garnishes Archives - blonde behind the bucket

A Garnish: Pears

A garnish can elevate drink presentation and, more importantly, influence taste.

Dehydrated fruit concentrates aroma, and adds texture without introducing dilution. Pears, in particular, are subtle. They are floral, and structural like the apple and easily read as decorative.

I prefer to make garnishes myself whenever possible. Control matters: thickness, dryness, integrity. Dehydration can be done in the oven or with a machine; the method matters as does consistency and little bit of patience.

Beyond cocktails, dehydrated fruit has real utility across the bar and kitchen — shelf-stable, intentional, and efficient.

Today: pear.

Dehydrated Pear Garnish

Prepare the Pears

– Wash and peel the pears (peeling optional)

– Core the pears and slice them thinly and uniformly using a mandoline slicer. A knife slicing works too but the mandoline is more consistent.

Oven Dehydration:

– Preheat your oven to the lowest setting (usually around 200°F or 93°C) sometimes a little lower or higher depending on the oven and the calibration

– Place the sliced pears on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

– Leave the oven door slightly open to allow moisture to escape.

– Check the pears every hour and rotate the trays for even drying

– Dehydrate for 2-8 hours or until the pears are dried but still pliable

Dehydrator Method:

– Arrange the sliced pears on the dehydrator trays in a single layer

– Set the dehydrator to 110-135°F (depending on manufacturer times and temps) and let it run for 8-12 hours or longer if you prefer darker or crispier fruits/veggies

– Check the pears periodically and rotate the trays as needed for even drying

– The pears are ready when they are dried and slightly leathery

Storage:

– Allow the dehydrated pears to cool completely before storing them

– Store the dried pears in an airtight container or resealable bags in a cool, dry place and don’t forget your moisture packets

Dehydrated pears tend to disappear quickly — easy to eat like chips, often before they make the glass.

Tools and supplies: Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront

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Easy Bake Heart

Do you remember the kids easy bake ovens? Inspired by childhood nostalgia, meet my easy bake heart garnish for my « clear intentions » cocktail. Or any cocktail really. I had a recipe in mind when preparing this garnish. Clearly, not really. You can make any shape you want to make though. The heart cookie cutter is what I have and was the inspiration here. You don’t need a cookie cutter either. In pastry school I did some free form stuffs on the silpat. Have fun. Be creative. Cheers to making a successful sugar garnish for your drinks!

Ingredients and Tools

Caullet Glucose Syrup – 2.2 lbs by Banshee

Heart shaped Wilton cookie cutter

Pam cooking spray

Kitchen scissors

Baking tray and silpat silicone mat

Method

Add syrup inside

a free form and inside cookie cutter/mold

Preheat the oven.

Place a silpat in a baking sheet. Oh and a silpat is a silicone baking mat used to line a baking tray making the stickiest of the stickiest sugary treats easy to remove.

Spray the inside of your heart cookie cutter with a non stick baking spray. Set on top of the silicone mat. Pour glucose syrup into the mold. If using a spoon or spatula, spray that too so the glucose syrup doesn’t stick. Some may ooze outside. Don’t worry, this is normal. I didn’t measure. I eyeballed. Not too thick not too thin. How is that for professional measuring. Bake 356 degrees Fahrenheit until bubbles. About 25-35 minutes.

Let it cool slightly. Not too much as the shape will break. Use scissors to trim the excess hardened baked sugar. Carefully.

Side note: dash of vanilla and food coloring flavorful and fun ways to elevate your easy bake garnish

Carefully remove the cookie cutter and trim around the edges using kitchen scissors

Where to buy some of the goods seen in this post? Uhm, Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course.

* I may receive compensation for eligible purchases.

feta stuffed black olives

Several months ago I was thinking about creative was to garnish my martinis. This, a way. Black pitted olives from a can stuffed with feta cheese. You will find yourself saying Spanish queen green pimento stuffed olives who?

Feta Stuffed Black Olives

Ingredients

1 can of pitted black olives

Feta cheese of choice

Method

Open the can and drain the olive juice. Reserve for a dirty martini or not. Slice or break feta cheese apart and stuff olives. Try not to eat them all before making the martini.

Iced Chocolate Garnish

Almost ready.

This is a fun one. Ok, I tested using semi-sweet chips with dark chocolate chunks (1:1) and I tested using a Belgium dark chocolate bar from the 99Cents stores. Both melting techniques using a Bain-Marie. Microwave a great second if you have one and don’t want to go through the extra steps.

For the ice, I tested two ways. The first piping the chocolate into a bowl of water with ice cubes. The second filling a large ziplock plastic bag with water then freeze to have the now ice in a bag. Both work. Some of these chocolates came out a bit clunky. All are usable, even if only for the snacking while you watch the others set.

Ingredients

Chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, chocolate bars

Water

Ice

Method

For the ice both method

1. Over medium beat, place a heat safe bowl on top a pot of water on the stove. This technique is Bain-Marie. The bowl should be large enough as not to touch the water or fall into the pot. Water should not touch the chocolate.

2. Add chocolate to the bowl and let it sit. As it starts to melt stir slightly with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula intermittently until smooth.

3. Once chocolate is melted, remove from the bowl from heat. Set aside. Let the chocolate cool slightly. Once cooled add to a zip locked bag for the piping.

5. Add ice and water to a bowl. If the zip locked bag method is the choice, roll the sides of the bag down over the ice or remove and float in water.

6. Snip the tip of your piping bag and swirl the chocolate. Make any shape you like. I practiced writing my name.

7. Once chocolate starts to lift from the ice, remove using an offset spatula or dinner knife. Place your chocolate shapes onto a chilled plate and refrigerate until ready to use.

Remove using any knife. I call this one a butter knife. It’s not a butter knife but it does the trick.

Place the bag into a glass making it easier to fill with melted chocolate. All the chocolate should settle into nicer of the bag.

Where to buy? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront

*** I may receive commissions from eligible purchases

Simple Orange Peel Garnish 1

For the orange peel garnish 1

Orange(s)

Pairing knif

Fruit Vegetable peeler

Cutting board / nonslip surface or pad

Paper towel

Use a fruit vegetable peeler (I use OXO) to remove the outer layer of the orange which will be your garnish. This method helps avoiding the pif. Best if the orange is at room temperature and slightly firm. Condensation and softer skin may cause the peeler to slip and perhaps catch a finger. Peeler should be in great condition.

Once you have several orange peels, place your cutting board on a non-slip surface. Use your pairing knife to trim the edges.

What to do should you prepare more than you need? No biggie. Wrap your orange pieces in a damp paper towel and store in the refrigerator. Paper towel shouldn’t be too wet as the peels will become slimy. Peels will keep for a day or two. Same day use is recommended.

Wash your tools after each use with soap and water. Citrus will cause the knife and peeler to become dull faster.

Uniformity is best. These are the creative version.

Candied Blood Oranges

Candied oranges are here, and you know what that means—Aperol Spritz time! Yes, that’s right! Let’s upgrade that Aperol Spritz. How about giving the Lillet sisters a new accessory? Or keep this recipe for an extra special cocktail, mocktail, or boozy smoothie. Halloween drinks, anyone? “Extra special” means you can enjoy them anytime! I dare you not to eat them all first, though. Aren’t they pretty?

Candied Blood Oranges

Ingredients

2 blood oranges

1 cup of white granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups of water

Method

In a pan, add sugar and water over medium heat. Lately, I have been using my non-stick Le Creuset frying pan for everything! Let the mixture come to a boil. Add slices of blood oranges and reduce the heat to a simmer for 45 minutes. The sugar-water mixture will begin to thicken, and the oranges will start to become covered in a shiny sugary syrup. This is how you will know they are ready for drying. Transfer the sticky orange slices to a drying cooling rack. Dry them in the open air overnight. To speed up the drying process, placing them in an oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for about 2 hours will do the trick as well.

First batch from the overnight drying.

Where to buy the goods? Measuring tools, pans, knives and stuffs? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course.

Please know I meat earn commission form eligible posts. Thank you!