Garnish (food)

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."
The difference between garnish and decoration, is garnish is edible. Plastic grass for sushi presentation is considered a decoration, not 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
(raspberry coulis, for example)
s
s
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
wedge
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, sometimes called okaka
Scallion or tree onion (wakegi) – mostly used as topping of tofu and miso soup
Various edible seaweed – including thinly sliced kizami nori sheets, Aonori, Tororo Kombu used widely as topping of ramen, udon, yakiudon, Takoyaki, soba, okonomiyaki, yakisoba, or even pizza and hotdogs
Sesame seeds – sprinkled on steamed rice or noodles
Shiso leaf
Fukujinzuke, a condiment and garnish for curry dishes
Kinshi tamago, shredded strips of eggs popular on rice porridge, and hiyashi chuka a cold mixed ramen salad
Fish roe such as tobiko, masago, mentaiko, and ikura are popular on rice dishes such as chirashi and sushi as well
Shredded daikon and ground daikon called daikon oroshi, a winter radish, is popular in bento and sushi dishes, the latter is popular on oily foods such as fish and tempura
Sakura, star, heart and various shaped carrot garnishes are popular in bento
Garlic chives
Whitebait such as shirasu and chirimenjako
Edible flowers such as chrysanthemum
Furikake
Umeboshi
Nameko mushrooms
Menma fermented seasoned bamboo shoots
Soy egg
Narutomaki
Mitsuba, Cryptotaenia japonica
Tenkasu, fried bits of batter which defines tanuki udon
Aburage, fried tofu which defines kitsune udon
Kamaboko, a surimi often found in bento and hot pot udon
Wasabi
Yuzukosho
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
See also
Cake decorating
Cocktail garnish
Food presentation
Garde manger
Hors d'oeuvre
Tuile
References
External links
How to Garnish Food. WikiHow
HowToGarnish.com
Food and drink decorations
Culinary terminology