Garnishing

  

A garnish is something decorative or an embellishment that is added to the food to increase its visual appeal.

 

 

How can garnishing increase the visual appeal of food?

A garnish can provide:

• Textural interest

• Colour

• Flavour enhancement

• Height

• Harmony where the dish is composed of several disparate elements

• The 'wow factor'

Garnishes don't need to be complicated and intricate.  It is more often the simplest ones that are the most effective.

 

 Choosing an Appropriate Garnish

 

Chopped curly leaf parsley used to be the ubiquitous garnish, haphazardly scattered over all manner of savoury dishes.  At the other end of the scale, intricate creations like tomato or radish roses and cucumber butterflies were seen as the height of sophistication.  Nowadays it is more generally accepted that any garnish should be appropriate to the dish not a random decoration.

Many dishes can look rather flat as though they are missing something, adding a garnish provides that finishing touch and instantly enlivens the food.  The right garnish can transform an otherwise dull and lifeless dish into something spectacular.  It's the food equivalent of make up - perfectly acceptable without, yet enables an amazing transformation with!

How to select an appropriate garnish

One of the easiest ways to choose a garnish is to look at the ingredients used and see if there is anything within the dish that can be singled out to use as a garnish, either as is or in a slightly different form.

The following list gives a few ideas on how singling out ingredients can be the inspiration for various different garnishes:

• Ground almonds - flaked or chopped almonds or praline

• Chopped rosemary - sprigs of rosemary

• Chocolate - chocolate curls, cacao nibs or a dusting of cocoa powder

• Orange juice & zest - orange slices or orange zest or glace/candied strips peel or slices

• Prawns - whole prawn with shell

Another way to select a garnish is to choose foods that are commonly accpeted as ideal accompaniments:

• Lamb - mint, rosemary, redcurrants

• Beef - horseradish, mustard, bay leaves

• Pork - apples, sage, onions

• Eggs - chervil, nutmeg, paprika

• Fish - dill, tarragon, capers

In some cases there may be a combination of ingredients that will work well together as a garnish, but be aware of over garnishing which will detract from the dish rather than enhance it.