Garnish (food)
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- For other uses see Garnish (disambiguation)
Garnish is a substance used primarily as an embellishment or decoration to a prepared food or drink item. It may also give added or contrasting flavor, but that is not its primary purpose, in contrast to a condiment which is primarily a flavour added to another food item.
A garnish makes food or drink items more 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 parsley or chives are sprinkled on potatoes. They may make a cocktail seem more festive, like a cocktail umbrella in an exotic drink, or a celery stalk in a Bloody Mary (cocktail), or when a Mai Tai is garnished with all manners of tropical fruit.
A garnish may make food extra special, such as a maraschino cherry on top of ice cream. The use of this particular garnish has led to the common children's plea— "Pretty please, with a cherry on top!"— for extraordinary requests.
A garnish can also become a hackneyed cliché when it has lost its meaning, such as a sprig of parsley and a small spoonful of coleslaw in a paper cup served beside all sandwiches at a diner.
A garnish may be so readily identified with a specific dish, that the food item may appear incomplete without it.
A food item which is served with garnish may be described as being garni.
