"Kiwi Shoe Polish" courtesy of sirwiseowl's photostream

A chef instructor once tried to convince his class that it was impossible to create a new dish, that every idea they thought to be original had been done before. To the chef’s credit, few could have imagined the changes brought about by the evolution of food science. But for all the innovative efforts being put into encapsulation, powders, and gels, there is a lack of creativity with regard to their names. We miss the days when a dish was named after the person that inspired it rather than its ingredients. We can’t fault chefs for being motivated by high quality ingredients to create a beautiful dish. However, "Oysters and Pearls" will never be as romantic as Pommes Anna, Peach Melba, or Pavlova.

These classic dishes all have a story behind their names. For example, Pavlova is named after the ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. There is an ongoing debate as to whether the dish originated in Australia or New Zealand, but given that kiwifruit is a large commercial crop for New Zealand and a common garnish for pavlova, one might be inclined to side with the Kiwis. However, the fact that the word kiwi holds several different meanings in New Zealand makes it hard to credit them with being original. The origin of the word is from the Maori language and refers to the bird, but the name became a popular term for New Zealanders during World War I. As for the term being applied to New Zealand currency, well that’s just getting carried away.

In this country we can refer to the fruit simply as kiwi and suffer a greater chance of confusion over the shoe polish than the bird or people. This time of year we have our own variety of kiwi available at the farmers market. Hardy kiwis, the size of a table grape, are grown in Port Townsend and available for only one month of the year from Green Water Farm. So get thee to the farmers market this weekend or you may miss out.

Filed in Food and tagged hardy kiwis, kiwis, new zealand, pavlova, port townsend, seattle farmers market