to think that bay leaves are utterly pointless?

[Gone2far]

I've even got a bay tree FFS, so that I can pick a bay leaf when the recipe I'm doing requires it. But, really, have they ANY taste? I've just done a risotto with thyme and a bay leaf. I can taste the thyme, but have no idea of what the bay leaf has added to the mix. Have I got rubbish taste buds, or are they a waste of time?

They add an amazing taste to a ragu and beef stew. I wouldn't be without my bay for the leaves in cooking.

Most stews etc are definitely improved with a bay leaf or two. Agree that you need the older, harder, darker green leaves. Theres a notable difference in flavour with or without them though. Making spaghetti and meatballs today for example WITHOUT bay leaf because I want a lighter fresher flavour. Wouldnt dream of making a bolognese without them though.

Assuming you are in the UK, I don't think the UK climate is particularly suited for growing fragrant bay leaves. Too wet and cold. Just buy the dried ones from the shop - they are always full of flavour and definitely change the flavour of the stock.

YABU! Our bay has been in the garden for over 50 years and it's my favourite tree in the garden. I use it a lot when I'm cooking, especially in a bechamel sauce or stew. Tastes a million times better with fresh bay.

need to be dried first to bring out the essential oils. Not in my experience, but maybe I've got a more strongly flavoured variety. Certainly pruning it is quite challenging - you get almost overwhelmed by the fumes.

OP try putting a bay leaf or two in a rice pudding instead of nutmeg.

I always end up with the bloody things in my dinner!!

We run an air bnb. We had three electricians staying for a week. Not only did they cook, but they bought (and left) bay leaves. I did find it odd but then I'm no cook

I infuse the milk with bay leaf, onion and garlic when I make macaroni cheese. Did it tonight. It makes a noticeable difference to the flavour. Hard to describe, but it’s good.

I didn’t really “get” bay leaves either though until I started having to cook crowd-pleasing type food for a houseful of people.

im the second person then.

there are some traditional bay leaves. But you need to get them from a Asian grocery the local stuff is all bubble gum smell with no effect.. keep hunting and good luck 😉

They are absolutely essential for use in casting many spells.😀

Bag leaves are absolutely essential to add flavour to poached fish and boiled gammon, in my opinion. I also add them to stews and casseroles.
In your case the problem could be:
a) You added too much thyme (which is disgusting and has a very strong flavour) which is why you could only taste thyme
b) You didn't add enough bay leaves
c) The leaves you added weren't bay leaves but something different
d) The leaves you added were too young. They need to have got to the stage where they almost crack in half instead of being soft
e) The leaves you added had been hanging around too long in an unsealed container and had lost all their aromatic oils

I have 7 bay trees, 6 in different parts of the hedge and one in a pot. The hedge plants have more flavour.

I only ever use them when cooking a biryani as the recipe my SIL gave contains them, but yep I don’t think there would be any change in the taste if I didn’t include it

@DilemmaDelilah Do you dry them. How would you store them? Thanks

I have away tree in a container and use the oldest leaves, dark and leathery. I double whatever the recipe asks for.

Why don't you steep a bay leaf in some boiling water for ten mins or so and then taste it. You should be able to taste exactly what a bay leaf brings to your recipes then? 🙂

@sunglassesonthetable I usually just pick them when I need them, but several years ago when I was moving house I cut a big branch and dried the leaves in my airing cupboard, then put them in several airtight containers once they were properly dry. However this is probably not the best way to do it! My new house didn't have any bay in the garden at the time and I object to buying things when I can get them for free.

Oh so is picking and using straight away the best, do you think? @DilemmaDelilah

@sunglassesonthetable I'm really no expert! I pick them as I need them usually because I am lazy and I don't see the point of having dried leaves in jars cluttering up my kitchen when I can just walk a few steps out of my back door and pick them when I need them. Other posters say they are better dried, but mine have LOADS of flavour when fresh. I'm not a fan of herbs generally, but I do grow mint, marjoram and chives. I would never use dried chives or mint when I have fresh. I don't use the marjoram in cooking, I grow it for the flowers and the bees. Otherwise I use dried mixed herbs and oregano mainly, plenty of those.
So - definitely not an expert.

Thank you! No 'expert' pressure intended 😀

I have a jam jar of them picked in the park near me. Just wondering if they pointless.

Once, I lived with a friend and we took it in turns to make dinner each night. One night, she made a stew which was full of sharp little shards that cut out mouths and got stuck in our throats. I was genuinely concerned there had been an accident with something inedible falling into the pot.

Turns out, the recipe called for a bayleaf and, never having heard of them before, she broke the dried leaf up into splinters and stirred it in. Honestly, kept coughing for days after.

I like them - but it's a completely different flavour to the sharpness of fresh Thyme, so that could have overwhelmed the taste. The drying process can intensify the flavour in some things, reduce it in others - and as the compounds are formed in response to harsh weather conditions, a Bay that's been rained on regularly isn't going to smell or taste of much compared to one that's been exposed to protracted periods of hot sun and limited water; Wild Marjoram on heathland smells amazing during a heatwave, but the heavily watered pots from the garden centre, not so much.

Many people have a tub of the things at the back of the cupboard next to the cooker from about 15 years ago when they decided to try and make bread sauce one Christmas, along with the jar with three Nutmegs, the one of the top barely scratched for a hot chocolate from the same year. They then taste like dust and people complain that they don't see the point of using them - there isn't when you're adding stale, flavourless things where the volatile compounds disappeared sometime around the London Olympics.

Fresh herbs and spices can be incredibly intense if you've only ever had a scrap from a dusty Schwartz jar - but that's what they are supposed to taste like; for example, coriander that has run to seed has a lovely, fruity, perfumed sweetness to it, it's nothing like the stuff in jars for the domestic market and it's not much like the ones you get in bags from Natco, Rajah or TRS, or opening a fresh packet of chilli flakes can result in the occasional slight flush if you add the same amount as you did the day before from the old bag.

They're supposed to be good for bunions. There is a tea you can make which you drink and they do something to the crystals that form bunions - apparently. I bought a couple of packs but never got around to trying it because it was a lot of faff and is probably witchcraft 😁.

Also a confusion between bunions - misaligned big toe joints - and Gout, which is crystal formation in the joint.

But mostly bollocks in either case, I suspect.