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 Garnishes, coupled with a printed pick, are the jewelry of the cocktail. The beauty of garnishing is that you can create your own styles at the delight of your customers. A pick also allows patrons to eat the fruit garnish graciously instead of having to hunt it down in the glass.
Consider the Shape
Fruit balled with a “melon-baller” tool makes a unique and attractive garnish. Melon fruits, such as watermelon, cantaloupe or honeydew, don’t brown or spoil quickly and can be frozen ahead of time. Some ideas for melon ball garnishes are:
- A watermelon or honeydew melon ball with a mint leaf to resemble a small apple of sorts—great for Apple Martinis!
- A melon ball, kiwi slice, and another melon ball for variety in color and shape
- How about a slice of star fruit with a cherry for a citrus flavored cocktail?
Basic Works; but Fun Gets More Attention!
Many tropical drinks or fruity Martinis and Margaritas are served with a wedge of fruit balanced on the rim of a glass. However, employing a printed pick allows you to twist a wedge of citrus fruit and add other items like cherries in between.
Note: Orchard fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, and apricots will brown quickly. To delay this process, add a squeeze of citrus juice onto the fruit or soak it in chilled citrus ice water briefly.
Citrus spirals can be twisted around printed picks or stirs for some extra dimension and eye candy. Try lemon and lime spirals together for a more unusual presentation. To prepare:
- Cut fruit in half the long way.
- Slice long strips no wider than 1/4 inch or 1/4 cm.
- Soak in ice water.
- Method 1: Wrap tightly around straw and freeze. (This is similar to using curlers on hair.)
- Method 2: Dip strips one at a time into boiling water, then return immediately to ice water. They should naturally curl up.
Recipes from www.about.com.
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