Bay leaf

[Teawaster]

What is the point of them? I have never ever said, after not having one to put in a dish that required one, 'Oh that dish really missed a bay leaf'.
Am I missing something?

I do this as well. Adore the smell of fresh bay leaves in stock, will happily add a handful when something says a leaf. One hint I'd give: they lose their aroma if you cook too long so it's worth adding them through the cooking process.

I have a monster 20' high bay which is going to have to come down this year so we can extend. I'm already growing seedlings to replace it!

Interesting discussion. I use bayleaves a lot, always dried, as we don't have a bay tree. I've heard Indian cooks saying they use them in all dishes involving meat.

However, I really just wanted to say that my husband (not a cook, not foodie in the slightest, and his mother was an abysmal cook) tells me that when he was at primary school (early to mid 1960s) he found a leaf in his school dinner and went up to the dinner lady to complain. I strongly suspect bayleaves are very rarely used in today's school dinners. He knows what they are now, btw.

Love them when cooking black beans.

I don't have a bay tree but I can get them from a neighbour. I wipe then freeze them, and just use from frozen. Like a pp, I use them in bolognaise sauce, but also chilli, white and bread sauces. I can't tell you exactly what they add, but I can tell you when they're missing. It's weird.