5 easy ways to garnish with an orange

Five easy ways to make an orange garnish! Here are quick and easy ideas for garnishing cocktails with an orange slice or an orange peel. Cheers!

It gets pretty lonely working from home all by myself. All day. Every weekday. Yeah, I keep really busy and cook and all that jazz, but sometimes I just need to goof around and mix it up. The other week, I went a little nutso peeling the crap out of oranges to make a heart out of orange rind for a Vday cocktail. Each one freakin ripped, or tore, or just fell apart in my hand. AAAArgh!

So, today my friends, you get 5  EASY ways to garnish with an orange.

First up, the classic orange peel twist (seen above). Using a citrus peeler, peel a long, thin piece of orange rind at least 4 inches long. Carefully coil around a toothpick or something similar. Hold for about 10 seconds, then hang over the edge of your glass.

The orange wraparound. Using a sharp knife, peel a very thin piece of orange rind about 1" wide by 3" long. String the end onto a toothpick or metal cocktail pick. Add a cherry to the pick. Wrap the rind under the cherry and add to the pick. Add another cherry. Wrap the rind over the second cherry and add to the pick.

The mega easy orange wheel. Cut an orange in half and cut a ½" thick slice out of the middle. Cut a slit between the center and the rim and slide over the rim of your glass.

The orange and cherry flag. Cut an orange in half and cut a ½" thick slice out of the middle. Cut that slice in half creating a half moon. Pierce a toothpick or metal cocktail pick through the orange rind at one end as shown. Add 1 or 2 cherries. Wrap the orange slice around the cherries and pierce the other end with the cocktail pick.

The orange rind heart. Cut an orange in half and cut a ½" slice out of the middle. Cut that slice in half creating 2 half moons. Cut the rind away from the flesh. Fold both of the rinds in half and hold side by side creating a heart. String onto a toothpick or metal cocktail pick at the base as shown above.

Well....... now you've gotten a peek into what I do when I'm going a little nutso!

Any pointers you have for garnishing with oranges? I'd love to hear them!

Trish