Bay Leaf

Common Name

Bay leaves are the dried aromatic leaves of the laurel. Like many spices, the bay leaf has a history rich in folklore and mythology.

Mentioned in the Bible and Homer's Odyssey, the bay leaf is most commonly known outside of cooking for its presence in wreaths presented to triumphant Olympic athletes. However, its history extends back into mythology when Daphne, a nymph was turned into a laurel tree to preserve her virginity after Apollo persistently pursued her. The Greeks still refer to the laurus nobilis as Daphne.

The bay leaf represented glory to the ancient Romans and was seen throughout history as protection against evil, lightning and thunder, and the plague. After battle, Romans would clean the blood off their swords with bay leaves and in Elizabethan times, it was believed that the death of a laurel tree meant disaster was soon to follow.

Fresh bay leaves are bright green and shiny, but when dried become dull and a paler shade of green. Hand picked, the leaves are stacked in small piles and dried in darkness to prevent them from losing their flavor to the sun. Fresh leaves are extremely bitter, however once dried, leaves have a woody, slightly minty taste. The laurus nobilis can grow up to 18 meters and produces small white flowers in the springtime.

Bay leaves are very common in European, Mediterranean and North American cuisine, yet are rarely used in Asian cooking because their delicate flavor would likely be lost among those of stronger spices.   Two exceptions are the Indian and Indonesian  bay leaves.  Indian bay leaves, known as Tej Patta, are the cinnamon-flavoured evergreen leaves of the cassia tree and are not botanically related to the common bay leaf. Indian bay leaves are used primarily in Bengali cuisine.  Indonesian bay leaves, known as Salam, are very mild and used whole primarily in curries and sauces.  Common bay, Indian bay and Indonesian bay have different flavour profiles and are therefore not interchangeable in recipes.

Purported Medicinal Qualities*

The bay leaf has a rich and varied medicinal folklore. Once thought to trigger miscarriage, the bay leaf has been used as a cure for everything from an insecticide to a solution for dandruff, and just about anything and everything in between.

Historically, bay leaves have been used to:

• Lower blood sugar levels
• Provide relief from headaches
• As an anti-bacterial
• As an anti-oxidant
• Soothes sore muscles
• Reduce inflammation
• As an anti-septic
• Stimulate appetite
• Aid digestion

*Always check with your healthcare provider before consuming, inhaling or otherwise ingesting any non-prescription or prescription natural or homeopathic substance or pharmaceutical. ChefatHand.com is not recommending, suggesting, inferring or otherwise endorsing the use of any herb or spice as a medication.

Culinary/Suggested Use

Bay leaves are extremely common in European and North American cooking. Staples in soups, sauces, stews and marinades, bay leaves are generally added dry and whole to dishes. Most often the whole leaves are removed before cooking, however ground or crushed leaves may be mixed into dishes. Only green leaves should be used, as brown leaves have no flavor. Food for thought:

• Add ground bay leaves to chili, stews and any tomato based sauce
• Add whole leaves to marinades and skewers, but remove before consuming
• Use caution when adding fresh leaves to dishes, as they have a more bitter taste than dry leaves
• Ground or crushed leaves have a stronger taste than whole leaves, so use accordingly

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