June 2011
Food Styling, Make Your Food Photos Sizzle
by Mary Gerlach, R.D.
Everyone’s heard of hair stylists, but have you heard of food stylists?
That’s the person responsible for making food look great in photographs, on television cooking shows (and you thought it was all the chef’s responsibility) and food videos. If they’re doing their job right, they make the food look so good your mouth waters and you can almost taste it just by looking at the picture.
It’s common sense if food doesn’t look very appetizing, if it is not presented well in a serving dish or on a plate, we don’t even want to taste it, let alone eat a whole portion for a meal. We eat with our eyes and our nose as much as with our mouth!
Our taste buds can really only discern the flavors of salt, sweet, bitter and sour, so the rest is up to our eyes and nose. I suppose we could also use our sense of touch, but since mom always said to keep your fingers off your plate, we’ll discard that one for now.
For many years, food photos were most often taken from the point of view of the eater—that is laid out on a table setting and shot from an overhead perspective.
Food stylists arranged the food to appear appealing from above, with each item on the plate clearly separated from each other. Then lighting and shallower angles became popular, presenting a clean look with tilted plates and extreme close-ups.
Today, food stylists create the setting for attractive two-dimensional photographs translating into the perception of taste, aroma and mouth-watering appeal. The color and texture of the background is carefully selected to effectively complement the food and selected lighting.
Keep in mind when creating your own food photos, styled food is marked as inedible and discarded after the shoot, as it’s often been handled or treated in ways making it unsafe for consumption.
Food stylists use techniques to prepare and compose plated food to appear as attractive as possible. Tricks of the trade include:
• Creating steam with cool air nebulizers that give the appearance of steam.• Spraying food with mixtures of water, corn syrup or oil to keep them looking fresh.
• Enhancing the color or brownness of cooked meats and poultry with mixtures used to brown gravy.
• Blanching green vegetables to enhance their original color.
• Using acrylic cubes in drinks so they won’t melt under studio lights like real ice cubes.
You get the idea. You don’t have to go to these extremes to take excellent food photos. Think of creating appealing textures, shapes and colors in your photos, and you’ll be right on target. Get out your camera and take your best shot of a great food photo. And while you’re at it, enjoy making these recipes in your home for family and friends.
Make-Ahead Grilled Lean Beef Kabobs
¾ cup bottled teriyaki sauce
¼ cup pineapple juice
2 Tbs. bottled hot sauce (optional)
1¾-pounds top sirloin steak, trimmed of
all visible fat and cut into 1-inch to 1½-square pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1½-inch pieces
½ pound fresh mushrooms, stems removed
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks (or canned in juice, drained)
8 long, metal skewers (if using bamboo skewers, soak several hours in water before use)
Make-Ahead. Combine teriyaki sauce, pineapple juice and hot sauce in small bowl and reserve 1/? cup of the mixture for basting. Add steak pieces to a gallon-size plastic bag, set in a medium size bowl. Pour remaining teriyaki sauce mixture over the meat and seal bag. Refrigerate for 6-8 hours or overnight.
Place bell pepper pieces and mushrooms in a microwave-safe vegetable cooker and cook on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove steak from plastic bag and discard marinade. Thread steak pieces alternately with green peppers, mushrooms and pineapple onto skewers and place them in a baking dish. Drizzle or brush reserved teriyaki sauce over the top. Cover kabobs well and store in refrigerator until ready to grill. Grill.
Grill. Preheat grill. Lightly coat grill grates with cooking spray. Cook kabobs on grill until the meat is cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes direct heat, turning occasionally. Makes 4 servings.
Nutritional information per serving: 340 calories; 16g carbohydrate; 48g protein; 9g fat; 85mg cholesterol; 360mg sodium.
Teriyaki Portabella Mushroom Burger
with Garlic Mayonnaise
2 large portabella mushrooms (3-4 inches wide), cleaned and stems removed
2 Tbs. bottled teriyaki sauce
2 large thin slices reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
2 multigrain or whole-wheat hamburger buns
2 lettuce leaves
4 tomato slices
Garlic Mayonnaise
1 Tb. light mayonnaise
½ tsp. minced garlic
½ tsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. hot sauce
Salt and ground pepper to taste
Heat coals or grill. Spread teriyaki sauce over mushrooms and marinate while coals are getting hot.
Grill mushrooms about 6 inches from the heat about 4-5 minutes a side until tender. Place buns on grill face down to brown. Top mushrooms with cheese; grill until cheese is melted.
Assemble burgers by placing lettuce leaf and tomato on the bottom bun. The lettuce keeps the bottom bun from getting soggy from the mushroom juice.
Top with the cheese-topped mushroom. Spread top bun lightly with half of the garlic mayonnaise and place on top of the mushroom. Makes 2 burgers.
Nutritional information per serving: 268 calories, 32g carbohydrate; 14g protein; 10g fat; 11mg cholesterol; 410mg sodium.
Easy Blueberry Yogurt Frozen Pie
Crust1½ cups finely ground graham crackers
2 Tbs. white sugar
3 Tbs. honey
3 Tbs. whipped butter melted
1½ Tbs. low-fat milk
½ tsps. ground cinnamon
Filling
16-18 ounces of blueberry-flavored low-fat yogurt
3½ cups light whipped topping
1½ cups fresh blueberries
Whole blueberries for garnish
Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, honey, melted butter, and cinnamon until well blended. Press mixture into 9-inch pie plate; set aside.
In mixing bowl, combine yogurt and whipped topping; stir in berries. Spoon the yogurt mixture into the graham cracker crust. Freeze until firm—at least 4 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, remove from freezer and top each serving with fresh blueberries. Makes 10 servings.
Nutritional information per serving: 225 calories; 39g carbohydrate; 4g protein; 7g fat; 8mg cholesterol; 159mg sodium.
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