The Importance of Garnish

[brinza]

I found a very agreeable brand of Maraschino cherries at my favorite gourmet store while picking up some ginger beer. They're made by Tillen Farms in Sunnyside, WA and called Merry Maraschino Cherries. Their selling point is that they are made with only natural ingredients. (Label says: Cherries, water, sugar, vegetable and Fruit Concentrate (color), natural flavor). I was a little skeptical but was surprised by how good they are. They were about $6 for a 14 oz jar. They seem to provide a happy medium between the grocery store junk, the pricey Luxardo cherries, and making one's own.

[shantytownbrown]

I found a very agreeable brand of Maraschino cherries at my favorite gourmet store while picking up some ginger beer. They're made by Tillen Farms in Sunnyside, WA and called Merry Maraschino Cherries. Their selling point is that they are made with only natural ingredients. (Label says: Cherries, water, sugar, vegetable and Fruit Concentrate (color), natural flavor). I was a little skeptical but was surprised by how good they are. They were about $6 for a 14 oz jar. They seem to provide a happy medium between the grocery store junk, the pricey Luxardo cherries, and making one's own.

i just saw these at my local chain mega-mart...(Stop and shop for those in the northeast...i think Giant is the same owners down in the mid-atlantic)

will have to pick some up (my guests like but dont appreciate my Luxardo's which i will now be able to horde for myself...and as i said in the Maraschino cherry thread, my experiment didnt quite work out)

oh and btw, reading through this thread reminded me of something...hope you enjoy, from the 1970 Movie of M*A*S*H...(elliot gould as Trapper, Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye, for those unfamiliar):

(edited for spelling)

Edited September 25, 2009 by shantytownbrown (log)

[Emmeric]

oh and btw, reading through this thread reminded me of something...hope you enjoy, from the 1970 Movie of M*A*S*H...

Ha! That cracked me up...

While reading through the thread, I was also reminded of something else... The Sour Toe from Dawson City:

Of no value to the integrity of the Yukon Jack whiskey, and certainly not aiding the five senses. In fact, i'd say the antithesis of the flower mentioned earlier. But there it is... In typical fashion, when people start talking about lovely garnishes, my mind immediately moves on to the snakes wines of Vietnam, etc

Edited September 26, 2009 by Emmeric (log)

[tanstaafl2]

Dredging up an older thread but trying to stay on topic with perhaps a slightly different and perhaps odd question about garnish from someone who is not in the bartending biz but is instead a "professional consumer"!

I usually try to add a twist or garnish when called for as I try to improve my knowledge base and experience with making and drinking cocktails. I believe to make them well for others, something I take great pride in at home when making drinks for family and friends, starts with doing them the same way when I make them for myself. But as it is often just me having a drink in the evening I tend to always have at least one sad looking lime, lemon and/or orange in the fridge looking like a junky down on the street corner with all manner of "track marks" from past use as the lone soldier on garnish duty.

Obviously I don't keep them once the fruit starts going bad but does it have an adverse impact on my garnish and the citrus oils I am seeking to keep punishing the same poor fruit over and over again? And they last a surprisingly long time! A week or more at least with little or no noticeable impact that I can discern.

[cadmixes]

Trust your senses, IMO. The one issue I find with your approach (which is also mine) is that it's harder to twist peel cut from fruit that's been living in the fridge for an extended period. But you can still usually get enough citrus oil pretty easily, and I have never noticed a difference in aroma between new/old lemons and oranges.

[campus five]

I've been using this trick to extend the life of the citrus I use for garnish: loosely wrap them with plastic wrap.

They don't seem to lose so much moisture, and the peels stay way "oilier" for around over a week or so.

[tanstaafl2]

I've been using this trick to extend the life of the citrus I use for garnish: loosely wrap them with plastic wrap.

They don't seem to lose so much moisture, and the peels stay way "oilier" for around over a week or so.

Sounds like a good idea. I wonder if just sealing them in a sandwich bag does much the same thing? I usually do that with my garnish volunteers.

[Vieux Carré]

If a Gibson is a martini with a pickled onion garnish, what should we call a martini with a peppadew garnish? It definitely changes the drink. It is no longer a martini. After a while it develops a definite pepper bite. Quite nice. Searching for a good name. Any suggestions?

[EvergreenDan]

If a Gibson is a martini with a pickled onion garnish, what should we call a martini with a peppadew garnish?

A Gipper?

[Craig E]

Some recipes call for the citrus twist to be discarded, and others to be dropped in. When you're crafting a drink, what guides you in deciding which way to go?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

16 minutes ago, Craig E said:

Some recipes call for the citrus twist to be discarded, and others to be dropped in. When you're crafting a drink, what guides you in deciding which way to go?

 

How much room is in the glass.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Depending on how strongly you would like the twist to impart flavor to your cocktail, and the final look of the drink you are after. Tradition too - for example it's traditional to discard the lemon peel used for a Sazerac.

[lesliec]

Very much as FP said - it depends on how much flavour you need from the twist.

 

I've had some interesting personal experiences in this area lately.  The Hawthorn Lounge, a Wellington bar whose praises I cannot sing loudly enough, has a drink on their current menu called the Gin Rummy - gin, white rum, Luxardo apricot and dry vermouth.  I don't recall which gin they use in the bar, but their drink is quite a delicate, albeit delicious, concoction.  They express and discard the orange zest that finishes the drink specifially because they feel it would be too strong if left in.

 

I've tried to recreate the recipe at home, using my own gin, which is nothing if not assertively-flavoured (to the point where last time I made this I used Wray & Nephew as the rum.  The two beasts got along very well together as it happened, and I'll do it again).  In my version, not leaving the orange in would be to miss out on a necessary ingredient.