Garnishing aid

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Multipurpose dunnage "Decorex-Spezial" from Westmark, from the 1950 / 1960s (front)
(Backside, with a pin for punching the can)

Garnier aids are special kitchen tools that the decorative serving and garnish of food and beverages are used.

Alternative names and delimitations

There is no uniform (collective) designation for garnishing aids - sometimes they are sold under terms such as garnishers , garnishing sets or multi-purpose garnishers or similar, but sometimes they are also referred to according to their exact purpose (examples: "butter roller", "zester" ). In addition, colloquial collective terms such as kitchen aids for serving and decorating or similar can be found in some cases .

In addition, some of these kitchen tools are not only used for serving or garnishing, but also for preparing food and drinks (examples: " paring knife ", " peeler "). The boundaries are fluid here. Nonetheless, the pure garnishing aids , which are mostly simple hand tools without mechanics , play a special role within the group of kitchen appliances or tools because they are mostly geared towards specific purposes. In addition, they are not part of the standard basic equipment of kitchen tools in private households and are mostly only found in more sophisticated restaurant kitchens in gastronomy .

history

background

Eating (healthy food ) and drinking (clean drinking water ) are basic physical needs of people , but they also promote social relationships and also meet cultural needs by offering pleasant occasions for a social get-together . According to the old kitchen adage "You eat with your eyes", there is a general requirement that the dishes should not only be culinary satisfactory, but also look appealing and "already stimulate the appetite visually". The history of garnishing and decorating food goes back a long way, because "in ancient Rome one recognized the connection between an elaborately decorated table and appetite". Even in the classic cuisine of Asia is set granted an outstanding role for centuries.

Example of a show court : Still life with turkey pie ( Pieter Claesz , 1627)

The decorating of dishes and the decoration of tables found a high point in the Ottoman palace kitchen as well as in the court kitchens of many noble houses in Italy ( Cucina alto-borghese ) in the 16th century and the fine French cuisine in the 17th and 18th centuries Europe , which on the one hand corresponded to the prevailing luxury needs and on the other hand served the representation - sometimes up to the ostentatiousness - served. In the time of baroque decorated were not consuming show dishes spread to noble courts that were not prepared for consumption, but as a showpiece and attraction for the festive table at banquets served.

At the beginning of the 19th century, haute cuisine was established in France , an upscale national cuisine that provided refined dishes and garnishes. Along with the introduction of public restaurants and the associated access of the French bourgeoisie to sophisticated culinary art , this style of cooking became popular and institutionalized, not least due to the rising criticism of gastronomy . The upscale restaurant cuisine , known as grande cuisine , not only produced numerous sets, but also spread particularly in the western world  - even today, classic French cuisine is in some cases decisive for the preparation and garnishing of many dishes and desserts.

Need for garnishing aids and modern times

Garnishing aid, around 1910: cake syringe

This development resulted in the need for special kitchen tools and appliances for certain toppings and forms of presentation, which were initially made by mostly smaller, regional manufacturers . Meanwhile, numerous professional Garnier aid as a tool for chefs , pastry chefs , bartenders and similar professionals in stores for catering supplies available. There are also garnishing aids, some of which are more simply designed and correspondingly cheaper, for private households. The private need for garnishing aids arose after refined preparations and garnishes had found their way into the upper class kitchen in the "heyday of local culinary art", in the middle-class age of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

After the hardship of the two world wars, during the “ economic miracle ” in the 1950s, a number of (cold) dishes with an overemphasis on decoration became fashionable and were part of the standard repertoire of cold platters or buffets , especially in private households , until the 1970s / 1980s . Special “kitchen aids” were soon developed and offered for this purpose, such as the patented multi-purpose dunnage device “Decorex-Spezial”, a “ bestseller ” from the household goods manufacturer Westmark , founded in 1956 .

In the 1970s, so-called nouvelle cuisine developed in France , a less opulent culinary art that tried to preserve the taste of food and sought new ways of preparation and presentation. It found many imitators, whereby the "creativity of many chefs was increasingly rated higher" and exhausted itself in "often unskilled crossover between European and Asian methods and combinations" and "more and more ingredients and flavors [ piled on top of each other]". In addition, serving and garnishing were often elevated to an art form. As a result, “French cuisine, which had been in charge for so long, lost its supremacy in the world”.

present

Market trader at a sales demonstration - here with a vegetable slicer (V-slicer) , 2013

Garnishing aids designed primarily for private households , like other "kitchen aids", are now among those items that are offered in household goods stores and departments of department stores, furniture stores and supermarkets, etc. mainly by mail order companies and by hawkers at fairs and consumer fairs . They are sometimes touted as "supposedly indispensable, ingeniously fast and effectively working devices", but are often items from Asian mass production. “Not all of them keep what is promised” - many are of rather poor quality and not worth the “one-time special price” offered for sale. They rarely work as easily as the salesperson skillfully tried to make it into his "sales show".

On the other hand, there are higher-quality kitchen tools, such as the so-called V-slicer for vegetable slicers (mandolins) , a patented development by a German manufacturer from the 1960s, or the stainless steel mandolin from French or Japanese production, which can also be found in professional kitchens. Various blade inserts can be used to make decorative vegetables bâtonnet , brunoise , gaufrette (waffle cut) or julienne , which are also used for garnishes.

In the course of current social changes and the change in the world of work as a result of automation , digitization and globalization , which began with an increasing tendency towards the end of the 20th century, “fast satiety” often came to the fore when eating. In addition, more and more people take care of themselves “outside the home” or eat fast food , ranging from canteen meals and snack bars to the increased consumption of ready-made meals . Meanwhile, in the private as well as in the gastronomic sector, a “resurrection of the food culture” is taking place, which relies on “regionality, seasonality and quality” of the food and “authentic dishes”. A growing part of today's society is striving for a “healthy and ecological way of life as possible”, which includes the conscious enjoyment of “healthy and good quality food” and has a “rapidly increasing trend”.

Ultimately, appropriate serving, garnishing and decorating of food and drinks play an important and also appetizing role. In the area of ​​kitchen appliances and tools, there is a wide range of garnishing aids.

materials

The individual garnishing aids are usually available on the market as different models from different manufacturers. Among them there are garnishing aids that are made entirely of metal such as mostly stainless steel , sometimes also aluminum or carbon steel . Often, however, the handles and bodies etc. are made of plastic or hard plastic , both for ergonomic reasons and for cost reasons , out of date from wood .

Types of garnish aids

Common types

Colored knife
Butter roller
Egg cutter and divider
Carrot sharpener

Common garnishing aids include:

  • Apple corer (not only for coring of apples suitable, but also for the production of "colorful confetti" of peppers , tomatoes and lemon peel )
  • Apple divider (for coring and decorative cutting of apples into even slices)
  • Cookie cutters , including cutters, in various designs and sizes (for cutting out spicy or sweet decorations from vegetables , fruit and baked goods and pasta)
  • Colored knives , also color cutting knives or Demidoff knives , with a wavy blade (for cutting decorative, wavy slices from raw or cooked vegetables and fruit)
  • Butter models as well as butter stamps, butter piercing molds (for decorative shaping of butter )
  • Butter garnishers, also butter slicers (for decoratively shaping butter into rolls, corrugated slices and small balls)
  • Butter roller (for decorative shaping of butter in small rolls)
  • Decorating spoon , with a fine tip (for garnishing with sauces and glazes as well as for cake labels )
  • Decorating knives, also garnishing and coring knives (for decorative processing of fruit as well as for clean removal of fruit fillets)
  • Dessert ring , also dessert ring or serving ring, in different sizes, also as a set and partly with a stamper and lifter (for decoratively serving dishes and desserts)
  • Egg cutter and egg divider, also as a combination device (for cutting or dividing hard-boiled eggs into even slices or sixth pieces )
  • Vegetable slicer , also mandolin (not only suitable for cutting vegetables into slices; also, with appropriately designed kitchen slicers with different blade attachments, particularly fine to coarse slices, Julienne strips or special decorative cutting patterns can be produced)
  • Fluting knives, also chasing knives and notching knives, as well as partly also in combination with zester rippers (for decorating vegetables and fruit with grooves by cutting, as well as for making decorative "stars" by subsequent cutting into slices)
  • Carrot sharpener (for "sharpening" or peeling off " carrot flowers")
  • Cake decorating pen or hinge pin, also decorating syringe (for decorating cakes and for writing on cakes)
  • Kitchen brush , wide, or kitchen spatula (for decoratively spreading thick sauces, creams or dips etc. on the plate when serving)
  • Kitchen tweezers, also commonly used as grill or cooking tweezers (multifunctional use for serving and garnishing, especially for "small-scale decoration")
Ball cutter
Paring knife
Peeler
Paring knife
Zester ripper (here combined with a fluting knife)
  • Ball cutters , formerly also known as Parisian cutters or Parisian knives , in different sizes (for cutting out evenly shaped balls out of fruit, vegetables, potatoes or butter)
  • Multi-purpose garnishers (combination of different garnishing tools, for decorating dishes)
  • Office knife or all-purpose or paring knife, also different regional names; with a blade between 8 and 9 cm or up to 15 cm long with an all-purpose knife and tapering on both sides (handy knife that is versatile for serving, garnishing and decorating food, beverages and desserts)
  • Pallet , in straight and cranked form ("angled pallet"), also glaze knife (is used in addition to the preparation of dishes and the production of cakes and tarts also for serving and garnishing, especially for desserts)
  • Carving knives, also sickle knives (for carving and decorating vegetables and fruits)
  • Cream siphon , in Switzerland: cream blower (for foaming and garnishing with spray cream ; also for making foams ( espumas ) in molecular cuisine )
  • Vegetable peeler (not only suitable for thin peeling, but also for decorating vegetables and fruits)
  • Spiral cutter (for cutting firm vegetables into long, thin ribbons)
  • Piping bag or dressing bag , with different piping nozzles (for dressing whipped cream and creams, mayonnaise , puree and the like, mostly for decorative purposes)
  • Syringe , also garnish or cake syringe (for dressing like with piping bags, as well as for injecting liquids such as jam)
  • Tomato and mozzarella cutter (for cutting tomatoes or mozzarella into even slices)
  • Touring knives, also paring knives as well as various regional names, with curved blades (not only suitable for peeling, but also for decoratively cutting (to size ) fruit, vegetables, potatoes and eggs)
  • Toothpicks or chopsticks (for making decorative patterns, by connecting and "pulling out" dots of crème fraîche or sour cream on fruit mirrors or a dollop or strip of cream on sauce dishes )
  • Zester , also zestur or lemon scraper, sometimes also in combination with a canning knife (for the production of so-called zest  - wafer-thin strips from the outermost fruit peel of citrus fruits or vegetables that are used to garnish and / or flavor dishes)

Other types of garnish aids

Fan cutter (also pickled cucumber cutter), julienne cutter, radish cutter, radish cutter (also spiral turner), chocolate grater , truffle slicer (or truffle grater).

reception

As part of everyday culture , garnishing aids partly reflect cultural-historical developments in eating and drinking and are shown in museums and cultural-historical exhibitions , such as the kitchen museum WOK - World of Kitchen Museum in Hanover, the city ​​history museum in Leipzig, the kitchen appliance collection in aviation and technology -Museum Park in Merseburg, Saxony-Anhalt, or the private online collection presentation "Old and Beautiful" from Eichwald and around the world by Martin Weck in Bühlertal, Baden-Württemberg.

The Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL) addressed the cultural history of private celebrations after 1945 in its touring exhibition "Today we invite our guests", which opened in 2007, from the 1950s to the 1980s. The exhibition was presented in eight Westphalian museums and showed "200 exhibits [...] from invitation cards, advice literature and party dishes to house bars from the 1950s". This also included “a wide range of garnishing aids” and “aids for the preparation of a cold buffet ”, which have been available “alongside mixers and butter molds ” and other things for celebrations since the 1950s.

See also

literature

  • Martina Meuth , Bernd Neuner-Duttenhofer : Cooking workshop: Kitchen technology, hand tools, 1000 tips & tricks . Ed .: Stiftung Warentest . 2nd Edition. Stiftung Warentest, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-86851-409-4 .
  • Sylvia Winnewisser and Susanne Gärtner (texts): The most beautiful ideas for garnishing & decorating for every occasion . Ed .: TLC photo studio. Naumann & Göbel, Cologne 2011, ISBN 978-3-625-13265-3 .
  • Georg Hartung: Garnish & Decorate. Ideas for all seasons . Heel, Königswinter 2013, ISBN 978-3-86852-679-0 .
  • Rudolf Biller: Garnish & Decorate . Bassermann, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-8094-3179-4 (in a set with 3 garnishing aids: 1 colored knife, 1 canning knife, 1 ball cutter).
  • Jamin Gromzik and Miriam Krampitz (Red.): Dr. Oetker - garnish, decorate, decorate . Revised special edition. Dr.-Oetker-Verlag, Bielefeld 2014, ISBN 978-3-7670-1348-3 .

Web links

Commons : Garnish Aids  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Anke Wielebski u. a. (Red.): “Today we invite guests.” Cultural history of private celebrations after 1945 . Book accompanying the traveling exhibition of the same name by the LWL Museum Office for Westphalia […]. Ed .: Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL), Museum Office . LWL Museum Office for Westphalia, Münster 2007, ISBN 978-3-927204-67-6 , p. 115 ( excerpt in the Google book search): "In addition to mixers and butter formers, there has been a wide range of garnishing aids for celebrations since the 1950s [...]"
  2. ↑ a b Garnishing Aid (n). In: europeana.eu. Retrieved April 3, 2019 . Object database of the City History Museum Leipzig >> Garnierhilfe. In: museum.zib.de. City History Museum Leipzig , accessed on April 3, 2019 . Object database of the City History Museum Leipzig >> Garnierhilfe; Cake syringe. In: museum.zib.de. City History Museum Leipzig, accessed on April 3, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b cf. Stadtmuseum Gütersloh : Today we invite guests. Cultural history of private celebrations after 1945. In: stadtmuseum-guetersloh.de. June 11, 2007, accessed April 3, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b cf. Martina Meuth , Bernd Neuner-Duttenhofer : Cooking workshop: Kitchen technology, hand tools, 1000 tips & tricks . Ed .: Stiftung Warentest . 2nd Edition. Stiftung Warentest, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-86851-409-4 , p. 389–495: Tools of the  trade .
  5. ↑ a b c d e Cf. Gert von Paczensky , Anna Dünnebier : Cultural history of eating and drinking . Approved special edition. Orbis, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-572-10047-X .
  6. ↑ a b cf. Ute Meyer: Garnieren und Decorating. In: fak-evm.de. Municipal specialist academy for nutrition and supply management of the district of Hof in Ahornberg , department of food preparation , March 1999, accessed on April 3, 2019 .
  7. ↑ a b c cf. Martina Meuth , Bernd Neuner-Duttenhofer : Cooking workshop: kitchen technology, hand tools, 1000 tips & tricks . Ed .: Stiftung Warentest . 2nd Edition. Stiftung Warentest, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-86851-409-4 , p. 6-19:  Introduction .
  8. ↑ See: Peter Peter : Cultural History of German Cuisine . C. H. Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-406-57224-1 , p. 182 .
  9. ↑ See: Martina Meuth , Bernd Neuner-Duttenhofer : Cooking workshop: Kitchen technology, hand tools, 1000 tips & tricks . Ed .: Stiftung Warentest . 2nd Edition. Stiftung Warentest, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-86851-409-4 , p. 393 .
  10. ^ A b Anthony Bourdain : Confessions of a Chef . 12th edition. Goldmann, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-442-45523-2 , p. 100-101 .
  11. ↑ Garnish (3 kitchen utensils). In: eichwaelder.de. Martin Weck, Bühlertal, accessed on April 3, 2019 .