Garnish (cooking)

A garnish is an edible item or substance used as a decoration or embellishment for a prepared food dish or drink. Some garnishes are mainly for appearance, while others impart additional or contrasting flavors or textures. The notion of a garnish is distinct from that of a condiment, a prepared sauce added to another food item primarily for its flavor, but which does not serve a decorative function. A food item which is served with garnish may be described as being garni, French for "garnished."

Overview A garnish makes food or drink items more visually appealing. It may, for example, enhance its color, such as when paprika is sprinkled on a salmon salad. It may provide a color contrast, for example when chives are sprinkled on potatoes. It may make a cocktail more visually appealing, such as when a Mai Tai is topped with tropical fruit pieces. 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 identified with a dish that the dish appears incomplete without it. Examples include a banana split sundae with cherries on top or buffalo wings served with celery stick garnish and blue cheese dressing.

While many Western sources, including the Oxford English Dictionary, specify a garnish as a food item, the word may also be used to describe inedible decorations in some contexts. Within Japanese Cuisine, for example, inedible leaf garnishes play an important artistic and symbolic role in the presentation of foods.

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 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

Desserts and sweets Garnishes for desserts and sweets include:

Caramel Chocolate (shaved or curled) Cocoa powder Flaked coconut

(raspberry coulis, for example)

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 Strawberries Lemon slice, twist, or wedge Lime slice, twist, or wedge Orange slice, twist, or wedge Pineapple slice or wedge Watermelon slice or 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

Garnish (cooking)

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