An excellent definition has been given by Escoffier
which states “To perk up the spirit of some and to give spirit to others who
are without it” this is the supreme role of the Hors d‟oeuvre on a menu”.
Hors d‟oeuvres are meant to pique the taste buds and
perk up the appetite. Hors d‟oeuvres and appetizers are synonymous.
Hors d‟oeuvres is a French expression and its true
meaning is a preparation served outside of the menu or at the beginning of the
meal before the main course. It comes from the French term „hors‟ (outside) and
goes back to early times, when at Banquets the appetizer (hors d‟ oeuvre) was
served in a separate room (antechamber) where the guest assembled and waited
for the arrival of the „Host‟ and the Chief Guest.
Guidelines for foods served as Hors d’oeuvres
- Should be small enough to eat in one or two bites some hors d‟oeuvre may be eaten with the fingers, while others may require a plate and a fork.
- Should be kept light, delicate and unsubstantial.
- Should be Attractive. Because hors d‟oeuvre customarily precedes the meal, they are considered a means of teasing the appetite. This is partially accomplished through visual appeal.
- Designed to complement the meal that is to follow. It is important to avoid serving too many foods of a similar taste or texture e.g. Lobster canapés/ lobster bisque
Guidelines for presentation of HORS D’OEUVRE to assist the Chef: -
- Keep in mind the nature of the event, as well as, the menu that follows, when selecting hors d‟oeuvres.
- Ice carvings and ice beds are often used to keep seafood and caviar very cold, as well as for their dramatic appeal.
- Hors d‟oeuvre served on platters or passed on trays should be thought fully presented, so that the last hors d‟oeuvre on the plate is still attractively presented.
CLASSIFICATION
The possible variations of hors d‟oeuvres are almost
limitless. Being virtually unlimited, the selection of hors d‟oeuvres served by
the Chef may be dictated by specific occasions or by the circumstances. Almost
every culture has their version of what is referred to by Americans as
Appetizers, and the French as hors d‟oeuvre.
Some Examples.
- RUSSIAN “Zakuski” – are various preparations patronized by the Russians. These are laid out on a table to be enjoyed by the arriving guest for an hour or so before the main meal. These are blinis and breads of various kinds with savoury toppings, served in Russia with vodka.
- ITALIAN – Antipasto – means before the pasta. A typical selection would include marinated mushrooms, artichoke hearts, sliced salami and prosciutto ham, smoked sardines, anchovies stuffed olive, roasted red peppers- etc
- SPANISH – „Tapas means lid‟. It refers to variety of items-e.g.:- kidney beans in vinegar sauce boiled sliced potatoes with garlic and mayonnaise, small meat balls, salt cod, black olives etc.
- SWEDISH – “Smorgasbord” means bread and butter table- It includes shrimp, pickles, meatballs, herrings, smoked salmon, caviar aquavit etc.
- INDONESIAN “Rijsttafel” meaning rice table, a Dutch meal of Indonesian origin - It includes the service of a central dish of fluffy rice, surrounded by a large number of side dishes including sate spicy pork and goat, dumplings, hard boiled eggs, steamed veg. etc.
- JAPANESE “Sushi‟ – considered as the national dish of Japan. These are tiny portions of sliced raw fish, placed on mounds of vinegary rice. Sushi and sashimi is the formal Japanese first course.
- GREEK “Meze” – It includes such items as keftedakia (tiny meat balls, Kreatopita (triangular flaky pastry filled with ground meat) spanakopita (triangular pastries filled with spinach and feta cheese) and taramosalata (creamy pink cod roe paste).
- DUTCH “Smørrebrød” – means buttered bread this is a Danish open faced sandwich using pieces of meat, fish or vegetables, artfully arranged.
HORS d‟oeuvre may be classified in various ways because of its
complexity: -
a.
Hot & Cold Hors d‟oeuvre is the major division. There
are further classifications within these major
categories.
b.
Classical and contemporary.
c.
Vegetarian/Non vegetarian.
d.
Hors d‟oeuvre singular and compound.
HOT HORS D’OEUVRE
They are generally served at cocktail parties or at
dinner where it is more likely to be served after the soup, it is seldom served
at lunch.
Warm and hot appetizers include small servings of
pasta such as tortellini or ravioli, Puff pastry shells like vol-au-vent or
made into turnovers and filled with savoury ragouts or foigras, broiled or
grilled fish, seafood or poultry, Crepes, blini. Meatballs etc. vegetables such
as steamed artichokes with a dipping sauce, asparagus, grilled vegetables may
also be featured.
Examples of Hot
Hors d‟oeuvre.
Croquettes, Fritters, Kromeskies, Rissoles, Beignets, Bouches Quiches.
Barbequed Spareribs, Sheik Kebab, Baked Clams, Baked Crab, Broiled breaded
Scallops, Fish Cakes, Croustades Baked Beans, etc.
COLD HORS D’OEUVRE
The greatest variety and unbelievable diversity is
associated with cold hors d‟oeuvre, for e.g. Hors d‟oeuvre a la francaise- In this hors d‟oeuvre is presented in small oblong
dishes called „raviers‟. The dish is needed because the hors d‟oeuvre
are usually served with a marinade, sauce, relish or other accompaniment and
require a fork for service or for eating. Any foods can be used in this
category but they must be bite size.
Zakushki or hors d‟oeuvre a la Russe or canapés a la
Russe became very popular in the 1890‟s. This cold hors d‟oeuvre are considered
to be classical and made up of certain specified ingredients. Chefs in Russia
were patronized by the Czars and reached the pinnacle of their profession. It
consists of a base of blinis the famous Russian pancake made out of buck wheat
flour. This was topped with a toping that would be meat, fish, vegetable or a
combination of these. A characteristic of the topping is that it would most
often be flavoured with a smoked meat or fish. The chef had a chance to
demonstrate his imagination and skill. Intricate garnishes of exquisite designs
would decorate the Zakuski.
This would then be finished off
with a glaze of aspic. The Zakuski is a dinner hors d‟oeuvre
and are larger
in size than the canapé. They are presented to the guest individually without
an accompaniment or sauce.
CRUDITÉS
Crudités essentially means food eaten raw “Common
usage of the term is normally limited to raw Vegetables, particularly for hors
d‟oeuvres. Vegetables often used for crudités are-red, yellow, and green bell
peppers, carrots, celery stalks, summer squash, red radishes, Belgian endive,
cucumbers, cherry tomatoes lettuce etc. these are cut into finger size pieces
or decorative rounds and served with one or more varieties of dip or dressings.
CANAPÉS
The term CANAPE refers to a small open faced sandwich
which may be topped with an endless variety of savoury food items.
The canapé is comprised of four parts: -
BASE
The base serves as the foundation of the canapé. It
must be firm enough for the guest to hold with two fingers without its topping
spilling into the guests lap. The base would normally be bread-toasted or
plain, white or brown. However a variety of other base ingredients could also
be used like puff pastry flaky pastry, short crust, pizza dough, choux pastry,
etc.
SPREAD
The spread applied to the base
has a threefold purpose:-
- Spread adds flavour & moisture to the canapé.
- Spread acts as a glue to hold all of the components of the canapé together.
- Spread provides a fat barrier to prevent the base from becoming limp and soggy from the juices of the main body.
- There are primarily two types of spread: -
- A basic spread of 50% butter and 50% cream cheese.
- Any compound butter that is suitable for the main topping of the canapé being prepared.
Main body or Topping:
This part of the canapé may be almost any savoury
food items such as sliced cold meats or seafood or vegetables. The main body is
what gives the canapé its particular flavour and character. Items of food used
for the main body must be cut so that each canapé has a consistent size and
shape. e.g. a slice of cheese, hardboiled egg, ham, salami, mushrooms or
chicken coated with a thick cream sauce, marinated mushrooms, and prawns could
all be used as a topping. The list is limitless and can only be contained by
the imagination.
GARNISH
Garnish of a canapé increases the eye appeal. It
should enhance not overshadow the main body garnish can be a small leaf or herb
or a piece of food which is in keeping with the canapé as a whole.
GARNISHES
Definition:
A single item or combination of items accompanying a dish. The garnish
can be placed around meat chicken fish or game or served separately.
Whether simple or composite the garnish always blends with the flavour
with the basic dish. It is derived from the French word, to adorn. The term
refers to decorative edible items used to ornament or to enhance the eye appeal
of another food item.
Simple garnishes consist of a
single element, usually a vegetable, rice, or pasta.
Composite garnishes are made from several ingredients
whose flavours blend with each other as with the main dish. They may consist of
ordinary items such as pieces of bacon, small onions, fresh vegetables,
mushrooms, etc., or more elaborate ingredients, such as, cockscomb, crayfish
tails, truffles, filed croustades, quenelles, and croutons depending on the
nature of the dish.
The garnish may also be a kind of ragout made up of a
composite salpicon like calves‟
sweetbreads, mushrooms etc blended with brown or white sauce, and arranged in
small pastry shells.
In all cases the garnish should be placed around a dish so as
to achieve an overall harmony of shapes and colours pleasing to the eye.
Modern Plate Garnish
In classical cuisine food was brought to the dining
area on large silver platters and then served. The practice is still widely
used for banquets
Currently there is a shift towards smaller portion
sizes with good nutritional balance, and the trend has shifted to plated
service. Service on individual plates gives the chef ample scope to use more
thought and imagination in presenting the meal. Plates should not be
overcrowded. The plate is best when simple yet elegant to the eye. The plate
should present a combination of foods working together. It should not be
several components that happen to be on the plate. The portion size should
match the plate size.
- v Many pates
need no additional garnish if the accompanying vegetables and starches provide
an attractive balance and colour combinations. Hence the accompaniment becomes
the garnish.
- v A simple
Garnish becomes necessary sometimes to provide colour or balance to a plate. A
simple garnish must be edible, appropriate to the food, planned into the plate
layout not just dumped into the plate.
SOME TIPS FOR PLATE ARRANGEMENT
- Keep the food off the rim of the plate
- Arrange the food in unity. The focus should be on the
centre of the plate, not on the edges and the
firm.
- Place the food in the most attractive manner-the
better side of the meat on top. The bone of chop should face away from the guest.
- Sauces can improve plate presentation. Serve the sauce
around or under the food. Serve just enough sauce so as not to drown the food.
- Refrain from using the same pattern over and over again in different courses.
- Garnish only when necessary.
- Simplicity is the key. It is more attractive to have a simple plate presentation rather
than a complex one.
Examples of garnishes and accompaniments
generally indicated by the term in today kitchen Bouquetiere : Bouquet of vegetables
Jardiniere : Garden vegetables
Clamart : Peas
Crecy : Carrot
Doria : Cucmbers cooked in butter
Dubarry : Cauliflower
Florentine : Spinach
Forestiere : Mushrooms
Lyonnaise : Onions
Parmentier : Potatoes
Princess : Asparagus
FOOD
PRESENTATION
Presenting food properly requires a high level of
skill, knowledge and imagination. The modern approach is to present the food in
the plate-which is common in a la carte service. The key word in plate
presentation is BALANCE. It is a
balance of colour texture, size, shape and temperature. The food presented must
be appropriate to the occasion. It must be matched to the likes and often the
beliefs of the guest. Presentation must complement the food, not disguise or
hide it. Failure to present the food properly will lead to the failure of the
best of dishes.
Factors to be considered while presenting food.
1.
Temperature: Food
presentations first priority is the temp at which it is served, hot food must
be cold. It is vital that hot food is served to the customer immediately. Cold
food should be served on a children plate. It should then be thoroughly chilled
before service.
2.
Flavour:
Everything served on the plate is intended to be eaten. When the guest begin to
eat, they do not eat the meat first, then the potatoes and then the vegetables,
they take pieces of each, at any given time the mouth of the guest contains the
flavour of every food that is on the plate. If the combined flavours of the
items are not pleasing then the meal is a failure. No matter how well the items
on the plate are prepared, if the flavours are not complementary the effect is
not pleasing. It is not enough to ensure good preparation; you must ensure a
good balanced presentation of flavours. Escoffier said that a meal is like a
symphony. It should begin softly, gradually building up to a good finale. He understoodthat it is the meeting of the flavours in the mouth, which determines the
pleasure of the meal. However, flavour is not always obvious to the eye. It is
necessary to create eye appeal in presentation.
3.
Colour: Although
a plate of fried fish and French fries may taste good, it has minimal eye appeal. Everything is brown in colour and
crisp in texture. It offers little
variety or excitement for the eye. A simple addition of Cole slaw on a bright
green lettuce leaf will transform the plate completely. It improves not only
the flavour and the mouth feel of the dish, but provides colour and contrast to
the eye. The colours used on the plate should be natural. Artificial and non-food
colours should be avoided. Colours must be appropriate to the dish.
4.
Shapes: Eye
appeal can be gained not only through colour but through the shape of food as
well. As with colour variety is the key. A plate of meat balls, new potatoes
and Brussels sprouts may taste good and have a pleasing colour. Yet it is so
monotonous being round. Change the shape of the potatoes and use beans instead
and now the effect is better.
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