GARNISH

                                          GARNISH

WHAT IS GARNISH?

The word “garnish” is derived from French word meaning “to adorn or to furnish.” In English, we use the word to mean to decorate or embellish a food item by the addition of the other items. The word also is used for these decorative items. But in fact, the term has been used for a great variety of preparation and techniques in the history of classical and modern cuisines. Let’s look at some of these styles of garnish and what they mean to today’s cooks and chefs.

CLASSICAL GARNISH

In classical cooking, the terms garnish and garniture have been used the way we use the term accompaniments. In other words, garnishes are any items placed on the platter or plate or in the soup bowl in addition to the main item. It happens that these accompaniments also make the food look more attractive, but that is not the emphasis. The garnish may be as simple as the one called Concorde or as complex as the one called tortue, quoted here to give you an idea of the complexity and elaborateness of classical garnish.

Concorde (for large joints) - Peas, glazed carrots, mashed potatoes.

Tortue (for entrees)- Quenelles, mushrooms heads, gherkins, garlic, collops of tongue and claves, brains, small fried eggs, heart – shaped croutons, crayfish, slices of truffles. Tortue sauce.   

CLASSICAL TERMS IN THE MODERN KITCHEN

Many of the classical names for garnishes are still used in modern kitchens. Although they have lost the precise meanings they once had. You will encounter these terms frequently, so it is worthwhile learning them. Remember that the following definitions are not the classical ones, but simply the garnish or accompaniments generally indicated by the terms in today’s kitchens.

Bouqetiere: “Bouqetiere” of vegetables

Jardinière: “Garden” vegetables

Printaniere: Spring vegetables

Primeurs: First spring vegetables.

These four terms refer to assortments of fresh vegetables, including carrots, turnips, peas, pearl onions, cauliflower, sometimes asparagus, artichokes.

Clamart: Peas

Crecy: carrots

Doria; Cucumbers (cooked in butter)

Dubarry: Cauliflower 

Fermier: Carrots turnips onions, and celery, sut into inform slices

Florentine; spinach

Florestiere: Mushrooms

Judic: braised lettuce

Lycnnaise: onions

Nicose: tomatoes concassee cooked with garlic

Parameter: Asparagus

Provencale: tomatoes with garlic, parsley, and sometimes mushrooms and/or olives

Vichy: carrots (especially carrots)

MODERN HOT PLATTER GARNISH

In classical cuisine, food was nearly always brought to the dining room on large platters and then served, rather than being plated in the kitchen as is most done today.

This practice is still widely used for banquet, and nothing stimulates appetites as much as a succulent roast on a silver platter, sumptuously adorned with a colorful variety of vegetables garnishes.

The classical garnitures most often adapted to modern platter presentation are those called Bouqetiere, jardinière, and printaniere. At one time these were very specific vegetables assortments cut in prescribed ways. But today they are taken in a more general way, meaning colorful assortments of various fresh vegetables.

Platter garnish need not be elaborate or difficult to prepare. A simple assortment of colorful vegetables carefully cut and properly cooked to retain color and texture, is a appropriate to the most elegant presentation. Stuffed vegetables, such as tomato halves filled with peas, are a little fancer, but still easy to prepare. Borders of duchesse potatoes are also popular.

Many of the rules of proper plating apply to platter arrangements as well, for example, those that call for neatness, balance of color and shape, unity, and preserving the individually of the items. Following are few other guide-lines that apply to hot platter presentation and garnish. An example of a hot platter can be seen.

1. VEGETABLES SHOULD BE IN EASILY SERVED UNITS.

In other words, don’t heap green peas or mashed potatoes on one corner of the platter. More suitable are vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, boiled tomatoes, asparagus spears, whole green beans, mushroom caps, or anything that comes in large or easy-to-handle pieces. Small vegetables such as peas can be easily served of they are used to fill artichoke bottoms, tomato halves, or tartlet shells.

2. Have the correct number of portions of each item.

Vegetable like Brussels sprouts and tourneed carrots are easily portioned in the dinning room if they are arrangement in little portion-size piles.

3. Arrange the garnishes around the platter to get the best effect from the different colors and shapes.

The meat, poultry, or fish is usually placed in the centre of the platter, or in a row or rows, and the garnishes are arranged around it.

4. Avoid being too elaborate.

While it is sometimes desirable to make very ornate platters, simplicity is usually preferable to an overcooked appearance. Let the attractiveness of the food speak for itself. The garnish should never dominate or hide the meat, which is the centre of attention.

5. Serve extra sauce or gravy in a sauceboat.

It is appropriate, dress or nap the meat or fish items which some of the sauce, but don’t drown the entire platter with it.

6. Serve hot food hot, on a hot platter

Don’t spend so much time arranging the food that its cold by the time it reaches the dinning room.

SIMPLE PLATE GARNISH

To many people the word” garnish” means a spring of parsley. What this implies is that garnish is of a nothing more than aterhought, a meaning scrap of something routinely planed on the plate with out regards to it function.

Lets consider too approaches to plating from the point of view of garnish.

1.      NO GARNISH

 Many or even most plates need no added garnish. If the accompanying vegetables and starches provide an attractive balance in color combination, the garnish may just clutter the plate. Leave it off.

Actually, this is much the same as classical garnishes, as we discussed above, the accompaniments become the garnish because they do the job balancing out the plate for an attractive presentation.

2.      SIMPLY DECORATIVE GARNISH

Sometimes it is necessary to serve the accompanying vegetable in side dishes.

Sometimes the accompaniments do not add much contrast to the plate, such as baked potatoes served with a steak or French fries served with fried chicken or fish. A simple garnish may then be helpful to provide a color accent or balance to the plate.

A simple, decorative garnished the edible, appropriate to the food and planned into the plate layout, not just stuck on hap-hazardly.

Although modern platting styles have made simple garnishes less frequently used them in year past, they sometimes play useful role.

NAME OF GARNISH                       TYPES

Parsley                                                  sprig, chopped, fried

Watercress                                            sprig

Chives                                                   cut

Mint                                                      sprig

Dill                                                        sprig

Chicory                                                 leaves

Tomato                                                  wedge slice, raw or boiled half,

                                                              Raw or boiled cherry tomato

Cucumber                                             slice, plain or fluted twist cup

Mushrooms                                           slices caps, plain or fluted

Radishes                                                slices roses fans

Green pepper                                          rings dice

Onions                                                    rings, raw or deep fried scallions

Duchesse                                                 borders, rosettes, etc

Horse radish                                            grated

Olives, green, black                                stuffed-whole or sliced

Pickles                                                     slices spears fans

Pimiento                                                   strips cutouts

Artichokes                                                bottoms filled with appropriate sauce

Fruits

Lemon                                                      slices wedges halves

Orange                                                      cut like lemon

Lime                                                          cut like lemon

Apple                                                         spiced rings and crabapples, with leafy           

                                                                   Under liner

Grapes                                                        frosted or plain

Pineapple                                                    rings sticks

Peaches                                                       halves slices

Cranberries                                                 relish sauce jelly

Kumquats                                                   fresh preserved

Miscellaneous                                            hard cooked eggs slices, halves wedges

                                                                   Chopped white chopped yolk

Anchovy                                                        flat or rolled fillets, often, combined

                                                                       With sliced lemon or egg

Almonds                                                         whole, toasted sliced toast point paprika,

                                                                        Spanish