Lemon & Lime Garnishes 101

I love a good garnish. Alcoholic, Non-Alcoholic, it doesn't matter, because a garnish makes a drink taste better. Don't believe me? Just watch a kid order drinks and see which version they prefer. Nine out of ten times, they'll pick the fun pretty one, and I think we all have a little bit of kid in us.

I have noticed a lot of popular dining establishments putting the idea of a good garnish to shame. Garnishing a drink is so easy to do correctly, but so many people get it wrong. Garnishes serve only two purpouses, and that's to increase appeal and flavor. That's it, keep it simple.

Lemons and limes are the two most popular garnishes worldwide. Lemons are frequently used in teas and limes in cocktails. Almost every establishment offers them and most are getting it wrong. In an effort to reduce costs they miscut limes and store them improperly. If your one of those people listen up! It's better to not serve garnishes if they are unuseable and ugly.

TIP #1 - Cut correct sizes
Assuming you know not to use rotten fruit, the most common problem starts with wedge size. A typical lime yields 8 slices and that's it. If your getting more than 10 slices per lime, your slices are too small. Is getting an extra 2 drinks per lime worth the cost of serving a bad product? We all know there is no person on earth who can squeeze these suckers into their drink, not to mention how silly it looks.

TIP #2 - Properly storing
The major problem here is that many chains chop their fruits in the morning and store the extras in the cooler all day in some type of large ziplock. Poof ruined! The trick here is to not pile your fruits more than 2 levels high. So if you have more than 3 lemons on top of each other in your bag your stacking to high. Using ziplocks is fine, just be sure to store them on their sides or scatter them out. This keeps your wedges from turning into what resembles a wine press.

As far as cutting wheels and others shapes, that's a whole new dance that requires years of master swordsmanship. With hard work and meditation you'll catch on. Just start with the basics first grasshopper.