Garnish (food)

A garnish is an item or substance used as a decoration or embellishment accompanying a prepared food dish or drink. In many cases, it may give added or contrasting flavor. Some garnishes are selected mainly to augment the visual impact of the plate, while others are selected specifically for the flavor they may impart. This is in contrast to a condiment, a prepared sauce added to another food item primarily for its flavor. A food item which is served with garnish may be described as being garni, the French term for "garnished."

Many garnishes are not intended to be eaten, though for some it is fine to do so. Parsley is an example of a traditional garnish; this pungent green herb has small distinctly shaped leaves, firm stems, and is easy to trim into a garnish.

Overview

A garnish makes food or drink items more visually appealing. They may, for example, enhance their color, such as when paprika is sprinkled on a salmon salad. They may provide a color contrast, for example when chives are sprinkled on potatoes. They may make a cocktail more visually appealing, such as when a cocktail umbrella is added to an exotic drink, or when a Mai Tai is topped with any number of tropical fruit pieces. Sushi may be garnished with ''baran'', a type of plastic grass or leaf. Sometimes a garnish and a condiment will be used together to finish the presentation of a dish; for example, an entrée could be topped with a sauce, as the condiment, along with a sprig of parsley as a garnish.

A garnish may be so readily identified with a specific dish that the dish may appear incomplete without the garnish. Examples include a banana split sundae with cherries on top or buffalo wings served with celery stick garnish and blue cheese dressing.

List of garnishes

Foods and entree

Garnishes for foods and entrees include:

* Amandine – a culinary term indicating a garnish of almonds
* Bawang goreng – crisp fried shallot, a common garnish in Indonesian cuisine
*Carrot
* Caviar
* Sun dried tomato
* Celery
* Chives
* Chili pepper – julienne, rings or decoratively sliced
** Chili threads
* Cilantro – coriander leaves
* Crouton
* Cucumber – julienne, rings or decoratively sliced
* Duxelles
* Egg garnish
* Fried onion – used as a garnish on steaks and other foods
* Gremolata
* Lemon basil
* Radish
* Manchette
* Microgreens – young vegetable greens that are used both as a visual and flavor component, ingredient and garnish
* Mint
* Nuts
* Olive oil – drizzled olive oil is used to garnish some foods
* Ginger
* Parsley
* Persillade
* Sautéed mushrooms – used on steaks and other foods
* Edible seaweed – such as shredded nori sheet, used to garnish foods such as soups, entrees and sashimi
* Sesame seeds
* Walnut

Desserts and sweets

Garnishes for desserts and sweets include:

* Caramel
* Chocolate (shaved or curled)
* Cocoa powder
* Flaked coconut
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* Nuts
** Walnut pieces and candied walnuts
* Wedding cake topper
* Whipped cream

Beverages

Garnishes for beverages include:

Coffee-based drinks may have:
* Cinnamon sticks or ground powder
* Cocoa powder

Savory drinks such as Bloody Mary may have:
* Carrot sticks
* Celery stalks (usually with leaves attached)
* Pepper
* Salt, coarse (applied to the rim of glasses)

Eggnog may have:
*Nutmeg, grated

Various fruits are used:
* Cherries
* Lemon slice, twist, or wedge
* Lime slice, twist, or wedge
* Orange slice, twist, or wedge
* Pineapple slice or wedge
*
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** Sugar, granulated or powdered

Garnishes according to cuisine traditions

French garnishes

Classic French garnishes include

For soups:

* Brunoise – one to three mm diced vegetables
* Chiffonade – finely shredded lettuce or sorrel stewed in butter
* Croutes – small pieces of halved French bread buttered and oven dried
* Coulis – (a thicker soup) drizzled decoratively
* Croutons – small pieces of bread (typically cubes) fried in butter or other oil
* Julienne – thinly sliced vegetables
* Pasta (tapioca, sago, salep) etc.
* Pluches – a whole leaf spray of herbs, without the central stalk (traditionally chervil)
* Profiterolles – puff pastry stuffed with purée
* Royale – a small decoratively shaped piece of egg custard (in German this is called an Eierstich)
* Threaded eggs
For relevés and entrées:
* Croquettes
* Potatoes (pommes dauphine, Duchess potatoes or Marquis)
* Duxelles – fried onion, mushrooms and herbs
* Matignon – minced carrots, onions, and celeries with ham stewed in butter and Madeira
* Mirepoix – similar to Matignon but diced (cf. minced) with or without ham (or with bacon substituted for the ham)
* Polonaise – Polish-style garnish with melted butter, bread crumbs, chopped boiled egg, lemon juice and herbs over cooked vegetables
* Salpicon – a variety of other diced meats or vegetables
* Fritters

Indonesian garnishes

* Bawang goreng – crisp fried shallot, a common garnish in Indonesian cuisine
* Young carrot leaf
* Celery – locally known as ''daun seledri'' used as topping for soups or rice congee
* Chili pepper – sliced decoratively
* Cilantro
* Cucumber – sliced decoratively
* Flaked coconut – grated coconut flesh, usually used in traditional kue sweet dessert snacks; such as klepon, putu and lupis
* Emping – ''melinjo'' nut crackers
* Krupuk – various traditional crackers
* Lemon basil – locally known as ''daun kemangi''
* Tomato – sliced decoratively

Japanese garnishes

* Beni shōga – julienne pickled ginger, usually used as a garnish for gyudon and okonomiyaki
* Gari – marinated thinly sliced ginger, usually used as a garnish for sushi and sashimi
* Katsuobushi – dried bonito flakes, usually used as a garnish for takoyaki
* Scallion or tree onion (''wakegi'') – mostly used as topping of tofu and miso soup
* Various edible seaweed – including thinly sliced nori sheets, used mostly as topping of ramen, udon or soba
* Sesame seeds – sprinkled on steamed rice or noodles
* Shiso leaf

Korean garnishes

In Korean cuisine, decorative garnishes are referred to as ''gomyeong'' (), means to decorate or embellish food.
* '' Chrysanthemum'' leaves
* Egg garnish – a common topping in Korean cuisine, made with egg whites and egg yolks.
* ''Gochu'' – red chili pepper
** Chili thread – a traditional Korean garnish made with chili peppers.
* Crushed garlic
* Green onions
* Manna lichen
* Scallions
* Shiitake
* Shredded vegetables

Garnish tools

Tools often used for creating food garnishes include skewers, knives, graters, toothpicks, and parchment cones.

Gallery

File:Fried onion garnish.JPG, Fried onions are used as a garnish
File:Choc cake-candied violets.jpg, A chocolate cake garnished with violets
File:Butter cake slice.jpg, A slice of butter cake garnished with sliced almonds
File:Egg Biryani garnished with Cilantro.jpg, Egg Biryani garnished with cilantro
File:Cappuccino bicchiere 1.jpg, A cappuccino garnished with cocoa powder
File:2220 - Salzburg - Café Demel - Pistachio and ice cream.JPG, Ice cream garnished with pistachio pieces and rolled wafers
File:Garnished crabcake.jpg, A crabcake with a cream sauce and a garnish of microgreens
File:Cheese tray garnished with red pepper rings and chicory.jpg, Cheese tray garnished with red pepper rings and chicory
File:Bloody Mary 2.jpg, A Bloody Mary with several garnishes
File:Chang27.jpg, A wedding cake topped with a wedding cake topper

See also

* Cake decorating
* Cocktail garnish
* Food presentation
* Garde manger
* Hors d'oeuvre
* Tuile

References

External links

How to Garnish Food
WikiHow

HowToGarnish.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garnish (Food)
Food and drink decorations
Culinary terminology