What do Bay leaves do?

[cn@]

I've cooked with them and without them and I can't taste one bit of a difference.

 

[The Voice]

I've cooked with them and without them and I can't taste one bit of a difference.

Trust me, you take a mouthful of food with a piece of leaf in you didn't take out, and you'll know the exact difference it makes to a meal.

 

[Quad Pipe]

I've cooked with them and without them and I can't taste one bit of a difference.

Big difference between using dried vs fresh, trust me. I have a bay leaf bush at home.

 

[akescpt]

wife insists on them...

 

[cerebus]

They do make quite a difference, especially in a stew. They have an indistinct quality that adds background character. Just trust the recipes.

Big difference between using dried vs fresh, trust me. I have a bay leaf bush at home.

Lucky bugger. I was thinking of growing one but I was told they're difficult to get going.

 

[Quad Pipe]

They do make quite a difference, especially in a stew. They have an indistinct quality that adds background character. Just trust the recipes.



Lucky bugger. I was thinking of growing one but I was told they're difficult to get going.

kak stories.

They are as hardy as anything and require little to no maintenance, however, they don't like being root bound (i.e. better not to plant in a pot - mine's in a pot and it will remain a small bush until I replant in the garden).

 

[SauRoNZA]

If you can't taste the difference then it probably doesn't matter to you in the first place so don't bother.

Keep on klapping McDonalds and Spur.

 

[3WA]

Eat a couple bay leaves then look for that same flavour (more subtly) in one of the dishes that has them.

 

[grok]

Had the same question while making hummus this weekend, recipe calls for adding bay leaves when soaking the chikpeas. I did, but for the life of me can't figure out why..

 

[ShaunSA]

wife insists on them...

As do I

I've cooked with them and without them and I can't taste one bit of a difference.

SO says the same thing. Heathen's.

 

[SlinkyMike]

You can buy fresh bay leaves at Atlas trading in the Bo Kaap, FYI.

 

[Quad Pipe]

As an example, you can definitely taste the difference between a proper trinchado made with bay leaves vs that made without.

 

[cerebus]

This article says it well

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/mar/16/foodanddrink.shopping

Bay leaves have always intrigued me. Their work is secret and difficult to define. Their effect on your supper is less obvious than that of rosemary or thyme. Bay is the most discreet of the woody herbs, often overlooked by the inexperienced cook, who probably wonders what exactly is the point of throwing laurel leaves into your stew only to oik them out again later.

The tree, more of a twig in those days, was the first herb I planted when I laid out this little kitchen garden. It is often the first herb I add to the pot, too; an invisible backbone to the other more obvious herbal additions.

If you want to cook something where you can definitely taste the difference they provide, I'd suggest making a bechamel sauce but first simmering the milk in a mix of bay leaves, peppercorns, half an onion and garlic. Then strain out the flavours before it goes to full boil and throw them away. The sauce will have a complexity of infused flavour and the bay leaf will come through nicely.

 

[saor]

Strangely certain I saw this thread before on here a few months ago.

 

[Pineapple Smurf]

Cannot imagine making a babotie without them

 

[carstensdj]

Just here for the interesting tricks and ideas...
As you were... /sits back in corner