What does the cornflour do in a pavlova?

mumto3, Dec 20, 9:29am
x1
Some recipes have it and some don't so I just wondered what it was meant to do

camper18, Dec 20, 9:39am
Makes the marshmellow like centre. Without it will be more crisp all the way thru.

noonesgirl, Dec 20, 9:43am
x1
Cornflour doesn't have gluten

nanasee1, Dec 20, 9:43am
Camper18 i disagree I have never added cornflour & have crunchy outside & marshmellow inside no problem. Mumto3 I am not sure why some people add cornflour, I have heard it is meant to stabilize the mixture but as i said I have never used it.

mumto3, Dec 20, 9:47am
thanks

The recipe I made didn't have any cornflour.It was about 8 cm high and when I cut it the shell was about 7mm thick and the marshmellow about 5cm high but there was an air gap of about 2-3cm between the marshmellow and the top shell.

Would cornflour have lessened the air gap and made the marshmellow higher or is this normal for a pav?

245sam, Dec 20, 9:52am
noonesgirl, that depends on whether the cornflour is wheaten cornflour or maize (corn) cornflour - the latter, of course, being gluten-free.:-))

lilyfield, Dec 20, 5:46pm
your standard cornflour from supermarket is WHEAT

gardie, Dec 20, 6:16pm
No.I always use cornflour and I have this gap too.We need Elton Brown on the MB - he'd know.

guest, Dec 9, 8:25am
It's the vinegar that makes the pav gooey on the inside. The cornflour stabilises the mixture and aids in the small amount of raising the pav does while cooking.

guest, Dec 9, 8:31am
Cornflour is used when cooking meringue AND pavlova, its not what makes the marshmellow centre. Cornflour is a stabilising agent, try cooking a pav without the cornflour, it will still have a soft centre just perhaps will not rise as much and you may get a gooey yellow like discharge from the pav that is caused by the egg proteins from overcooking.