In defense of Bay Leaves

I don't notice when I use bay leaves but I damn well notice when I don't. The dish just tastes flat.

I love bay leaves. To me they add a nice herbal, almost eucalyptus note without being overpowering. Chicken Adobo, for instance, wouldn't be the same without them imo.

If anyone questions bay leaves, get them to try plain rice or couscous cooked with and without... the difference in flavour is noticeable !

Bay leaves impart a taste so light that is basically a scent to me when used in dishes. All I know is a Gumbo just doesn't taste right without them

I’ve told this anecdote elsewhere, but I’ll repeat it every time someone shits of bay leaves. One time I was making a shepherds pie with a tried and true recipe that I’ve made countless times, always gets a good response. For some reason this time it was just so bland, and nothing I did was helping. Doubled the main flavour ingredients, made the flavour more intense maybe, but didn’t correct that weird blandness. More salt? Makes it more salty, but not better. Pepper? Sugar? Vinegar? Nothing was working. Then I look and see the jar of bay leaves, unopened, under a kitchen towel. Sure enough, I throw a couple in, let the mix simmer for a little while and there it was, the missing element. I still couldn’t tell you what flavour it brings to the dish besides whatever the opposite of bland is, but I sure as HELL know not to forget it in recipes it belongs in

I wasn't aware that bay leaves needed defending.

If you ever get the chance to use fresh bay leaves (produce section, or easy to grow your own) Ty eh make a world of difference. Very floral note that is unique to bay. Are they technically herbs? I always think about them as a spice but I guess leaves are technically herbs, but you don’t eat them.. hm

Definitely try fresh bay leaves or bloom dried in butter or oil to increase the flavor profile of the leaf it brings it’s flavors out more then just adding directly to a dish.

REQUIRED for beans.

I am ride or die for bay leaves, they are criminally underrated.

They add a certain depth of taste, a je ne sais quoi to a stew or soup. I can definitely tell the difference if I forget to add them.

The difference between steamed rice, and steamed rice with laurel is a good way to showcase their subtlety since you're only putting up with two fragrances. If you're familiar enough with the smell of the rice alone, you probably won't need a side-by-side to compare.

This is a good vid that encapsulates the usage of bay leaves. Highly recommend checking it out or showing others who may have a differing opinion.

https://youtu.be/Dft8yud9YQQ?si=cm-RBux7EpGQQtGJ

Started growing my own bay leaves. Big difference.

Try making baked lemons without them :-)

Lemon, anchovy, mozzarella and a bay leaf. Delish.

I like to add a bay leaf (we have a bush in the garden) to the cooking liquid of almost anything.

I always tell them that if you boil some beans with a few bay leaves your whole kitchen smells amazing. No bay leaves, no nice smell.

My mom used them, I never have.. now I’m going to.

I use bay leaves a lot. They do indeed add the right something to a dish. A year or 2 ago, Chris Kimball actually said he didn't think they did anything for a dish! Boy, do I disagree. Like any herb, they shouldn't be used when they get old and musty.

I upvoted simply for the title alone. Bay leaves take the soup game from 0 to 100 real fast.

Bay leaf is probably the third most important ingredient in something like red beans and rice. Without it you'll still have good beans but you're missing something.

Makes a big difference in rice and Mexican beans too.

Bay leaves are the bass players of spices. Never noticed unless they are missing.

I don't... I can taste them and I don't care for the flavor they impart. I don't know if it's just me but I taste something that is vaguely astringent, similar to what a bandaid smells like.

I have tried to add it to several stews and roasts that called for bay leaf, and it's just unappealing to my pallet. I know my parents occasionally used bay leaf because I remember seeing them add the leaf or pulling it out before serving. It never bothered me.

For some reason though as an adult I just don't care for the taste it adds.I have tried a few sources and same thing. I finally just gave up and quit trying to add the herb. I prefer rosemary and or thyme with a little extra fresh black pepper to add depth.

Per what I've read about them, freshness is really important. And I've only once seen fresh ones at the market through a small organic farmer.

Stews, casseroles, soups, braises. They're a must in so many recipes. Another layer of flavor. They elevate the other flavors/ingredients. Light, herbal, earthy notes. Love using them in chicken recipes.

Bay leaves definitely add flavor. In fact, if you leave them in too long, they'll add a bit of a menthol flavor. I can't believe that anyone would think they don't add to a dish. Because they have an aroma and if you let them stay in past when they should, you'll definitely feel it. Keeping them in for the right amount of time makes things just right.

I love bay leaves. I add a couple to my pasta water all the time, sometimes to rice depending on what I’m making with the rice. Any type of soup, I’m adding bay leaves. If I’m marinating something, I add it to my marinade as well. They do add more depth to the flavor, it’s like they’re giving my senses a warm hug. There’s a bit of spiciness to it without it being spiced, if that makes sense.

I love them as well. I have a bay leaf tree that my husband wanted to remove and I refused, because I just love bay leaves so much

I use 2 bay leaves while cooking jasmine rice sometimes. It adds a warm herbal savoriness and depth. There is a difference.

I like bay leaf and better than bouillon for my beans, it's my lil secret. I use it for beans with rice, refried beans, meat and bean chili, etc.

I put it into the dishes that traditionally call for them.. mostly because I want to respect my mom's recipes.. but I've never been able to taste a difference between bayleave or no bayleaves. I've tried fresh and dry. I once put 50 into a dish to see what would happen and it tasted just the same as if none were in there.
I think it may be a cilantro-like thing where some can taste it and some can't

I use bay in chilli, curry, bourgignon / stews. It’s always an extra layer of flavour

I can't not tell you what a bay leaf brings to a dish but I can definitely tell you when it's missing.

Grow them yourself and be amazed by what a fresh bay leaf adds to a dish

I was on the fence about bay leaves but then I got some more fresh Turkish leaves from Penzey’s and they were a revelation compared to the supermarket ones

There's such a large variance in taste depending on freshness and quality. I just assume those people have been using subpar bay leaves.

My Mom gave me her bay tree plant when she moved into a smaller place and, wow, having bay leaves really does make a difference. I've noticed it particularly in marinara and in soups.

Bay leaves are vital. They provide a distinct, if subtle, flavor that is notably absent when omitted. This is part of what makes good cooking great cooking.

If you’re cooking with flavorless bay leaves then you need to buy new bay leaves.Just put the edge of one in your mouth and chew .Thats the flavor it’s importing in your food.

I always use bay leaves for beans, chickpeas, vegetable broth etc. fresh is better. But I always have dried

i love bay leaves so much, that i lick them clean after taking them out of the cooking pot! i don't understand people who say they bring no additional flavour, just lick them once when done cooking and you will recognise the taste from then on.

Test. Chicken noodle soup. At the final seasoning ladle some into a bowl. Add a few bay leaves to the pot. After a few minutes compare the flavors. I used old bay leaves in my cupboard. Depth. Fat soluble.

I just bought a bay laurel plant and I'm excited to never have to buy bay leaves again (assuming I don't kill it). Fresh leaves have to be better than dried ones too

I have my own bay leave bush in a pot to use as needed. I only cost me $20 at the nursery.

If someone is convinced bayleafs don't make a difference, then I am convinced not to take any cooking advice from them.

People that say that bay leaves do nothing are the same people that'll triple the amount of garlic that a dish calls for and put Sriracha on everything. Not that there's anything wrong with either of those practices, but they aren't really conducive to allowing the subtle depth of flavors to come through. 

As a brewer this is my biggest gripe with American craft beers, just about all of our styles just crank one characteristic to 11 and throw all nuance out the window.

Anyone who says bay leaves don’t add a marked taste to a dish is probably using a different species or ones that have been sitting in bottle for 20 years. I’m talking about western bay leaves Laurus Nobilis. There are other bays. One in particular, that I see in Indian groceries in garam masala mixes, is clearly a different tree and to me, has very little sent or flavor.

I don't notice the taste when I use it, but I damn sure notice when it's not there! It's not something I can put a finger on when it's used, but the dish is just flat when it's not there.

"Bay leaves don't do anything" is most likely a self confirming belief because the people that think this are probably only using 10 year old dry stale bay leaves from the back of a cabinet. If they used fresh ones or dried ones purchased at least sometime since the Obama administration they would probably be able to taste them. Same for people who think Paprika and Parsley are just for color and have no taste. Stale seasonings are sad seasonings, buy them in amounts that you will use within a few months and keep them protected from light and air. I use bay leaves a lot and so I buy enough to last a couple months at a time and they stay potent.

If any cook tells you bay leaves don’t do anything don’t eat their food.

They probably drooled in it.

i can taste them, sometimes they make a dish better and sometimes they give dishes a real canned soup taste for me. i always assumed it was some kind of artificial flavoring in canned soup but ive tasted the same taste in dishes i have made from scratch with bay leaves.

I never cared much for the standard American (California laurel??) bay leaf. I understand its place in subtle aromatics, just didn't like the harsh mentholness. About a decade ago I discovered Indian "bay" leaf...oh. my. Lord. It's so good! I put it in everything. It's not very closely related to the other kind, I guess, but works the same way, and tastes amazing.

Not supposed to be an ingredient, just a flavor. If they don’t change the flavor, probably just too old and stale, they need to get new ones.

I read somewhere that bayleaf also acts as a meat tenderizer.

Does anyone grow them? Of so any tips would be great. Will they be happy in a pot? Indoors/outdoors/climate etc

This comparison and blind tasting test made me appreciate bay leaves - and it also explained what dishes it works in and why.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dft8yud9YQQ

“Tea” honestly is a great descriptor for what bay leaves do to a dish

Old Bay seasoning is a spice mix that has a generous helping of ground bay leaves. It's layered in very generous portions between layers of crabs that are getting steamed. It's also commonly used for other seafood. Many people are as taken with it as the folks who get into Sriracha. They'll add it to casseroles, soups and stews.

I grew up with my mom commonly adding it to beef stews and her version of Hungarian goulash as 3-4 full leaves that then got fished out of the ready to serve dish. They add a sort of tea like flavor as well as some additional notes that remind me of other spices like oregano or basil but are not identical by any means.

If you've not tried using them, try making a weak tea from a couple of whole leaves and breathing in the steam while sampling the tea. I expect that fresh leaves (like basil and thyme) have a different and much stronger effect. As noted above, you don't need a huge amount of it when cooking a recipe for six people.

I didn't understand what bay leaves did until I accidentally used too many. I'd recommend throwing five or six of them in some broth and simmering. It will taste terrible, but it will help you spot and understand the flavor when used appropriately in other dishes

I like adding 1 or 2 bay leaves to white rice in my instant pot. It provides the same difference as adding ginger. A nice subtle taste

Using fresh bay leaves makes it easier to understand what they bring to the party. The dried ones, especially if they are super old don’t have much flavor left in them which is why I always adjust the amount I use.

I definitely taste it. To me, it gives a nice earthy rich flavor. I definitely taste when I add too many leaves too. Awful.

I always put them in the water when I boil potatoes.

It's a very subtle flavor. To me, they kind of . . . even out the flavor of whatever they're in - casseroles, soups, stews, etc.

I add them to stews and to rice sometimes. They are subtle, but do add a certain flavor. I’ve never smelled or tasted them fresh, which I think would help me better gauge their use and quantity of use.

Big fan of bay leaves. I Never cook chicken and dumplings without 1 or 2. Also great umami in chicken soup.

Bay Leaves are great. My abuelo makes cachelos which are just boiled potatoes with coarse salt and olive oil. But they're nothing unless they're boiled with bay leaves.

When people say they don't do anything, or contribute nothing to a dish, I wonder if they are using bay leaves they got from the store in the Reagan era and have just been sitting in the back of their cupboard since. Using herbs that are as fresh as you can get make a difference, imo.

Personally, I don't know that bay leaf has a distinctive flavor, but I definitely notice when it's not there. My beef and barley soup does not taste the same if I skip the bay leaf.

Old, dried bay leaves that haven't been fresh in about a century vs fresh or at least good quality, not old, dried ones seems to be the major sticking point according to the comments whenever this comes up. I rarely make things that they would go in, so I don't have enough knowledge to say if it's true for myself though.

They do give a distinct flavor but can be over powering very easily. I have a coworker who often brings jambalaya or gumbo and he puts so many in it makes them unpalatable.

Not everyone has the same capacity to taste. If the cook is not a “super taster”, ignore their comments.

I love bay leaves. When I use them, I can definitely tell the difference.

Well, i steeped fresh from the tree, bay laurel leaves. 4 in a quart. Bring to a boil add leave and steep. After four minutes, i pulled the leaves and let cool.

I tasted nothing. Warm water. Perhaps its a genetic thing.

They’re an aromatic. It’s less about the flavor they impart, and more about the smell – they make food smell more appetizing.

ETA: and smell influences taste

I've only ever seen bay leaves in a 10 year old jar. Which is why I suppose they wouldn't make a difference. I've never even seen them in bags like in the video.

lol the lone bay leaf I always see

Dry bay leaves are blah but fresh ones are incredible. Or, fresh Bay leaves that you dried yourself rather than bought dry in a bottle. Simmering them in a pan ... idk how else to describe it other than to say it smells like "food". They're absurd

I'm just here for the 12345678901234567890th annual Bay Leaf favor fight.

Absolutely they make a difference. It’s subtle but it’s there

Can’t make chicken cacciatore without it. Absolutely need them.

I don't use them because I don't like the flavor they add.

After I was gifted a crock pot, I used it to make a beef stew that was so good my husband asked me to teach him the recipe. A few weeks later, he made it for dinner while I was out for the day. However, he reasoned that if it tasted so good using a single bay leaf, then 10-12 bay leaves would make it even better. The stew tasted like bitter medicine and had to be thrown out. I think of this every time I hear someone complain that bay leaves have no flavor.

When we visited Grenada, on several occasions, we had chocolate mixed with bay leaves, and often our cocoa tea had bay in it too. Could I describe just what I was tasting? No, but it was apparent when it wasn't present.

I have a tree, so I use handfuls. You definitely taste the Bay leaves in my cooking.

I've been making spaghetti sauce since I was maybe 4 years old (I hung out with the Italian side of the family a lot) and the base recipe has always been the same for all this time and I can usually tell if I am out of bay leaves or if I'm making it somewhere like my parent's place where their bay leaves are ancient.

If it was a new dish I've never made or tasted before? I probably wouldn't notice it's lack, but I've never even considered just not adding them before. Is it a cilantro kind of thing?

Most recipes call for a single bay leaf, but most dishes benefit from more than one.

The only dish I have ever heard of being criticized for sometimes having too many bay leaves is Spoiler.

I also can't exactly what they do to a dish, but I know they make everything they simmer in better.

I don't personally use them in anything because you have to get them out and I don't fuck with that. I do think they work however. You can make good food without them.

My mom used bay leaves in her soups and she was the best natural cook I've ever known, so I've always considered them necessary for anything soup, stew, braise, etc. It's like the nutmeg in bechamel.

I’ve roasted a pork loin with a paste made from garlic and bay leaves. It was amazing.

I was one of those people until I had real bay leaves. The crap in the supermarket doesn't cut it.

I buy bayleaves now from a small farm in Italy and they are superb. Massive flavor. I open the jar and it smells up the room.

I think some people just can't taste bay leaves. For example, to me they taste yummy, but to my husband, they taste like nothing. He can't taste them at all, in the same dish.

I love bay leaves, although I don’t use them in everything. They add a little menthol note that gives dishes better depth of flavor. It’s subtle, but you definitely notice when it’s not there.

stews, pot roast-beef-pork-or moose. Wouldn't eat them without, flavor added is amazing.

I can’t taste any difference they make

I use them in almost everything I cook. I live in south Louisiana, so I cook a lot of cajun and creole food. People here use them a lot.

I love this thread! But it should be ‘in praise of bay leaves’ as the title. I love them in quinoa!

I want a bay leaf tree because I'm tired of running out of bay leaves

I put Bay leaves in my BBQ sauce that I make, it certainly adds flavor to it.

People have old bay leaves in their cupboards. Ones that have been bought within the last year definitely have a taste and smell. Anyone who's ever accidentally pureed one into their soup knows this...

I have a thirty foot bay laurel tree in my yard. In my opinion they taste best fresh.❤️

Bay leaves have such a strong flavor how the hell is it not noticeable.

I didnt really appreciate the taste of bay leaves until I threw some into the rice cooker with some lemon zest.

I use bay leaves more for the smell than anything. There's something about the smell of a pot of beans with a couple bay leaves in that's a lot more appealing than if there's no bay leaves at all.

I was told to put a bay leaf in a glass of warm water for ~20 minutes while it cools and then to tell if I could taste it or not. And you most definitely can!

I generally don't use them but they for sure do something depending on what you are cooking. Very good in Indian food, brown stews and desserts.

I used to think bay leaves were bullshit until I actually started using them. I am a believer now. That said, a lot of people simply can't detect nuances in taste.

I don't use bay leaves because I don't like the flavor they bring to the table🤷‍♀️

??? Who says this? People that have only used nasty ancient flavorless garbage bay leaves.

I notice the difference a lot more in some recipes versus others. I have a wet brine for turkey legs that uses bay leaves, and leaving them out would really lessen the quality of the dish. In other recipes that have a zillion other flavors and spices, it's hard for me to notice - I've omitted it before simply because I was out, and things still tasted fine. Others might, though; I'm not the best at those subtleties.

I have my own bay tree now, so I include them if the recipe says to.

I feel like they are the glue for some dishes. The acid, salt, umami, oils, etc, are made into something cohesive when it's cooked with a bay leaf.