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Bay Leaf/Bay Leaves: The Topic

eatrustic

By eatrustic
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CatPoet

CatPoet

Posted
Posted

Smoking sausages for boiling here must have bay, otherwise it taste  like something is missing.

 

I cant get fresh but I  am picky with spices so they are never go stale.

Cheese is you friend, Cheese will take care of you, Cheese will never betray you, But blue mold will kill me.

SylviaLovegren

SylviaLovegren

Posted
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Bay has a very distinctive taste, to me.  I like to put bay, garlic, lemon and  peppercorn in the water for boiling artichokes.  And sometimes I've been known to crush a bay leaf in my fingers before eating crusty bread -- love the aroma.

 

I made a Cuban Cristianos y Moros (black beans and rice cooked together) the other day and thought that the bay flavor was a little strong,but I've got a fresh batch of Turkish leaves. 

Jaymes

Jaymes

Posted
Posted

There is also a Mexican bay leaf.  I buy them dried in Mexican markets.

 

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ingredients/detail/mexican-bay-leaf

 

I use bay leaves a lot.  My mother preferred simple kinds of cooking and foods.  She didn't use a lot of herbs or spices.  But our whole family loved her beef stew, and we'd eat buckets and buckets of it.  The only herb she put into it was several bay leaves.  The first time I tried to make beef stew in my small apartment after I left home, I didn't have any bay leaves, and didn't really understand what a difference they made.

 

Of course, the difference was considerable.

 

I have a bay plant for fresh leaves, and dried versions of laurus nobilis, and the Mexican bay leaves I mentioned above.

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

I do not care for the flavor of fresh bay leaves, at least the fresh bay leaves sold here.  I think they must be a different variety from the Turkish bay leaves I purchase dried.  As I recall from perhaps either MC or McGee, bay is a very complex flavor that requires a long cooking time for extraction.  More often than not I will use bay leaves in a braise.  When I make tomato sauce by the MC@H method I stick a couple bay leaves in the jar.

 

And of course bay leaves are important!  Bay leaf ice cream would just not be the same with out them.

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted

I use dried leaves in stews and we like them in a barley dish we make in our Ren Faire kitchens.

Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

;

CatPoet

CatPoet

Posted
Posted

I find that when ground the flavour change,  I am ok with it in   Indian dishes  but not in Swedish, it just doesnt taste right.

Cheese is you friend, Cheese will take care of you, Cheese will never betray you, But blue mold will kill me.

andiesenji

andiesenji

Posted
Posted

I dry and grind my own bay leaves - and there are many online vendors who sell bay leaf powder and some have recipes for rubs, marinades and other applications on how to use it.  Even Amazon has several choices.

 

It has to be used sparingly because it can overpower a dish if too much is used.  There are spice and herb combinations that compliment and enhance each other and there are several commercial spice mixtures - and several curry powder mixtures, that include ground bay leaves.

 

They have to be completely dry before grinding.  I break them to remove the central rib when it is thick and tough but grind them in a regular spice grinder.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

TheCulinaryLibrary

TheCulinaryLibrary

Posted
Posted

 Research on the effects of different drying methods on the loss of aroma (volatiles) in bay leaves* has confirmed that oven drying at 45 °C and air-drying at ambient temperature produced similar results with hardly any loss in volatiles compared to the fresh herb.( Freezing and freeze-drying on the other hand resulted in substantial losses ( aroma & flavor) of volatiles, and created some unwanted chemical changes). So probably best to stick to fresh or ones you dry yourself. And even if your palate cant detect strong bay flavor the medicinal benefits alone make them worth using. (free-radical, antioxidant and alcohol inhibitor, anti bacterial and anti inflammatory properties)

*The Journal of Agriculture Food Chemistry Research 2002

haresfur

haresfur

Posted
Posted

Why dont they sell Bay leaves ground so people dont choke on the leaf or have to fish them out?

 

Housemates of mine at Uni had a tradition that the person who got a bay leaf on their plate had to kiss the cook.

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It's almost never bad to feed someone.

Kerala

Kerala

Posted
Posted

Bayleaves: useful. We have a tree in the garden which I use all the time.  Last night, I made bay salt (bay leaf, salt, ground in a mortar and pestle) which I used as a dry rub on a leg of lamb before roasting. Tasted very good.

naguere

naguere

Posted
Posted

I have a small Bay Tree in my garden, a bush, perhaps. it is excellent for cooking and all I do is walk up to it and pull a couple of leaves of, so that i will impart its fragrance to my current dish..

 

Fresh bay leaves have a delicate perfume , and in a cooked dish it gives  a fine taste and can easily be removed before serving.

 

Dried on the other hand can be harsh tasting and  brittle .

 

There are many bay varieties, make certain you have the fragrant one. (Let Google be your friend). 

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Martial.2,500 Years ago:

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Alex Black

Alex Black

Posted
Posted

hi all,

 nice n easy one for my first post. when using a fresh bayleaf in place of a dried one in ,say, a stew, would you add it later than stated in a recipe like you would other fresh herbs or would it nlot make much difference as its quite a hardy ingredient?

 cheers

andiesenji

andiesenji

Posted
Posted

I simmer fresh bay leaves in the milk I am going to use for custards - the fresh leaves are "sweeter" and have some flavor elements that are not apparent in the dried leaves.

 

Perhaps you will take the time to read through this article, which has some great suggestions.

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"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

andiesenji

andiesenji

Posted
Posted

Just make sure you're talking about the right type of bay leaf.

I grow my own and they are the true Laurel Nobilis.  I know some people use California bay but I can't stand the smell which to me is like kerosene and I can certainly detect it in food and to me it ruins the entire meal because once I taste it, it takes hours to get rid of it.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

Alex Black

Alex Black

Posted
Posted

I have used dried bay leaves from multiple sources and am unable to detect them. Fresh on the other hand provide a very nice flavor component.

i always thought the same but then i upped the dose to two dried bay leafs in a dish and could certainly detect them -way too much. i guess they're just there for a subtle undertone for the foundation as opposed to the star role. cheers all

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