Garnish (food)

A garnish is an item or substance used as a decoration or embellishment accompanying a prepared food dish or drink.^[1] 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.^[2] 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."

A gyro sandwich garnished with mint leaves

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.^[3][4] They may, for example, enhance their color,^[3] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

List of garnishes

Foods and entree

Garnishes for foods and entrees include:

 

Sun dried tomato used as garnish for the vegan Penne

• Amandine – a culinary term indicating a garnish of almonds
• Bawang goreng – crisp fried shallot, a common garnish in Indonesian cuisine
• Carrot
• Caviar^[5]
• Sun dried tomato
• Celery
• Chives^[6][7]
• 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^[8]
• Gremolata^[9]
• Lemon basil
• Radish
• Manchette
• Microgreens – young vegetable greens that are used both as a visual and flavor component, ingredient and garnish^[10]
• Mint^[11]
• Nuts
• Ginger^[12]
• Parsley^[13]
• Persillade^[14]
• Sautéed mushrooms – used on steaks and other foods^[15][16]
• Edible seaweed – such as shredded nori sheet, used to garnish foods such as soups, entrees and sashimi^[17][18]
• Sesame seeds^[19]
• Walnut

Desserts and sweets

Garnishes for desserts and sweets include:

 

A frosted muffin garnished with confetti candy

• Caramel
• Chocolate (shaved or curled)
• Cocoa powder
• Flaked coconut^[20]
• Confetti candy – Confectionery food
• Coulis – Thin sauce made from vegetables or fruits (raspberry coulis, for example)
• Edible flower – Flowers that may be consumed safelys
• Sliced fruit – Seed-bearing part of a flowering plant
• Gomul – Edible powders in Korean cuisine
• Honey – Sweet and viscous substance made by bees mostly using nectar from flowers
• Maraschino cherry – Preserved, sweetened cherry
• Mint – Family of flowering plants that includes sage and mint
• Sprinkles – Tiny multi-colored candy topping
• Syrup – Thick, viscous solution of sugar in waters
• Vark – Metallic leaf used on South Asian sweets
• Wafer – Thin type of biscuit
• Nuts^[21]
  • Walnut pieces and candied walnuts
• Wedding cake topper
• Whipped cream

Beverages

Garnishes for beverages include:

 

A gin martini with a lime twist

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
• Strawberries – Edible fruit
• Watermelon – Large gourd fruit with a smooth hard rind wedge
• Cocktail garnish – Decorative element added to a drink
  • Cocktail onion – Pearl onion pickled in a brine
  • Cocktail umbrella – Small paper umbrella used as decoration
  • Green olive – Flowering plant in the family Oleaceae
  • Mint – Family of flowering plants that includes sage and mint^[22]
  • Twist – Citrus zest garnishing a cocktail
  • Sugar, granulated or powdered

Garnishes according to cuisine traditions

French garnishes

Classic French garnishes include^[23]

For soups:

 

Chilled leek and potato soup garnished with croutons

• 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 ^[24]

For relevés and entrées:

• Croquettes
• Potatoes (pommes dauphine,^[25] Duchess potatoes or Marquis)
• Duxelles – fried onion, mushrooms and herbs^[26][27]
• 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

 

Indonesian festive tumpeng rice cone, garnished with decoratively sliced chili pepper and cucumber.

• Bawang goreng – crisp fried shallot, a common garnish in Indonesian cuisine^[28]
• 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

 

Japanese miso ramen garnished with edible seaweed, sesame and scallion

• 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

 

Jidan, a Korean egg garnish for soups

In Korean cuisine, decorative garnishes are referred to as gomyeong (고명), means to decorate or embellish food.^[29][30]

• Chrysanthemum leaves ^[31]
• Egg garnish – a common topping in Korean cuisine, made with egg whites and egg yolks.^[32][33][34]
• Gochu – red chili pepper^[35]
  • Chili thread – a traditional Korean garnish made with chili peppers.^[36][37][38]
• Crushed garlic^[31]
• Green onions ^[31]
• Manna lichen^[35]
• Scallions ^[35]
• Shiitake^[35]
• Shredded vegetables ^[39]

Garnish tools

Tools often used for creating food garnishes include skewers, knives, graters, toothpicks, and parchment cones.^[40]

Gallery

•  
  Fried onions garnishing a plate of chicken noodles
•  
  A chocolate cake garnished with violets
•  
  A slice of butter cake garnished with sliced almonds
•  
  Egg Biryani garnished with cilantro
•  
  A cappuccino garnished with cocoa powder
•  
  Ice cream garnished with pistachio pieces and rolled wafers
•  
  A crabcake with a cream sauce and a garnish of microgreens
•  
  Cheese tray garnished with red pepper rings and chicory
•  
  A Bloody Mary with several garnishes
•  
  A wedding cake topped with a wedding cake topper

See also

•  Food portal

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

References

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External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Garnishing.

• How to Garnish Food. WikiHow
• HowToGarnish.com