Fruit Cutting

STANDARD GARNISHES: olives, onions, cherries, lemon twist, lime, orange slices, pineapple

Fruit is not only decoration, but it affects the taste of the drink if presented properly. Lemons and oranges give more juice if you soak them in warm water. Fruit should be covered with a damp napkin and refrigerated if left over night. Generally fruit that is cut will not last longer then a day or so. An unattractive garnish will reflect on the quality of your drinks. The drinks must look good as well as taste good!

Lemon:
Twisting a lemon skin properly imparts an incredible taste difference with such drinks as perfects, champagne cocktails, and spritzers. A twist is a small strip of peel that is twisted over the glass to release the aromatic oils. Its is then dropped into the drink. The secret to twisting a lemon is to grasp the peel with your thumb and index finger of your left hand holding the pores or yellow side down directly over the drink, then with your right hand, a combination of twisting and squeezing the oils from the pores of the lemon skin. Using the twist on the rim of the glass will add a bit of showmanship.

Lime:
It is important to get as many good size pieces of lime as possible. You should get an average of sixteen wedges per lime. When squeezing a wedge of lime, you should have one hand shielding in front of the lime, to prevent lime juice from squirting onto the people/customer in front of you. The lime piece is used to moisten the rim of the glass in such drinks as the Margarita, Side Car, and Salty Dog so that the salt and sugar will adhere to the rim of the glass.

Orange:
Orange slices should be cut about 1/4 inch thick as slices that are to thin will be flimsy and slices to thick are not economical. Orange slices are combined with cherries on many drinks. The combination is nick-named "garbage".