The Importance Of Garnishing food

I am doing this blog about garnishing dishes, because its hugely important in the culinary area. to cook like a professional chef people need to understand the importance of food presentation. Nothing completes a delicious meal, without appropriate garnish choices.

Garnishes used throughout a meal to add impact impact to food choices. Garnishes might seem like decoration tossed on the side of a plate as an afterthought, but they play a significant role in the diner's experience of food. Usually consisting of an edible component, garnishes brighten the plate, give a clue to the flavor of the meal, complement the taste of the dish or fill empty space on the plate. Garnishes can take many forms depending on the food they are decorating. Herbs, berries, chopped fruit, sauces or vegetable bits are possible garnishes for foods.

The initial attraction of food comes from visual appeal because we experience food with our eyes before tasting it. Imagine something as simple as a piece of pan fried cod and a portion of white boiled rice would look on a plate without a sprig of parsley or lemon wedge, even the simplest garnishes will make a dish appear more appetizing than the same food without garnishing.Garnishing the plate not only increases aesthetic appeal, but can enhance the flavor of some dishes, for example a piece of caramelized parsnip added to parsnip soup can add meatiness to the dish and can largely enhance it flavor, a sprig of mint can be added to deserts, because it lightly infuses into the dish and can add a refreshing flavor. 

Some plates can look very bare even after the food has being put together. garnishes can fill in the empty spaces and make the dish look less bare and more elegant or more presentable to the consumer and it looks more generous. for instance if you serve a creme brulee on its own in the centre of the plate it appears to be meager. But decorating it with a sugar spiral and swirls of rasberry t it makes the dish look more generous.Though the amount of food does not change, the perception of it does just by adding a garnish.

Some dishes are not readily identifiable just by looking at the food. For instance, it can be difficult to determine if you have a bowl of savory soup of pureed carrots or a sweet dessert soup of pumpkin just by appearance. Both dishes are deep orange in color and thick in texture. Adding a carrot curl on top of carrot soup or a sprinkling of brown sugar and a swirl of cream on a sweet pumpkin soup can help the diner identify what he is about to enjoy. Below is an example of a garnishing techniques employed by myself in college earlier this semester.






Three Rules For Garnishing a Plate

• Garnishes should always be functional. If you can't eat it, it doesn't belong on the plate.There are a few exceptions like skewers and specialty utensils, but these exceptions are few and far between
• .Garnishes should always enhance the primary ingredient. If the garnish doesn't enhance the flavor of your primary ingredient then it doesn't belong on the plate.
• Garnishes should always add contrasting colors, textures and overall interest. If too many components on a single plate share the same color tone, then your plate will look flat. Try to use garnishes with contrasting colors and textures that don't break the first two rules.