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Started By
Message
re: A Question About Bay Leaves
Posted on 8/14/23 at 9:34 am to MorbidTheClown
Posted on 8/14/23 at 9:34 am to MorbidTheClown
Safe, but tastes like crap and is hard to eat. Very reassuring. 
0
Posted on 8/14/23 at 9:42 am to tewino
quote:
Do you cook with fresh bay leaves or do you dry them first.
I will generally pick about 50 or so leaves and set them on the table on a towel to dry out a couple days before I put them in a jar to put in the spice area of my kitchen cabinets.
I have used them fresh off the tree and can definitely smell the bay leaves on my hands after picking them.
When I boil crawfish or crabs in my big boil pot, I'll pull 20 or more leaves fresh off the plant and toss them in the water.
I really don't know how much flavor they impart on what I cook. They are definitely not as powerful as something like rosemary, basil or sage where using too much of either one can change the flavor of a meal.
Maybe it's just more of a tradition than an actual big time flavor enhancer.
Posted on 8/14/23 at 9:56 am to Darla Hood
quote:
All I know is that I was shocked by how much I disliked the flavor imparted using fresh bay leaves vs dried. Yuck.
Same here. I had a small tree until a freeze took it out. I didn't care for the flavor, so I chose not to replace it.
Posted on 8/14/23 at 10:43 am to Gris Gris
You girls are weird...I drop a bay leaf or two in a bunch of dishes, soups, stews, etc.! 
Posted on 8/14/23 at 10:51 am to OTIS2
quote:
You girls are weird...I drop a bay leaf or two in a bunch of dishes, soups, stews, etc.!
We use the dried. We don't like the taste of the fresh. I use dried all the time, but I do not use them in gumbo!!!
Posted on 8/14/23 at 11:23 am to tewino
quote:
Do you cook with fresh bay leaves or do you dry them first.
Drying them concentrates the flavor. I keep my tree shrub sized. Each September (most of the leaves are mature-more flavorful) I cut whole limbs to harvest as well as prune the tree. I keep the leaves on the branches and put them in the kitchen in the corner to dry. Makes kitchen smell good too. Dry leaves until they crack when pinched (about 2 weeks). Pull leaves off branches and store in glass jars (they keep a long time if stored in glass. Also if you dry them inside they stay green. I used to dry them outside and they all turned brown.
This post was edited on 8/14/23 at 11:50 am
Posted on 8/14/23 at 12:34 pm to OTIS2
quote:I’m not denying that (but I’ll speak for myself)!
You girls are weird.
Maybe when I used the fresh leaves I overdid it, thinking they would be as tasteless as the dried. They are not.
Posted on 8/14/23 at 1:35 pm to Darla Hood
I only cook with fresh leaves off my tree. They may be stronger than dry...I truly don't know as it's been a long time since I used store bought leaves. Posted on 8/14/23 at 2:42 pm to OTIS2
[quote] I only cook with fresh leaves off my tree. They may be stronger than dry...I truly don't know as it's been a long time since I used store bought leaves.
[/quote
The fresh from my tree had a different flavor and maybe they were stronger. Maybe I was just so used to the flavor of the dry that I didn't like the difference.
[/quote
The fresh from my tree had a different flavor and maybe they were stronger. Maybe I was just so used to the flavor of the dry that I didn't like the difference.
Posted on 8/14/23 at 3:21 pm to Gris Gris
quote:
Gris Gris
fresh or dried, do you consider them safe to eat?
Posted on 8/14/23 at 4:36 pm to MorbidTheClown
quote:
fresh or dried, do you consider them safe to eat?
I don't know why anyone would want to chew on a bay leaf. I would be concerned some pieces could get stuck in my throat.
Posted on 8/14/23 at 4:44 pm to MorbidTheClown
quote:This really should not be a thing. One isn't supposed to ingest the leaves-they are in the recipe for flavor(debatable) and to add richness to other flavors. When their job is done, they exit.
Ground up bay leaves were safe
Posted on 8/14/23 at 8:53 pm to MorbidTheClown
I’m sure I’ll be downvoted, but to be honest, half the time a recipe calls for bay leaves I skip it.
I can’t tell a significant difference with or without it. Call me crazy!!
I can’t tell a significant difference with or without it. Call me crazy!!
Posted on 8/14/23 at 10:02 pm to CrawfishElvis
I love the flavor bay imparts in many dishes. You may be missing out.
Posted on 8/14/23 at 10:10 pm to MorbidTheClown
... 2 things I try never to eat ...
Fish bones
Bay leaves
Posted on 8/14/23 at 11:59 pm to bayou2
quote:Same here. There is nothing about the taste of a bay leaf that I like.
2 things I try never to eat ...
Fish bones
Bay leaves
Posted on 8/15/23 at 6:56 am to Quatrepot
quote:
There is nothing about the taste of a bay leaf that I like.
i'll say this. safe or not, biting into a sandwich and subsequently chewing on a bay leaf was not a fun experience. at first i thought it was a toothpick.
I will never go back to Our Mom's after that.
Posted on 8/15/23 at 7:03 am to MorbidTheClown
quote:
i'll say this. safe or not, biting into a sandwich and subsequently chewing on a bay leaf was not a fun experience. at first i thought it was a toothpick.
I imagine so!
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