Culinary Art Garnishes PDF

GARNISHES How to Garnish Tools for Garnish Whether you're building a house or creating a garnish, you need the right tools to do the job well. While the techniques for garnishing are fairly easy, it is a lot of work with smaller items. Just as you wouldn't use a jackhammer when a simple...

GARNISHES How to Garnish Tools for Garnish Whether you're building a house or creating a garnish, you need the right tools to do the job well. While the techniques for garnishing are fairly easy, it is a lot of work with smaller items. Just as you wouldn't use a jackhammer when a simple hammer would do, you wouldn't want to use a stirring spoon when a melon ball is more applicable to the job. In this section, we'll talk about which tools you should keep on hand to garnish well.  Tweezers used to plate and decorate plates before they hit the table. Ho There are many reasons for chefs to use tweezers daily. Some ways to effectively use different tweezers are: Place small decorations particularly with fine point tweezers. Handle delicate flowers, sugar decorations, and more with offset tweezers. Cook foods easily when using long straight tweezers. Decorate delicate plates with short straight tweezers.  Decorating brushes - create precise and strokes for plating Standard pastry brushes work for most garnishing, but for precise or delicate chores, a child's small paintbrush is best.  Plating wedges – help create designs with sauces and purees  Apple cutter/corer This wheel- shaped gadget is great for cutting vegetables, such as carrots, as well as apples.  Sspatulas – add finishing touches to your plates and ecoration  Moulds – used to make shapes  Spoons – designed for plating sauces and dressings  Hand grater A grater with at least one section for fine pieces and another section for larger shreds is the most practical. Small cookie cutters These are sold in most cookware shops. Choose the shapes you think you'll use most often. Small cookie cutters are also known as hors d'oeuvre cutters. Knives Sharp knives are a must. The knives you'll use most often are a chef's knife for cutting large items, such as watermelons; a utility knife for medium-sized foods, such as pineapples or cantaloupes; and a paring knife for all- purpose cutting. Melon baller This handy tool comes in a variety of sizes. The one that is the most versatile is the 1-inch-diameter size. Scissors A small pair is ideal for snipping small items, such as green onion tops. Kitchen scissors or poultry shears are better for large, tough jobs. Skewers and toothpicks  Squeeze bottles – add decorative drizzle to plates  Melon baller This handy tool comes in a variety of sizes. The one that is the most versatile is the 1-inch-diameter size. Scissors A small pair is ideal for snipping small items, such as green onion tops. Kitchen scissors or poultry shears are better for large, tough jobs. Skewers and toothpicks For garnishing, keep a supply of wooden toothpicks, as well as 6- and 10-inch wooden skewers, on hand. Occasionally you may need a metal skewer. Choose one about 8 inches long. Vegetable peeler The swivel- type of peeler works best. Just make sure it's sharp. Wire strainer This bowl-shaped tool made from wire mesh is great for sifting or sprinkling powdered sugar or cocoa over foods, as well as for draining foods. Wire strainers are also known as sieves.  Cues for Bright, Colorful Garnishes Once cut, some foods discolor quickly, e.g. pears, apples, bananas, avocados, potatoes and eggplant. To slow the discoloration process down, brush the cut surfaces with lemon juice before wrapping and refrigerating. To make garnishes last: To maintain and heighten the color of fresh vegetables, blanch them before using them to make garnishes. Simply immerse the produce in boiling water for 1 minute, drain, and plunge into a large bowl filled with ice water or rinse quickly under very cold running water. Always dry the ingredients thoroughly before use.  To prevent drying out, keep garnishes away from air and heat. If possible, protect them with an airtight covering of plastic wrap. It's always best to make garnishes just before serving, but some can be prepared ahead of time and assembled on the plate at the last minute. Store garnishes like you would similar foods. If made with ingredients that are normally refrigerated, wrap in plastic wrap, or store in an airtight bag or container, and refrigerate. If the ingredients are crispy or dried, or if they need to firm up, do not refrigerate. Store in a cool, dry place for several hours or overnight. Some cut-up or carved vegetables can be prepared in advance and covered with ice water until you are ready to assemble the finished presentation. Be sure to drain and dry them off well before placing the garnishes on the plate. Add garnishes to the food just before serving.  Citrus Garnish Take lemons and make lemonade, or create beautiful decorations for your table. You can dress up anything edible -- from a simple glass of water to a glazed pork main entree. Not only is citrus colorful, it also smells nice and is easy to work with. In this section, we'll teach you how to create citrus knots, scored citrus slices, citrus loops, and candied citrus peels. Brightly colored fruit garnishes add a sense of freshness and fun to foods. They're so naturally beautiful it doesn't take much effort to make them look spectacular. Look for citrus fruits that are evenly shaped, blemish-free, and at the right stage of ripeness.  Candied Citrus Peel Tiny strips of candied citrus peel are the perfect topping for everything from espresso to cakes. To candy citrus peel garnishes: Wash fruit; dry thoroughly. Cut strips of peel from fruit with vegetable peeler.  Place the strips of peel on cutting board. If necessary, scrape cut side of peel with paring knife. Remove white membrane by scraping cut side of peel.  Cut peel into very thin strips. combine equal amounts of sugar and water in small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Boil 3 minutes. You will need about 1-1/2 cups each of granulated sugar and water for each piece of whole fruit.  Carefully add strips of peel to boiling mixture. Reduce heat to low. Simmer 10 to 12 minutes or until peel turns completely translucent. Place wire strainer or sieve over bowl. Spoon strips of peel into strainer or sieve; drain thoroughly.  Add additional sugar to a re-sealable plastic food storage bag. Add strips of peel; seal bag. Shake until strips are evenly coated with sugar. Remove strips from bag; place on waxed paper to dry thoroughly. Garnish as desired