Bay Leaves

Grandpas Grub

I always keep bay leaf's on hand because I have 2 or 3 recipes that call for 5 or 6 bay leaves.

I make the cook and toss in the whole bay leaves. Some of the cooks take 4 to 5 hours to simmer and another is just cook and eat.

Last night I got to wondering how much flavor those bay leaves are imparting into the recipe.

Would it be better or would I get more flavor by using ground/chopped dried bay leaves?

GG

IndependentGrocer

I bought a small bay tree about 4 ft high and I keep it in my sunroom. Fresh bay leaves have lots more flavor. They're easy to grow.

Grandpas Grub

Unfortunately no sun room, but we have plenty of snow today.

GG

Celtic Wolf

They impart a lot and they should remain whole. They aren't really edible.

Celtic Wolf

nuff said.

Grandpas Grub

I was always under the impression the leaves were not edible but then I saw some ground bay leaves from Shilling and that got me to ask the question.

I would think ground would give more flavor to the recipe - but I just don't know.

GG

Celtic Wolf

I reckon you can try. Never seen anyone actually use it.

Mike in Abita

I use them in quite a few dishes. Last week I made red beans and rice. As I was eating it I noticed the flavor wasn't just right and couldn't figure out why. I added salt, thinking that was it. I added more cayanne pepper and still not it. Then the wife said "Where's the Bay Leaf". Right then is where I had an AHAA moment.

Don't leave it out you will notice a difference.

Unknown

Whole fresh bay leaves aren't poisonous, but you could choke on them. They are edible. Dried bay leaves are also edible but people take them out because eating a dried leaf isn't great mouth feel. They also take them out because some people think they are poisonous. They aren't. Ground bay leaves are pretty common.

momcooks

I had a SIL that broke hers up in spaghetti. Biting into the small pieces are annoying. If I have somthing that i do break them up for long cooking I put them in a large tea ball so I don't have that problem.

Celtic Wolf

Did I say they were poisonous? Nope I did not. If they were poisonous then even using them as flavoring would be harmful.

They are not digestible. Big difference..

.o0(must maintain my good karma.. good thoughts)

Grandpas Grub

One of the recipes for me is spaghetti sauce, I tried breaking them up and the had the same results. That's why I was wondering about the 'ground'.

GG

Charleston Dave

I'm with Grocer on this one. Figure out a way to keep a pot of bay. As a bonus, it's quite an attractive plant.

I don't use dried bay leaves because the flavor of the fresh ones from my garden is much better. The plant grows happily despite my plucking leaves frequently. The remove-before-eating thing comes from the stem and veinature being too coarse to be palatable, IMHO.

You might try an experiment with a mild-flavored food (poached chicken, white rice, that kind of dish) and see if you like the flavor of whatever alternative you are considering.

It's quite possible to have too much bay. I sometimes think the wintertime leaf can't be THAT strong so I throw in too much...and then I notice it in the finished meal. Fresh bay is stronger than dried, so keep that in mind.

I am a bit puzzled about your mention of bay leaves in quick-cook meals. They're more typically used in long-simmered cooks, infusing flavor. If I were doing a quick cook with bay, I might use shears to cut slices into the edge of the leaf to help the fragrance get out of the leaf faster.

I've also used bay in baking, in sorbets and in desserts (goes well with chocolate and in rice pudding).

Michael B

Whole bay leaves impart a lot of flavor.
One time my brother was making chili; all the bay leaves were broken up. He didn't really know, at the time, how big each should be, so he dumped in about 5 rather than the 2 called for. The chili was inedible.

Also consider that over time, you can condition yourself to like just about anything. I went through a period where I liked salt. I would suck on a piece of raw salt like a kid would suck on hard candy. When I sat down to eat a meal, I would add close to a teaspoon of salt to the food on my plate before I even tasted it.

I don't eat that way now, and I certainly wouldn't serve anything like that to someone else. If I am making a sauce, for example, the spices should blend together like the instruments in a symphony. If one of them jumps out and slaps you across the taste buds, there is definitely too much of that one in there. The spices should not compete with the main ingredient.