Bay leaves – essential or superfluous?

November 13, 2024 by
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Bay leaves, like cilantro and pineapple on pizza, can be a divisive topic among cooks. If you ask 10 people whether they are necessary to a dish or are a waste of time and money, you’ll probably end up with a fairly even split between aficionados and haters. The Boston Globe’s Beth Teitell decided to put bay leaves to the test, making a dish with and without to serve to friends who would decide whether the ingredient added positively to the dish. NPR’s Ayesha Roscoe spoke with Teitell about the results of this (admittedly unscientific) experiment.

A twig with fresh bay leaves sits next to an Erlenmeyer flask with a dark liquid, presumably bay leaf oil
Roasted bay leaf oil from Cuisine Magazine

Teitell was a bay leaf skeptic going into this experiment, but after talking to others about whether or not they added anything to a dish she made a few observations. First, most of the naysayers were people who didn’t cook much and second, as such they were probably using old bay leaves that didn’t pack much of a punch. In her experiment, she was surprised that the majority of tasters preferred the dish with bay leaves in it. Still, she isn’t convinced that the herb is absolutely necessary, making a joke about a Redditor who said that bay leaves “are like Santa. You have to believe.”

Almost all of the soup recipes that my German grandmother wrote down for me when I was a young cook called for bay leaves, and I think that they do add a layer of flavor to the dish, so I guess that makes me pro-bay leaf. Bay leaves are widely used in French, German and Eastern European dishes, but are also important in Indian and Mediterranean cooking as well. The EYB Library’s 26,000+ online recipes that call for bay leaves indicate how important the herb is in many cuisines. Different varieties of the leaf are used regionally, with the most common being bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), common in European and Mediterranean cooking. What’s your take on this herb?

Category: Antipasto

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12 Comments

  • tgirlza  on  November 14, 2024

    A fresh bay leaf is certainly a different beast to dried – and imparts a lovely, and definitely discernible!, flavour. Great on skewers wrapped around strong, oily fish; unmissable in a pork dry rub; and if you love amaro – Allorino is delicious proof of how assertive and delicious bay leaves can be.

  • Jillyb3  on  November 14, 2024

    I like the taste of bay leaves and use them all the time!

  • demomcook  on  November 14, 2024

    Another fan of bay leaves. Especially in a low and slow cooked recipe. They need a little time to add their essence.

  • lascatx  on  November 14, 2024

    I bought a small plant — 3 inch herb pot with a single stem and a few leaves thinking I couldn’t lose — the plant cost less than a few leaves at the grocery store. I wasn’t sure they made a difference, my mom told me I should use them because they added “something,” but it wasn’t a total loss if I ran out. I really believe the ones from my garden are better. At this point, they cost nothing, and I agree with my mom — they add “something.” I think of the something as a light, fresh, citrusy herbal note in the background that would rarely be noticed on its own – though I am intrigued by tgirlza’s suggestions.

  • GillB  on  November 14, 2024

    Love them fresh in cooking from my prolific tree. Use the surplus in wreaths with orange slices, cinnamon sticks and they smell wonderful in the kitchen. I leave branches in the pantry to deter moths (unscientific) but smell bonus as well.

  • FJT  on  November 14, 2024

    Wouldn’t be without bay leaves. I have my own tree growing in a pot outside my kitchen door so I can grab some leaves easily even when the weather is bad. I’ve bookmarked a lemon and bay leaf ice cream that I really must get round to making soon, but normally use them in savoury dishes.

  • FuzzyChef  on  November 15, 2024

    I could launch a defense of bay leaves, but Boris said it so much better than I: YouTube link

  • MattKG  on  November 15, 2024

    I remember reading an article in a magazine that featured Dave MacMillan, formerly of Joe Beef in Montreal. I think it was a recipe for a stew that used black tea leaves. I just remember in the little blurb he mentioned that they serve the same purpose as bay leaves would, as both are high in tannins, which tend to cut through richer flavours, thereby boosting background flavours. I didn’t cook the recipe,but it makes sense.

  • breakthroughc  on  November 15, 2024

    I am in the pro bay leaf camp. I buy mine at the Asian or Indian grocery store, they are a fraction of the price as the supermarkets.

  • janecooksamiracle  on  November 17, 2024

    The sorted food YouTube channel did a test
    https://youtu.be/Dft8yud9YQQ?si=__W5nFeUbG3V484q

  • sephina  on  December 2, 2024

    I asked myself the same question a few years ago because my mother always insisted on adding bay leaves. I put a leaf into a boiling water and steeped it like tea to get a sense of its profile. The scent alone convinced me that it’s an important layer in many dishes, even if it’s only noticed in its absence.

  • ania.s  on  December 7, 2024

    Love bay in sweet dishes too. I add them to rice pudding and they’re also found in old fashioned custard recipes.

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