Finishing and Decorating
Food Techniques
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Finishing touches
The lemon tart in the picture has been decorated.
Chocolate sauce has been piped over it and
strawberries have been added as a garnish.
It makes a simple bought dessert look special.
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Why bother?
When food is presented to us, we make a judgement
about whether we want to eat it before it gets anywhere
near our mouth.
Taste is quite a weak sense, and the way the food looks
and smells is very important.
The artists who created these cakes have
gone to a lot of trouble decorating them.
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Why bother?
Cakes are often decorated for special occasions, like
weddings and birthdays. Displaying, cutting and then
eating the cake is part of the ceremony.
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Decorate it!
How would you decorate this cake?
Make a list of the tools and ingredients you will need.
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Sauces
Sauces are a quick and easy way to
decorate food.
Choose a sauce that contrasts in colour
to the food.
You can use ready made sauces like the
chocolate sauce on this ice cream, or
even swirls of ketchup on scrambled egg.
You can make your own sauces too.
Push raspberries through a sieve
to make a brilliant red raspberry coulis
that looks great with pale fruits like this
banana and tastes good too.
You can pipe sauces on to the food or on
to the plate.
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Garnishes
A garnish is something that is added to
food to make it look good.
Sometimes the garnish adds
to the flavour too, like bright
yellow lemon or green
parsley on fish.
You can sprinkle icing sugar on a cake or
cocoa powder on a cappuccino.
You can cut vegetables into attractive
shapes.
You can save a few whole raspberries
when you make a raspberry mousse and
use them for garnish.
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Arranging food
Sometimes the way food is arranged for
serving can make it look more attractive.
Choosing the right plate colour and size
can make a big impact.
Savoury foods like salads and paella
look good when laid out artistically.
Curried food is often served with lots of
side dishes so that you can add your
favourite.
Layered desserts look spectacular in
see-through containers.
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Glazes
A glaze is used to make the
surface of food look shiny.
Egg and milk brushed on to
bread or pastry before cooking
makes it turn a beautiful golden
brown.
Sprinkling sesame seeds or poppy seeds
on to the wet glaze adds texture and looks
good too.
Cheese browns and looks attractive on
pizza, lasagne and lots of other dishes.
Pastry is often decorated with cut-out
pastry shapes, before it is glazed.
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Glazes
Crème brulée means burnt
cream.
A vanilla custard is chilled.
Sugar is sprinkled over the top.
The sugar is melted under the
grill, or with a blow torch.
The finished dessert has a crisp
glazed layer of toffee over a soft
cold custard.
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Fresh fruit
The surface of
this orange has
been glazed with
a blow torch to
caramelize it and
add colour.
The fruit has
been arranged
carefully, not just
dropped on the
plate.
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Raspberry
coulis has been
drawn through
drops of custard
for a pretty
effect.
The edge of the
plate makes a
contrasting
border.
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Shop-bought dessert
The dessert is
layered inside a
clear container
Orange slices
give extra colour
The plate has
been dusted with
cocoa powder
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Versatile vegetables
Vegetables can be:
Sliced
Hollowed out
and stuffed
Trimmed
attractively
Tied into parcels
Cut into chunks
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Used as a
container
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Cheese board
Grapes
provide a
contrast
of texture
and
colour.
Vine tomatoes look
fresh and attractive.
Cheese
can be cut
safely on
the wooden
surface.
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Summary
Food needs to look good as well as taste good.
Garnishes are decorations added to food to make it
look nice.
Colour contrasts are attractive to the eye.
Sauces can be piped on to the food or on to the plate.
Glazes give a crisp, coloured surface to food.
You need to think about the container the food is
served in.
Always try to arrange the food attractively.
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