate a corresponding recipe. I approached culinary historians, who effectively told me ‘meringue a la russe’ did not exist as a dish, rather it was a table service method.

The recipe you helped to locate and supply changes culinary history. I can now not only prove ‘meringue a la russe’ was a bonafide dessert presentation and construction technique, but that a family of meringues known as ‘the russes’ have been in existence for at least 136 years and that the ‘pavlova cake’ (named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova) is just one version of a meringue russe dessert.

Thank you again Marriott Library; this is a huge research breakthrough. I couldn’t do this project without your rock-star librarians and I am so grateful.”

Please visit the Special Collections Reading Room on Level 4 of the J. Marriott Library, Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm and Saturday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm.

http://www.lib.utah.edu/collections/special-collections/index.php

Click the pictures for a closer view.