You can’t see flavors, either, but this is one more factor you must consider when balancing colors, shapes, and textures on the plate. Consult the menu planning guidelines in Chapter 4 .
Garnish
The word garnish is derived from a French word meaning “to adorn” or “to furnish.” In English, we use the word to mean “to decorate or embellish a food item by the addition of other items.” The word is used also for the decorative items themselves.
In classical cooking, the term garnish is used the way we use the term accompaniments . In other words, garnishes are any items placed on the platter or plate or in the soup bowl in addition to the main item. It happens that these accompaniments also make the food look more attractive, but that is not the emphasis. The classical French chef had a tremendous repertoire of hundreds of simple and elaborate garnishes, and they all had specific names (see Classical Garnish Terms sidebar ).
Eventually the term garnish evolved to mean just a sprig of parsley or other small decorative item placed on a plate, often not intended to be eaten. Today, the use of parsley sprigs on every plate, once common, has become rare. We are again using the word in a more traditional way.
