Our family’s “Zoop” would not be as fun if the kids weren’t searching for the leaf in their bowls.
(Actually it adds something to the pot. It’s not the same soup, or “Zoop” as we call it, without the bay leaf)
I’ve grown them much larger. The kind in the little jars has to fit in the little jars.
Even better than Penzey’s is the display of Mexican spices in the glassine bags. Much cheaper and just as good. half an ounce ir $1.99 at my local store.
I haven’t noticed that, but I have occasionally seen Indian recipes targeted at non-Indian audiences that call for bay leaf. I’ve always wondered, “do they really mean bay, or they think that’s what foreigners call curry leaf?” I have no idea.
The fresh, just-off-the-plant ones start losing their flavor after only a few weeks, regardless of how they’re packed. PM me if you’d like some.
When I make my famous turkey carcass soup, at start when I am simmering the turkey carcass, I add a couple of bay leaves, but nothing else but salt.
I can tell the difference then.
I looked it up- according to what info I could find, Indian groceries sell both bay leaves and curry leaves. Curry leaves are typically sold fresh in the produce section, not with the spices. What I bought were labeled bay leaves and were dry, sold in the spice aisle, so I’m pretty sure what I bought were bay leaves.
Now, apparently there are different types of bay leaves, including the Indian bay leaf, which has a subtler flavor than, say, the California bay leaf. But the type of bay leaf we typically cook with here in the states is the Turkish bay leaf, which is also subtly flavored but a somewhat different flavor profile from the Indian bay leaf.
So, hope I’ve kept our ignorance on the subject of these leaves at bay 
::obligatory groan::
That’s interesting - the article talks about “Indonesian bay” which I had never heard of, but I am familiar with several leaves used in Indonesian cooking by their Indonesian names. Turns out that “daun salam,” a pretty common Indonesian flavoring, is the same as what the article you linked calls “Indonesian bay.”
TIL!
They don’t add nearly as much flavor to tomato sauce as the half-bottle of red wine I like to add.
I’ve seen the display of Mexican spices in the plastic bags, and Googling, one brand is El Guapo, a subsidiary of McCormick.
If you are anywhere near Northern California, you might have a good, free source of bay leaves close by.
When I was stationed in Oakland many moons ago, I could go to Muir Woods (and probably any other coastal redwood forest) where Bay Laurel trees would grow in the valley. The trunks aren’t strong, and in damp environments they would often lean over, then when they touched the ground, new trees would grow. So the leaves weren’t hard to find, and would naturally fall to the ground when brown.
We found that green – or even crisp brown – leaves were strongly aromatic. I put a small handful of them in a glove box in my car, and months later could still smell the aroma.
These leaves had a stronger odor than some sold in grocery stores. And the price was right.
I ordered something from Penzey’s a couple months ago, and my freebie was a 0.3-oz packet of ground rosemary.
Links posted in this thread talk about the various forms of bay and note that the California bay is extremely strong.
Kenji Lopez-Alt, who is interview about bay leaves in the Splendid Table link I posted, says he prefers dried, presumably Turkish, to the California leaves. But various sources note, it’s a matter of taste - some people prefer the stronger eucalyptus-like California bay, others like the more nuanced Turkish.
I don’t know if I’ve ever had California bay. The fresh bay leaves I grow are apparently Turkish (according to what Google says about the shape). For sure they are not overpowering; nor are the Penzeys ones, which are labeled Turkish.
A close friend of mine lives near Guerneville, and there is a dandy grand bay tree there on the banks of the Russian River. I always harvest whips (for lack of a better term) when I visit her. The car smells like bay for months after, but I always have enough bay leaves for cooking! They keep well enough dried for my purposes. I find the flavor very strong and don’t want much.
The most important thing is that when you are later eating the dish and come across the bay leaf you say dramatically with fear in your voice:
”It’s the bailiff!”
It’s probably funnier if you grew up in poverty fearing creditors. Which I didn’t.
Yeah! How else do you determine who gets to kiss the cook?
(Doesn’t everybody have that rule? If not, for clarity, it’s the person who gets the bay leaf.)