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Current Events > C/D - Bay Leaves for cooking are not at all useful

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Jeff_AKA_Snoopy
02/16/24 7:48:00 PM
#1:


Bay Leaves are totally unnecessary and I think there is no reason to even deal with them.

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Crimson_Corsair
02/16/24 7:49:17 PM
#2:


Nah, bay leaves are a great addition to any slow cook recipe like stews and pot roasts.

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ellis123
02/16/24 7:50:10 PM
#3:


It is always a fascinating thing hearing the debate about bay leaves on a conceptual level.

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mustachedmystic
02/16/24 7:52:05 PM
#4:


Crimson_Corsair posted...
Nah, bay leaves are a great addition to any slow cook recipe like stews and pot roasts.
Exactly, dey impart a lot of flavor, i am picturing dat flavor in my mind as I type dis.

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VampireCoyote
02/16/24 7:52:51 PM
#5:


Theyll shatter teeth dont forget to remove them they really arent edible

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Smackems
02/16/24 7:54:16 PM
#6:


The fuck is a bay leaf

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Jeff_AKA_Snoopy
02/16/24 7:54:22 PM
#7:


What is their flavor? Like I just had some homemade soup where I put in a bay leaf because it told me to. I couldn't tell you what that flavor is.

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ClayGuida
02/16/24 7:55:31 PM
#8:


I see so many recipes talking about using a single bay leaf in a giant pot.

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PowerOats
02/16/24 7:56:51 PM
#9:


Smackems posted...
The fuck is a bay leaf

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cjsdowg
02/16/24 7:57:35 PM
#10:


I honestly can't tell the difference.

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LeoRavus
02/16/24 8:02:34 PM
#11:


I don't trust any leaf that stays rock hard after simmering for 8 hours.

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vycebrand2
02/16/24 8:08:37 PM
#12:


Smackems posted...
The fuck is a bay leaf
Its a leaf from a bay laurel tree. Font of usless knowledge I am now, that I no longer need it.


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RetuenOfDevsman
02/16/24 8:09:03 PM
#13:


I can't tell the difference.
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viewmaster_pi
02/16/24 8:09:20 PM
#14:


use a bone instead

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Jeff_AKA_Snoopy
02/16/24 8:24:37 PM
#15:


cjsdowg posted...
I honestly can't tell the difference.


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theAteam
02/16/24 8:28:11 PM
#16:


I think they do contribute to dishes but I use them so seldom they just go bad on my shelf so I dont mess with them

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mustachedmystic
02/16/24 8:30:01 PM
#17:


Jeff_AKA_Snoopy posted...
What is their flavor?

Its an herbal flavor. I dont know how to be any more exact.

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LeoRavus
02/16/24 8:34:36 PM
#18:


theAteam posted...
I think they do contribute to dishes but I use them so seldom they just go bad on my shelf so I dont mess with them

They can go bad? I've had the same bag for years and they look exactly the same as new. They're like the McDonald's french fries of herbs

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ellis123
02/16/24 8:35:38 PM
#19:


LeoRavus posted...
They can go bad? I've had the same bag for years and they look exactly the same as new. They're like the McDonald's french fries of herbs
Aromatics don't go bad by their looks, they lose their smell.

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drclaeys
02/16/24 8:41:32 PM
#20:


Friends,

I just had two bay leaves in my soup bowl, YESTERDAY!!!!

its for homemade soup. Just adds a small bit of flavor.

I think they are overrated, because you have to PICK them
out.

But my wife uses them in soup all the time. every time I think.

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mustachedmystic
02/16/24 8:44:40 PM
#21:


ellis123 posted...
Aromatics don't go bad by their looks, they lose their smell.
Exactly, you wont get sick if you use dem, you just wont get any flavor.

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RetuenOfDevsman
02/16/24 8:50:03 PM
#22:


mustachedmystic posted...
Exactly, you wont get sick if you use dem, you just wont get any flavor.
Oh

Well that explains it

My mom's must have always been old.
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ellis123
02/16/24 8:56:20 PM
#23:


RetuenOfDevsman posted...
Oh

Well that explains it

My mom's must have always been old.
One way to go about it is to compare a dish with it and a dish without it. Even people that actively deny bay leaves can consistently find the one that had leaves added when cooking it.

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I4NRulez
02/16/24 9:02:21 PM
#24:


Ehhh, they are very savory and really pair well with other spices. I mean you can not use them and you probably wouldn't miss them especially if you're not cooking things over long periods of time.

Its really more of adding an extra "oomph" to recipes. I use them when i slow cook red sauces, soups, or stews in my slow cooker.

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Jeff_AKA_Snoopy
02/16/24 9:03:54 PM
#25:


I am apparently VERY much in the wrong here so far.

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thekosmicfool
02/16/24 9:04:01 PM
#26:


VampireCoyote posted...
Theyll shatter teeth dont forget to remove them they really arent edible

How do you shatter teeth on a paper thin, flexible sliver of plant matter? They are at worst a nuisance when you notice you have a leaf in your mouth and then you spit it out.

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WingsOfGood
02/16/24 9:05:08 PM
#27:


guy who cooks alone in his kitchen for himself vs. Gordon Ramsey
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Naysaspace
02/16/24 9:05:42 PM
#28:


deny. they are useful in a big pot. i assume. i cannot attest to this myself.

however, fuck getting the bay leaf in your bowl. I swear i get an inordinate amount of bay leaves in my soup/chili/etc.

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thronedfire2
02/16/24 9:06:08 PM
#29:


deny

they add flavor

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thronedfire2
02/16/24 9:06:38 PM
#30:


Smackems posted...
The fuck is a bay leaf

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ellis123
02/16/24 9:09:05 PM
#31:


Jeff_AKA_Snoopy posted...
I am apparently VERY much in the wrong here so far.
But not alone. Bay leaves not working/being useful is a super old "home cook versus professional" debate that is bizarrely popular/heated. Unsurprisingly the professional cooks, who espouse that bay leaves work, have the most evidence backing them up. What with it being their jobs and all.

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ProfessorKukui
02/16/24 9:12:26 PM
#32:


they taste amazing

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thronedfire2
02/16/24 9:16:21 PM
#33:


ellis123 posted...
But not alone. Bay leaves not working/being useful is a super old "home cook versus professional" debate that is bizarrely popular/heated. Unsurprisingly the professional cooks, who espouse that bay leaves work, have the most evidence backing them up. What with it being their jobs and all.

well there's not much point in using them in something small you can cook in 20-45 mins at home. they need time to release the flavor, like tea leaves

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ellis123
02/16/24 9:17:21 PM
#34:


thronedfire2 posted...
well there's not much point in using them in something small you can cook in 20-45 mins at home. they need time to release the flavor, like tea leaves
That is one of the explained reasons as to why the home cooks could be wrong, yes.

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mustachedmystic
02/16/24 9:21:59 PM
#35:


I had no idea da nature, and proper use of bay leaves was controversial. My mother used dem all da time.

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Jeff_AKA_Snoopy
02/16/24 11:48:41 PM
#36:


Bay Leaves

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BucketCat
02/16/24 11:49:14 PM
#37:


gotta think about the flavor profile

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BewmHedshot
02/17/24 12:01:50 AM
#38:


I have no idea what their flavor is but every dish I've ever seen one in was a banger.
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Octans
02/17/24 12:07:56 AM
#39:


The tannins in bay lleaves help to keep other vegetables crisp during fermentation. Not sure if they serve a similar purpose for soups but I imagine so because you really don't get much flavor from a single dried leaf. I recommend trying fresh bay leaf sometime if you want a sense of the flavor and aroma they can impart.

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ArsGoetia
02/17/24 12:12:04 AM
#40:


when i used to make crab cakes, the crab meat was bound with a bechamel. bechamel on its own is naturally pretty flavorless, and the only thing you could really taste about it was the bay leaf i put in it.
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LoveLikeJazz
02/17/24 12:59:57 AM
#41:


Well the way to test this is to just make two of the exact same recipe and include a few bay leaves in one but not the other. Blind taste test. Seems pretty simple to me. Personally I don't care enough to do this but if this is such a debate amongst chefs and such...

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Serious_Cat
02/17/24 1:11:43 AM
#42:


The best way to tell what flavor they add is to just suck on one.

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party_animal07
02/17/24 1:13:42 AM
#43:


cjsdowg posted...
I honestly can't tell the difference.
This. I've accidentally left out the bayleaf in a recipe and couldn't taste any difference.

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GGuirao13
02/17/24 2:54:37 AM
#44:


C, though I still use them because that's what I learned from my parents.

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Horith
02/17/24 3:48:29 AM
#45:


Bay leaves aren't going to impart a super strong flavor on their own, and they're never going to be the dominant taste in any dish they're used in. But they do add something, and are definitely better used in stews or slow-cooked recipes such as pork shoulder. But if you're using a lot of stronger herbs then they're going to overpower it so much that you're not even going to notice it's there.

A couple of things you can try though to give yourself a better idea of what a bay leaf on its own adds to a dish is to either brew with some hot (not boiling) water, or put one in the next time you make some rice.

But also, make sure you're using some actually decent bay leaves. The ones you get in the cheap tins in the herbal aisle at a grocery store? Nu-huh, those are usually so overdried and poorly sealed that any chance they had at adding anything is pretty much gone. At the very least get some of the higher quality ones at the store, or go to a dedicated spice story like Penzeys or Savory (heck, go to them for all your spices and herbs, it's well worth it).
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RetuenOfDevsman
02/17/24 10:58:13 AM
#46:


thekosmicfool posted...
How do you shatter teeth on a paper thin, flexible sliver of plant matter? They are at worst a nuisance when you notice you have a leaf in your mouth and then you spit it out.
How do you even fail to notice a four-inch leaf sticking out both sides of your spoon?
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RetuenOfDevsman
02/17/24 11:00:08 AM
#47:


ellis123 posted...
But not alone. Bay leaves not working/being useful is a super old "home cook versus professional" debate that is bizarrely popular/heated. Unsurprisingly the professional cooks, who espouse that bay leaves work, have the most evidence backing them up. What with it being their jobs and all.
But the whole Internet can cook better than Gordon Ramsay and restaurants only exist for convenience and people who are unspeakably terrible at cooking

You cannot argue this the entire internet knows it's true
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Robot2600
02/17/24 11:01:58 AM
#48:


things i use bay leaves for:

gumbo
spaghetti
red beans & rice

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thekosmicfool
02/17/24 6:41:42 PM
#49:


RetuenOfDevsman posted...
How do you even fail to notice a four-inch leaf sticking out both sides of your spoon?

That's a big-ass leaf; I've never gotten one that large in my food.

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Guide
02/17/24 6:44:59 PM
#50:


RetuenOfDevsman posted...
four-inch leaf

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