Take it or leave it

You’re perusing the ingredient list of a recipe when you notice it calls for bay leaves. You obligingly fish a few dried and crumbling leaves out of the packet and plop them in the pot, hoping you remember to remove them before serving. But have you ever wondered if they were essential to the dish? Bay leaves are supposed to add an herbal flavor sometimes described as “earthy” or even “tea-like.” Some cooks, however, feel that bay leaves don’t have much offer to recipes and fewer new recipes employ bay leaves, says Bonnie Benwick of The Washington Post.

Food writer Kim O’Donnel subscribes to the latter camp, noting that she doesn’t think bay leaves add anything to her dishes. “I didn’t notice any difference not having them in my food. I’d rather go with fresh thyme or oregano” for infusing, O’Donnel says. Advocates for bay leaves include Serious Eats culinary director J. Kenji López-Alt. He appreciates bay leaves for their numerous flavor compounds and “complex, tea-like aromas” that develop after long periods of cooking.

We should note that there are a couple types of bay leaves. Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), hailing from the the Mediterranean, are the bay leaves most cooks have and most recipes require. Like oregano, bay laurel is an herb that improves with drying so you will usually find it dried. California bay leaves (Umbelluaria californica) are more strongly flavored and are typically sold fresh. The two aren’t interchangeable, and if your recipe doesn’t state which type to use, it probably means you should use Laurus nobilis.

One reason people might not find that bay leaves contribute much to a dish is because they h ave languished in the cupboard and much of their flavor has dissipated. As with any herb, buying a quality product and replacing it frequently will lead to better results. Since bay leaves are not expensive, it just becomes a matter of remembering to buy them.

On which side of the debate do you fall? Do you think bay leaves are essential to recipes or do you feel they can be omitted without a second thought? It’s safe to say that writers of these recipes think bay leaves have plenty to contribute: