Garnishing with edibles

There must be a zillion ways out there to garnish food. And to each one, her own (style). We attempted to outline some garnishing tricks and techniques  in our previous posts. For example, we've considered using ingredients of a dish as it's own garnish.

But how about garnishing using edibles that are not a part of the ingredient list? What could these edibles be?  What are some things we should keep in mind while using these edibles as a garnish? Are there any caveats to using certain edibles as a garnish? Are there some edible that would work better for a certain kind of food and some that would not? We all probably know the answers to these questions in the back of our minds. But how often does it strike us 'in the moment'? :)
Welcome to Episode 2 of the Return of the Garnishing Event! Along with Raksha, today, we endeavour to document some original as well as tossed around ideas on garnishing with edibles.

1. Seeds: Seeds can be a great garnish especially for salads. Sprinkling Sunflower seeds, for example, over a bed of spinach salad could be a great addition in terms of both nutrition as well as visual appeal. Sesame seeds, on the other hand, can be used as a garnish for Indian snacks such as Dhoodhi Muthiya or Japanese Sushis. Image on left: Coutesy google search.
Caveat: Not very effective when the colour of the dish itself matches the colour of the seed. Use the Contrasting Charima style to make most of sesame seeds as a garnish. Also, consider the textue of your dish when using seeds as a garnish. Seeds will add a crunch to your dish.

2. Herbs: The ubiquitous freshly chopped coriander leaves go with almost any curry or rice dish. Basil leaves are a perfect garnish for italian and thai dishes. Oregano flakes are a beautiful garnish for roasted potatoes.
Caveat:  Some herbs can have a distinct and strong flavour to it. Use herbs such that it complements or enhances the taste of the dish. Practice the Balancing Act when working with herbs.
3. Citrus: Using lemon or lime as a garnish is a hit when it comes to drinks. Cut wheel of lemon and experiment with Simplicity sensation for an eye catching garnish. Alternatively, try chopping of a lemon wedge and strategically place it on the rim of a glass of gin. Lemon/Lime can be cut in many different permutations and combinations to give a new look each time. Check out this site for some ideas.
Caveat: Be careful on the composition of your dish. Citrus should never be used to garnish milk products.

4. Vegetables: Carved carrots, tomato roses, Fanned spring onions act as a great centerpiece for any dish. Brightly coloured bell peppers can be a spotlight when used as a garnish. Use the shiny and better quality ones to bring out the right effect. If the vegtable you are working with is a green cucumber or zuchini, consider strips, peels, or ribbons. You will be impressed.

Caveat: Cannot be used as a garnish for most desserts. Needs some skills and tools like a sharp knife for successful implementation.

5. Fruits: Strategically shaped fruits are a great accompaniant as well as garnish for ice creams and some cold desserts. Fruits can also be used to garnish drinks. After all what is wrong with splashing around some deep or contrasting colours that add ust the right panache? For example, consider piercing a lychee with a toohpick and lay it over the top of a glass full of martini. Picture on left Courtesy: Google

Caveat: Consider the serving temperature of your dish or drink when using fruits as a garnish. Fruits usually work better with chilled beverages or dishes.
6. Nuts: A winner when it comes to garnishing milk based desserts. Pistachios and milk mased desserts go great. Almonds work better with puddings such as Carrot pudding.
Caveat: Food allergies must be considered when using nuts as a garnish. Also consider blanching, roasting, or using unsalted nuts depending on your dish in question.
7. Milk/yogurt/cream: Dairy is a perfect garnish for most soups and lentil curries. It adds to the richness and creamy texture of the gravy.
Caveats: Cream can double on calories, adding yogurt to a dish can decrease the shelf life of the dish, and milk can lessen the original colour of the dish or dilute the spicy level of your dish.
8. Onions: Both onion rings and chopped green onions work wonders with most Indian vegetables and snacks.
Caveat:The quality of the onion itself. Some onions tend to be more spicy than others. When it comes to garnishing, red onions are a better bet compared to the yellow counterpart. Be careful to not overpower the taste of your main meal when using strongly flavoured onions as a garnish.


Can you think of any other edibles that can be used as a garnish? What are some caveats to these garnishes?

Decorating Baked Goodies and Presentation Tips

As an amateur cook, I do not quite dread cooking. However,  I shake to bake and more so when I have to decorate the baked good. There is so much I can learn in the baked goods decoration arena. And today is a step towards this.

Some of you may have noticed the Return of the Garnishing Event a few posts ago on my blog. I've received a couple of entries but there is this one blogger for whom I hold special fondness. The fondness not only comes from her talent and personality but it comes from her style, ability to think outside the box and fearlessly experiment. Her presentation techniques for baked goodies never cease to amaze me. With no further ado, please let me re-introduce you to 'in-the-moment' Nazarina of Giddy Gastronome. Via digestive biscuits, Naz offers a couple of suggestions on how something so healthy can also be made to look rich and appealing.
Note: The tips below is a paraphrased edition of Naz's style with slight additions from my end.

Here are some economical yet head turning presentation techniques from the horse's mouth:
1. Be whimsical or edgy with garnishes. For example,
consider garnishing with a chocolate writing.
2. Use edible garnishes that complete the dish. For example, use cheese to garnish crackers.
3. Stock up on dollar store bought cookie cutters.These can be used to get shapes of edibles such as cheese that will be used as as a garnish.
4. Use toppers or plastic toys to decorate cakes or cookies. These can be found at craft stores like Micheal's.
5. Use a complementary tablecloth of wrapping paper as a base for the edibles. This will bring  the colour of your baked goodie to the foreground.

For more tips and techniques on garnishing, see here.

Garnishing tip: Rose stunner

Welcome back to Food Fanatic's week seven of Garnishing tips and techniques. I hope you all are enjoying the weather outside. My local readers must be delighted today to see the sun shining bright and steady. Summer (in North America) is especially fun because it means hanging out around the beach side, pool parties and barbecues, Starbucks smoothies near the serene shore, celebration of lights with firecrackers, long hikes in the company of good friends, freedom from blazers and jackets, flip flops in full throttle, manicures-pedicure and pampering galore, picnics, volleyball, gelato, and patio eat outs!

As summer stretches its arms in lush beauty with myriad colors and while the gardens burst with flowers of all types, it's time to perk up your cooked dishes too! Freshen up the mud brown spicy curry with a splash of color in the form of bright red roses made from tomato peel. Alternatively, consider using cucumber slices to create a flowery edible garnish that can prettify any dish. Use strawberries or radish to decorate desserts, juices, and snacks.
Cucumber Image courtesy: Google search
Padma Rekha from Plantian Leaf stunned me with her rose glory garnish. This edible bloom can adorn any dish and floor for weeks. And the best part is that making this rose flower is simple. All you need is a sharp knife and ripe tomato. Peel it starting from the base such that a strip of the skins gets peeled off in a circular fashion. Roll up this strip then form a rose like appearance. Add a few fresh leaves of mint on the sides to give it a real life like appearance. Thanks, Padma for this great tip! I love it!










TADA...








Watch out for Food Fanatic's last post
on garnishing next week. Next week's post will feature one fellow food blog buddy's cake decoration technique. Stay tuned!
Garnishing tips and techniques archive:
Unconventional wonders: use a stencil
Marvel with vegetables: carve carrots
Simplicity sensation: garnish with edibles
Contrasting charisma: Garnishing by adding a riot of colors to the dish
Fascinate with fruits: Strategic shaping of fruits as garnishes
The traditional trick: Sprinkle coriander leaves and place onion rings
The balancing act: Flavor and visual appeal

Garnishing tip and techniques on food: The balancing act

A balance of flavour, appearance, aroma, texture, and colour is what creates a magical dish. Although we have emphasized the importance of the visual appearance of a dish, we must ensure that we don't overpower the taste of the dish. The garnish should decorate the dish, not adulterate it, overload it, or even push it into the background. Less is often more and balance is often virtue. Garnishes should be such that they complement the flavour of the dish or can be taken out before being consumed. Generally, a slice of orange perched on the rim of the glass, a wedge of lime, maraschino cherry, or a sprig of mint is all you need. But remember that cosmetics got to be in sync with flavour.

According to Emily, garnishes can, occasionally, be done very well, but only if they serve a purpose and in right amounts. Garnishes must only add something to a dish and not take away. Emily similar to Kalva uses ingredients of the dish for the garnish as well. This styles creates a balance such that the flavour of the dish is preserved while adding to the look of the dish. Also, Emily's lentil dish clearly indicates that a color balance is also something to keep in mind. Here, she uses white sour cream on top of brown lentil soup, red veggies on top of white sour cream, and green coriander leaf on top of red veggies! What a lovely combination of colorful garnishes is this without taking away from the look of the main dish!

Some garnishing do's and don'ts to alleviate this idea are as follows:

• Pick shiny and clean garnishing fruits or vegetables to add a little extra to shine
  
• Drizzled them with a little lemon juice then dipped in sugar.
  
• Fruit can also be dusted with confectioners' sugar for an attractive finish. Try this with cherry on a dessert!
  
• Avoid vegetables or fruits that discolor quickly. For example, slices of apple and pear are not very suitable for garnishing because they turn brown quickly. If you still want to use them just drizzle them with lemon juice to delay discoloration.

To garnish is to decorate, adorn, dress up, pretty up, embellish, prettify, spice up. The act of garnishing can be as simple as the careful placement of a few lettuce leaves on a plate, or as elaborate as a pâtè bust with facial features carved from a variety of veggies and fruits. At Food Fanatic, we discover garnishing styles and tricks on a weekly basis. Give your imagination and creativity free reign when you get to the final step of garnishing and read Food Fanatic's weekly series on Garnishing tips and techniques for food.

Garnishing tip and techniques archive:
Unconventional wonders: use a stencil
Marvel with vegetables: carve carrots
Simplicity sensation: garnish with edibles
Contrasting charisma: Garnishing by adding a riot of colors to the dish
Fascinate with fruits: Strategic shaping of fruits as garnishes
The traditional trick: Sprinkle coriander leaves and place onion rings

Garnishing tip and techniques for food: The Traditional trick: Sprinkle coriander leaves and place onion rings

Old is gold. No matter how many new tips and tricks for garnishing we may come up with, we cannot beat the look of a dish decorated the classic style. In fact most of our new garnishing styles are based on old ones. For example, citrus has long been, and will always be, a strong foundation for garnish. Colorful, flavorful and versatile, lemons add that perfect combination of flavor, aroma and visual appeal. Traditionally, citrus has taken the form of twists, spirals, slices and wedges, and with the passage of time we continue to come up with some new ways to add panache to that citrus garnish. Some more evergreen garnishing styles include sprinkling coriander leaves and decorating the dish with onion rings. Garnishing with a herb such as coriander is a minimalistic but effective way to brighten a dish while enhancing its flavor and Shree and Madhu are fellow foodie bloggers who adhere to this style.

Traditional garnishing styles are known to have three basic three dimensions: visual, aromatic and flavor. Here are some tips on the traditional garnishing style:

• Choose garnishes that complement food.
• Cut garnishes into neat, evenly shaped piece or place them asymmetrically.
• Use the garnish to draw attention to the dish not to be the center of attraction.
• Use fresh, natural and simple garnishes.

Cheers to Post Six of Food Fanatic's Garnishing tip and techniques! Though this weekly series through we have been exploring and deploring the ideas for food decoration. The most interesting ideas are still lined up - yet to be posted. Keep reading!

Garnishing tip and techniques archive:
Unconventional wonders: use a stencil
Marvel with vegetables: carve carrots
Simplicity sensation: garnish with edibles
Contrasting charisma: Garnishing by adding a riot of colors to the dish
Fascinate with fruits: Strategic shaping of fruits as garnishes

Garnishing tip and techniques for food: Fascinate with fruits: strategic shaping

"Fruit can add fun, fruit can add color. Fruit can add taste, food can fascinate.
Not only does strategic shaping of fruits add a beautiful touch to any dessert
A fruity smell can cast a spell!"
- Food Fanatic's Random poetry

Welcome to post five of our Garnishing tip and techniques for food. For this post, Madhu, from South India, garnishes pudding with heart-shaped watermelon pieces. Watermelon is my favorite summer fruit. The sound of this itself makes my mouth water. The picture, no wonder then, makes me drool. Eye candy - hands down!

Garnishing with fruits is this week's tip for food decoration because a lot can be done with fruits. Cut melon, pineapple and apple slabs into interesting shapes, such as stars, moons, suns and flowers. These casting shapes can be found easily at the dollar store in the baking section. They can be arranged in a fancy glass bowl or along the side of a dish. Try piercing through the bottom of a fruit with a bamboo skewer and propped up in a small glass or vase. Halved cherries and cut strawberry pieces work well as flower centers, eyes and other small embellishments secured on the main design with a toothpick. One thing to keep in mind while shaping fruits is to make sure you cut the pieces large enough to hold their shape.

Cooking a meal for the special someone in your life or celebrating an occasion with home made food requires a lot of effort. All the time and effort would fall flat if it is not presented well on the table. Presentation is a very crucial part of every dish; you do not have to be a master chef of five star rated hotels to create the same class effect. Through this weekly series on garnishing tips and techniques, we present an exciting and new garnishing style from fellow foodies around the globe. So come join Food Fanatic in discovering and rediscovering many more garnishing styles and ideas in the coming weeks! Subscribe now ;)

Garnishing tip and techniques archive:
Unconventional wonders: use a stencil
Marvel with vegetables: carve carrots
Simplicity sensation: garnish with edibles
Contrasting charisma: garnishing by adding a riot of colors to the dish

Garnishing tip and techniques for food: The contrasting color charisma

Bonjour! Welcome back to post four of Garnishing tip and techniques for Indian food. It's Spring and the perfect time to try new garnishing adventures in the kitchen. The world around us might still be a little drab right now, but soon it will be bursting into lush and radiant colors. An easy way to kick-start spring indoors is by using vibrant color contrasts on the plate. So here we are today exploring the charisma of contrasting colors in food.

Today's post features my Paris located reader, PriyaSuresh. Priya is a talented cook who is also endowed with crafting skills. No wonder then does aesthetic sense and food decoration come across so naturally!

Priya says her technique to make food look more inviting is to sprinkle on it an edible. The key however is to choose an edible that has a different color than the dish itself.

Priya's garnishes her beautiful Rose kalakand, with green pistachios while her Mango and Tapoica pudding has been decorated with white almond flakes.

No doubt do contrasting colors brighten and spring up the look of a delicacy. Salsas, chutneys, and condiments etc can sometimes add a riot of color to a bland presentation. Try serving them on the plate instead of in a dish on the side. Your efforts will be rewarded with Wows. So next time you are confused over the garnishing part of a dish that took you hours to cook, consider throwing in some color to add life to your delicious treat and sit back to enjoy the rave reviews!

As they say it, we eat with our eyes as well as our mouths. A dish that arises an appetite is the one that makes your mouth water just at the sight of the dish. To make a dish looks appealing may only need simple instructions and some forethought to make it look that enticing. So keep reading, Food Fanatic has many more posts on Garnishing tips and techniques coming up!

Garnishing tip and techniques archive:
Unconventional wonders: garnish using a stencil
Marvel with vegetables: garnish by carving carrots
Simplicity sensation: garnish using ingredients of the dish

Garnishing tip and techniques for food: Simplicity sensation using ingredients from the dish

Welcome back to post three of garnishing tips and techniques for Indian food. Through Garnishing tips and techniques we endeavor to project myriad and fascinating ways to make food look more appealing. As a part of this series, every week we will present an exciting and new garnishing style from fellow foodies around the globe. I hope that my readers have been thoroughly enjoying this series as much as I have been having fun presenting fellow foodies and their incredible food decoration styles. I've been by swamped by emails for this event and I sincerely thank all those who came out to willingly share their garnishing secrets with us.

Today, I present in front of you: Kalva from our own CurryinKadai. I am particularly fond of Kalva's simple yet sensational garnishing style. From the United States, Kalva sends us her Seasoned Spicy Black Eyed peas garnished with edibles! Kalva's says her garnishing mantra is to use ingredients of the recipe for the garnish. Isn't that an easy yet smart thing to do? Her black eyed peas stole my heart as she placed a fresh green curry leaf at the center of the bowl and as she threw in some lively bright yellow ( with a piece of lemon on the side) to add visual interest. Kalva is one of those people I have admired for being modest and for being able to make an impression without having to try too hard. This dish looks great and I am sure it tastes great too! The garnishing definitely makes your dish more inviting, Kalva! Thanks for sharing this with us!


Next week, we will bring forth another incredibly talented fellow foodie. Keep reading!

Garnishing tip and techniques archive:
The unconventional wonder: How to use a stencil for decorating food
The vegetable marvel: How to carve carrots

Garnishing tip and techniques for food: Marvel with vegetables, carve a carrot

A beautifully crafted dish can flirt with your senses to create an emotional response that is both captivating and romantic.

Welcome to Post two of Food Fanatic's weekly showcase on ideas for decorating food, presentation techniques, and tips for garnishing.

Today, we are featuring SitaKiran from the SpicyLovers fame. From Australia, SitaKiran sends over her carrot marvel. SitaKiran, on request, put together a step by step procedure for creating florets from a carrot for this post. Thanks, SitaKiran! I am totally fascinated with the look of this juice - so inviting!

Carving vegetables dates back to AD 618-910 (1000 years ago) and originates in Asia. Food lovers from around the world till date express their admiration for beautifully crafted dishes, and there is on going acknowledgement of the aesthetic sense and the pleasure, the creativity of a food carver can bring to the table.

Unfortunately, many people such as myself are still unfamiliar on how to use a knife to do wonders with a vegetable. So, join me in going through a carrot floret carving session?


















We have a lot more coming up. Stay tuned for many more garnishing tips and techniques! As a part of this weekly series, we present an exciting and new garnishing style from fellow foodies around the globe.

Want to participate? Click here.

Garnishing tip and techniques archive:
Be unconventional: use a stencil

Garnishing tip and techniques for food: Be unconventional, use a stencil

A beautifully crafted dish can flirt with your senses to create an emotional response that is both captivating and romantic. The sense of sight has to do with the sense of taste. Believe it or not, the look of a dish can make it more delicious. It's psychological. Science has proved that the nose and mouth are connected to the eyes which is connected to the brain.

So, welcome to our first post of Garnishing tips and techniques for Indian food - a weekly showcase of ideas for decorating food, presentation techniques, and tips for garnishing!

Today's post features Nazarina A from GiddyGastronome. Naz is my personal favorite blogger when it comes to making food look pretty with style and color. Check out her blog yourself if you don't believe me! You will be in awe. Naz says she doesn't have any rules where presentation and garnishing are concerned. She will use just about anything to complement the main dish. The edgier and the more unconventional the better! Truly, I can see this does work!

Today, Naz presents one unconventional style for food decoration. Her entry for Garnishing tips and techniques for Indian food is Butterscotch almond thumbprint with balloon. She used a stencil(!) and some cocoa powder!
I have no doubt that these taste great. I am confident that kids will particularly love to eat these cookies because how cute they look.
Thank you Naz for being kind enough to willingly share your style secret!

Through Garnishing tips and techniques we endeavor to project myriad and fascinating ways to make food look more appealing. As a part of this series, every week we will present an exciting and new garnishing style from fellow foodies around the globe. Here is to our first post. Stay tuned for many more ahead!

Want to participate? Click here.

EVENT: Garnishing tips and techniques for Indian food

Garnishing and food presentation is an art. A beautifully crafted dish is more inviting and makes the meal more memorable.

There have been so many instances when I considered taking a course on food decoration. Fanciful and exciting as it may sound, I could not find such a course. I soon realized that learning about food presentation and decoration is nothing but a quest and a never ending process. There are no rules and regulations, and the skill cannot be taught. Garnishing is personal style and does not need to be elaborate. Simplicity can suffice. The more you experiment and research, the better you get at it.

I have a long way to go and with each attempt to decorate my food, I learn something.
Garnishing only with edibles, using contrasting colors, carving (read: trying to carve) raw vegetable, and not overpowering the visibility of the main ingredient in the dish have become some regimes of my personal style. And I continue to learn and build up on my personal style.

More specifically here are some of my garnishing ideas:
1. I love to sprinkle Cilantro on any Indian dish specially vegetables because it adds color and I love the taste of fresh cilantro!
2. Add Butter or cream
3. Use overlapping onion rings

This event is about sharing and showcasing garnishing skills. You will need to cook up an Indian meal and garnish it. I will feature one post per week as a part of this series.

Guidelines:

1. The deadline for Garnishing tips and techniques for Indian food is March 15, 2009.
2. You can use any post from your archive.
3. The post should preferably be about the presentation or garnishing of an Indian dish but is not restricted to any cuisine.
4. You must have a picture of the garnished dish on your post and it must be the picture of your recipe.
5. Link back to this announcement, and feel free to use the logo above.
6. Send me an email with your post at food[dot]fanatic[dot]recipes[at]gmail[dot]com. In the subject say Garnishing Event.
   
7. Please include the following details:

1. Your name
2. Blog name
3. Post URL
4. What's special or defines your presentation or garnishing style (some rules you follow etc)
5. How you garnished it

I'll get the photograph from your post. I'll email you to let you know when your post is being featured. Looking forward on hearing from all of you.

Update:
Unconventional wonders: use a stencil
Marvel with vegetables: carve carrots
Simplicity sensation: garnish with edibles