How to Garnish a Dish

Tomatoes, onions and cilantro are chopped up in this guacamole so they easily make a perfect garnish.

The best way to garnish a dish is to look at the dish components to figure out what would make a nice plate decoration. Fresh herbs are the best way to garnish a dish. They're also inexpensive, and you'll be able to use the herbs throughout your cooking and then garnish with the leftovers. Fruits and vegetables are also great options and tend to be more edible. You also want to pay attention to shape, texture and color.

Things You'll Need

• Your dish
• Fresh herbs
• Extras:
• Edible flowers
• Fruit (such as strawberries and oranges)
• Vegetables (such as carrots and cucumbers)

Instructions

1. 

   Fresh herbs have a less potent flavor than dry herbs.

   Look at the ingredients in your recipe. If the recipe called for any fresh herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, cilantro, basil, parsley or mint, you can use a full spring or sprinkle leaves of that herb onto your plate. The colors from the fresh herbs add a beautiful pop to your plate.

2. 

   Sprouts provide a fun and delicious garnish.

   Decide how much garnish to put on based on the rest of the dish's components. If the dish is already large, look to garnish with the leaves of the herb lightly sprinkled over the plate. On the other hand, a small dish on a large plate would look nice with three small springs of herbs, laid slightly on top of one another toward the side of the plate.

3. 

   One single spring of herbs on top of rice can add an elegant feel to a dish.

   Placing full springs of herbs on top of rice, meat and vegetables is another enticing way to decorate your plate. The point is to show the diner a preview of the flavors they'll be expecting when they bite into the dish.

4. 

   A small dish on a large plate can use simple elements to elevate the dish.

   Make sure to garnish with balance and simplicity, rather than filling every last bit of space on the plate with garnish. Play with different shapes to keep things interesting; for example, an edible flower is a wonderful catch for the eye. Moreover, if your plate is white, a colorful flower can give that necessary punch of color.

5. 

   Crunchy purple cabbage adds a delicious crunch and delightful color to this plate.

   Garnishing with fruits and vegetables provides you with many options as well. You could julienne (slice very thinly) carrots and cucumber to create an almost shredded garnish to put on top of meat or potatoes to add an additional texture to the dish.

6. 

   The possibilities of carving fruits and vegetables is endless.

   Go a step further and create incredible shapes just by using a pairing knife and your favorite produce. Fruits and vegetables have wonderful natural colors; you can even create centerpieces for your table.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure to plan ahead and get enough of your ingredients to have leftover to garnish.

References

• Food Garnishing; Garnishing Made Easy, The World of Garnishing: Chef John Gargone
• How To Garnish; Food Decoration
• Fine Dinings; Garnishes, Vegetable and Fruit Garnishes: Peggy Bucholz