Beef stew without the bay leaves
Is like influenza without the dry heaves.
— Old Finnish Saying
Personally, I think they have a sort of buttery flavor. Not like greasy, but like the difference between butter and vegetable oil.
Yes! Sorry about forgetting. Checked my PMs and it looks like it was all the way back in 2014. Suffice to say, all of the bay leaves got used!
Bergamot is a pretty good description, too.
It seems to me that the cheap bay leaves I buy at the grocery store have lost a lot of flavor by the time they get into my stew, given the description of several posters here. I know the flavors of many, many spices and herbs, and bay is still one I haven’t quite pinpointed. I mean, minus the fresh bay leaves, which did have a reasonably strong and distinct flavor, but it’s been a few years so I’ve lost the ability to pinpoint it.
I wonder if this is like cilantro in reverse. I’m one of the people who find cilantro soapy and I can definitely taste the bay leaf in my spaghetti sauce.
See, I find cilantro soapy, too, but I’ve long gotten used to it and enjoy it. Don’t notice the bay – but the flavors are probably unrelated. I probably just use old bay leaves (not to be confused with Old Bay seasoning) and am unaware of what the exact flavor of bay is. (I mean, I kinda know, that slightly eucalyptusy thing, but it’s just not particularly noticeable to me.) That said, I use it very rarely in my cooking, and I don’t notice anything missing, and when I do use it, I don’t notice anything added. So perhaps there is something else going on, but I suspect it more of me just not being that tuned into the flavor of bay, as opposed to fennel, marjoram, basil, parsley, cumin, caraway, thyme, rosemary, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc., all of which I can detect in pretty small quantities.
Look, just grab a mug from the cupboard and fill it with water. Drop a bay leaf in there and microwave for three minutes. If the water has no added flavor then it’s time to toss the jar and buy new ones. I suggest these: Bay Leaf Whole | Penzeys
Thank you. I wish I had thought of that.
Ah, coriander (as we call cilantro in these parts), how I adore thee. Made a big thing of pico de gallo to go with pork tacos last night, ate a few handfuls of the coriander as I was doing so: definitely not soapy to me! I’m a bay-tasting coriander lover.
You gotta buy 'em fresh. Still green and attached to a branch, although loose leaves could be fine, too, as long as they’re green and pliable. After a month or so in a jar, they’ll darken and dry out, but they’ll still be fragrant and will not crumble easily. I use a small jar, like the kind in which mayonnaise might be sold, with its lid. After that month or so, I’d transfer them to a jar with an airtight seal, but I end up buying more every six months or so. In less than a year, I’d think, they’ll have lost most of their flavor and aroma.
I’ve seen many recipes that recommend washing bay leaves before using them for cooking. One reason might be that waste water is sometimes sprayed on the leaves while they’re still on the tree.
I taste cilantro, do not find it soapy in the least (lemon grass tastes slightly soapy to me, though), to me cilantro tastes like life itself. I also taste bay leaf. It is essential for chicken soups, and for vegetable and bean soups.
It does lose flavor fast, though, and the bay leaf most people have in their spice cabinets is too old, and is probably why people don’t taste it.
That’s a pretty good way to describe it. Mellow & subtle till there’s too much. Then, ‘who put cough drops in the sauce?’
I received a lovely bay leaf wreath from some friends of mine at Christmas about 6 years ago. In addition to its lush, gorgeous appearance, it smelled amazing for months. It’s still hanging on the wall and still looks interesting. However, even after all that time, the flavor of these California bay leaves remains potent. I’ll sometimes use only half a leaf for smaller pots of stew.
Bay leaf is often used in Mexican cuisine. Mexican bay or laurel is supposedly milder than the California or Mediterranean varieties and some recipies call for 8 or 10 leaves. That much bay from my wreath would render the dish all but inedible.
I love bay leaf. And fresh, it has a strong, rich, interesting flavor reminiscent of eucalyptus. But yeah, they go stale.
I need new bay leaves. I’ve been thinking that for a couple of months, many this thread will prompt me to do it.
(Not in gravy, though. Chicken gravy is supposed to taste like essence of chicken, not like spices.)
the (Turkish) bay leaves I have in the cupboard I got from Penzey’s. They’re a little old but still fragrant, but I wouldn’t call them strong.
the bay leaves I find in the supermarket might as well be pieces of construction paper.
I often leave them out of stews, and I can’t tell the difference. Funny thing is, if I open the jar, the smell is quite strong and very distinctive. They just don’t seem to impart anything to the stew, though. Like others, if I put them in, it’s more “ritual” than anything else. An expensive ritual, I must admit, so it might be wise to just give it up. 
Maybe it was old and flavourless, or maybe there’s a difference between simmering something for minutes in hot sauce or soup and sucking on it for a few seconds.
Try pouring hot water onto one and let it steep for a while before your next taste test.
Try a recipe that uses bay leaves in a way other than simmering in a stew or sauce. I’ve seen some curries that call for frying one or two in the oil with other spices, and this Spanish shrimp dish is a frequent one in our house. (Also, buy them from a place that sells Greek or other Mediterranean-packaged spices, not a regular supermarket with standard national brands. Makes a world of difference.)
My favourite use for bay leaves is to put them in plain white rice. Two or three leaves with half a lemon just when the water comes to boil. Cover and turn to the lowest setting until done. It elevates an otherwise plain pot of rice.
My parents had a bay tree in the garden so I have always used the fresh leaves.
If you want to find out how they taste with beef, without the dilution of a stew, you can crib from the Portuguese Espetada. Just slow cook a rib eye roast, either in the oven or a barbecue, and skewer it through the middle with a sharpened bay twig. Mind you I don’t know how hard they are to get if you can’t walk out to the garden and just break one off the tree.
Yah, there was a bay laurel tree near my childhood home, and the fresh leaves off that thing would make your eyes water.
To everyone who’s asked for some fresh bay leaves, be sure to come back here and post your impressions once they arrive.
Anybody else want some? Send me a pm with your address.