Garnish (food)
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A garnish is an item or substance used as a decoration or embellishment and often a flavor component on a prepared food dish or drink. In many cases, it may give added or contrasting flavor, some garnishes are selected first to augment the visual impact of the plate, while others are selected specifically for the flavor they may impart. This is in contrast to a condiment which is primarily a prepared sauce product of a specific flavor added to another food item. Parsley is an excellent example of an old fashioned garnish; this pungent green herb has small distinctly shaped leaves, firm stems, and is easy to trim into a garnish. Typically, few diners eat parsley garnishes.
A garnish makes food or drink items more visually appealing. They may, for example, enhance their color, such as when paprika is sprinkled on a salmon salad. They may give a color contrast, for example when chives are sprinkled on potatoes. They may make a cocktail more visually appealing, such as when a cocktail umbrella is added to an exotic drink, or when a Mai Tai is topped with any number of tropical fruit pieces. Sushi, the Japanese fish dish, may be garnished with baran, a type of plastic grass or leaf. 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 and then a sprig of parsley would be added as a garnish.
A garnish may be so readily identified with a specific dish that the dish may appear incomplete without the garnish. For example buffalo wings with celery stick garnish and blue cheese dressing or a banana split sundae with cherries on top.
A food item which is served with garnish may be described as being garni, the French term for 'garnished'.
