the garnish

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountabletechnical

   A small amount of food or decoration added to a dish to make it look more attractive.

   Grammar: Can be used with 'a' when referring to a type of garnish, or without an article when talking about garnish in general.

   Patterns

   • a garnish of something
   • serve something with a garnish
   • add a garnish to something

   The soup was served with a garnish of fresh parsley.

   He added a lemon wedge as a garnish to the fish.

   The chef uses edible flowers as a garnish.

2. 2verbtransitivetechnical

   To decorate food or drink with a small amount of something.

   Grammar: Takes an object: garnish the plate.

   Patterns

   • garnish something with something
   • garnish a dish

   Garnish the salad with a few mint leaves.

   The bartender garnished the cocktail with a slice of orange.

Word forms

Common combinations

a garnish of

The dish came with a garnish of chopped herbs.

add a garnish

You can add a garnish of lemon zest for extra flavor.

garnish with

Garnish the dessert with fresh berries.

garnish the plate

The chef garnished the plate with a sprig of rosemary.

Synonyms and how they differ

decoration

A more general word for something added to make something look nicer, not necessarily food.

topping

A layer or item placed on top of food, often eaten as part of the dish, while a garnish is mainly for appearance.

Word family

garnishment noun

A legal term for a court order to take money from someone's wages.

Commonly confused: the garnish or garnishee?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “the garnish”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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