Garnish Quotes

“Some people when they see cheese, chocolate or cake they don't think of calories.”
― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words

“Lemon and... blueberries, right? No, hold on- blackberries, I think. And... lavender? Lavender, for... excitement? I think there's an old saying that lavender is good for something like that."
That sounded familiar. "Just a second." I took the book out of my backpack and flipped through the beginning again. "This isn't in alphabetical order, or any kind of order at all. Oh, here it is. Lavender brings luck and adventure for those who choose to embrace it," I said. "You were right."
"What book is that?" asked Vik. "It looks ancient."
"I just found it. It's got all these drawings and descriptions of herbs and spices."
"Cool! Can I take a look?"
I handed him the book, and he spent the next few minutes leafing through it, but then returned to eating the cupcake.
"I love this. It's so different from the usual boring things people make. Although..." He took another bite. "I have a suggestion." He studied the cupcake. "The cake is light, fluffy, and complex, and the creamy, tangy frosting complements it so well. It might be even better with an edible garnish. Like a sugared mint leaf." He took another bite. "Or a sugared violet," he said with his mouth half full. "That would be lovely."
I gaped in surprise. He was right. It would be lovely. I'd thought about topping them with fresh, mouth-puckering blackberries, but these suggestions were so much more elegant.”
― Rajani LaRocca, Midsummer's Mayhem

“At first glance, it looks like some kind of ice cream...
...!
It isn't sweet. I see.
It's salmon ice cream, but made without sweetener."
"He made salmon into ice cream?!
But how?!"
"The Cryogenic Grinder."
"Ah! That's Alice Nakiri for you. Got it in one guess.
I pureed some salmon with a blender and then froze the resulting paste, putting it through the Cryogenic Grinder.
The high-powered blades of the grinder minced the paste into a fluffy and silky soft ice cream.”
― Yuto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 19 [Shokugeki no Souma 19]

“Garnish your food with romance.”
― Amanda Mosher, Better to be able to love than to be loveable

“Round and round the blade went, producing petals that opened one on top of the other, white against the red. Ribbons fell from the knife's edge, curling around her crossed legs. And so it went until all twenty were done, the radishes cleared of their perky heads, their bodies floating in a bowl of chilled water like a delicate bouquet. No longer ordinary root vegetables, they were now brilliant roses carved to blooming age.
The radish roses made pretty garnishes on the many cheese and herb plates that went out during the hungry hours of afternoon. They were also tangible, not to mention edible, proof of one of Bahar's greatest talents to date: hands that were extraordinarily agile, and arms of immense strength.”
― Marsha Mehran, Rosewater and Soda Bread

“WHOA! Now that's some thick-cut bacon!"
"Oh my gosh! Look! The top of it is gleaming!
Just looking at it is making me hungry..."
"Wait a minute. If he's copying the transfer student, then the meat he's using should be oxtail, right? So why is he bringing out bacon?"
If he's adding bacon to beef stew, there's only one thing it could be.
A GARNISH!
THE BACON IS MEANT TO BE A SIDE DISH TO THE STEW.
Yukihira's recipe is the type that calls for straining the demi-glace sauce at the end to give it a smooth texture. That means its only official ingredients are the meat and the sauce, making for a very plain dish. Garnishes of some sort are a necessity!
Beef simmered in red wine- the French dish thought to be the predecessor to beef stew- always comes with at least a handful of garnishes.
The traditional garnishes are croutons, glazed pearl onions, sautéed mushrooms...
... and bacon!
Then that means...
he's going to take that thick, juicy bacon and add it to the stew?!"
"Now he's sautéing those extra-thick slices of bacon in butter!
He's being just as efficient and delicate as always."
"Man, the smell of that bacon is so good! It's smoky, yet still somehow mellow..."
"What kind of wood chips did he use to give it that kind of scent?"
"You wanna know what I used? Easy. It's mesquite."
"Mess-keet?"
"Have you heard of it?"
"It's a small tree used for smoking that's native to Mexico and the Southern U.S. You'll hardly find it used anywhere in Japan though."
"Ibusaki!"
Mesquite is one of the most popular kinds of wood chips in Texas, the heartland of barbecues and grilling. Because of its sharp scent, it's mostly used in small quantities for smoking particularly rough cuts of meat, giving them a golden sheen.
"But I didn't stop there! I added a secret weapon to my curing compound- Muscovado sugar!
I sweetened my curing compound with Muscovado, sage, nutmeg, basil and other spices, letting the bacon marinate for a week!
It will have boosted the umami of the bacon ten times over!”
― Yuto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 11 [Shokugeki no Souma 11]

“The cucumber-mint sorbet came out next, more an intermezzo than a full course. Then dessert: Melody's elegant pistachio financiers. Rachel had topped the tiny French almond cakes with homemade orange blossom ice cream and garnished it with candied citrus peel and chopped pistachios.”
― Carla Laureano, The Saturday Night Supper Club