The All-Important Garnish

The garnish, the nonsoup ingredient, is what makes a soup fun, distinguished, and memorable. I’m tempted to compare garnish in a soup to sartorial accessories: a plain dress, or slacks and shirt, can stand out with the right necklace, jewelry, earrings, belt, hat, scarf, or brooch. But garnish is more essential, more like shoes and a jacket. It is a fundamental and integral part of the soup. That I probably have more to say about garnish in soup than I do about soup itself attests to the critical nature of the garnish. As for soups, it is useful to break garnishes into categories.