Bay Leaf

Bay leaf (plural bay leaves) refers to the aromatic leaves of several plants used in cooking.

THE FOOD LAB - Unraveling the mysteries of home cooking through science.

The most impressive health benefits of bay leaves include their ability to detoxify the body, slow the aging process, speed wound healing, protect the body from bacterial infections, manage diabetes, improve heart health, reduce inflammation, alleviate respiratory issues, optimize digestion, and prevent certain types of cancer.

Learn about bay leaf in the Kitchen Dictionary - Genius Kitchen: Talk with your mouth full

Bay leaves are the dryer sheets of the kitchen. I know that they do something, I’m just not entirely sure what it is, and I don’t really miss them when I run out. Yet I keep buying them, because this what humans that cook do. They buy bay leaves and put them in things.

Amazon.com : Bay Leaves, Whole, Dried Herb, 1 Oz : Bay Leaf Spices And Herbs : Grocery & Gourmet Food

Fnd out the amazing health benefits of bay leaf (bay laurel). Pleasantly aromatic bay laurel is one of the popular spices. The leafy spice widely recognized for its medicinal and culinary characteristics.

In the culinary arts, a bay leaf is a fragrant leaf that is used as an herb, especially in soups, stews and sauces. Learn more.

The bay leaf is misunderstood as a toxic leaf with no flavor; we're here to set the record straight about why it's always showing up in your recipes... and burritos.

Since the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans, bay leaves have been considered a valuable, medicinal herb.

Bay leaves seem to have a lot of skeptics out there. But we're here to tell you that, yes, they do have flavor, and yes, you should cook with them.

by Kelly Conaboy Maybe you’ve had this experience: You throw a bay leaf into a broth, and it doesn’t do anything. Then you throw the rest of the bay leaves you bought into the broth, too, because you ...

The leaf of the bay laurel, a native shrub of the lands surrounding the northern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean, has a mythic history. Ancient mythology recounts that Apollo pursued the uninterested nymph Daphne. Apollo stalked Daphne until the gods granted her protection by turning her into a bay tree. In the Greek language, the herb is still called "dafni." At the Temple of Delphi, which is dedicated to Apollo, the priestesses would eat bay leaves before divining the future. Because bay leaves are mildly narcotic, this may have helped induce the trance state. Even the roof of the temple was thatched bay leaves. This roofing not only served as a sunscreen, but protection from lightning, disease, and evil spirits. Romans considered the bay tree the best protection from thunderstorms. As recently as the beginnings of the American era, superstition held that when bay trees died, disaster followed. The greatest commercial production of bay leaf today is in Turkey. Bay laurels do not withstand heavy frost but require hot, dry summers for production of concentrated essential oils. In the US, the plant is best suited to interior southern California, although smaller specimens can survive as far north as Oregon. The bay leaf from California is oilier and more pungent than Turkish bay leaf. Parts Used Dried leaf whole or broken Typical Preparations Whole or crumbled added to cooking, or consumed as a tea. Bay leaf comes together with parsley and thyme resulting in the subtle yet flavorful blend known as Bouquet Garni, and enhances the taste of any stew, soup or sauce it is introduced into. It is an important ingredient in many French, Moroccan and Turkish dishes. Summary The term baccalaureate means laurel berry, and refers to the ancient practice of honoring scholars and poets with garlands from the bay laurel tree. Ever since humans have been using bay leaves, they have been associated with good luck, and warding off evil.

While we cook with and eat most herbs, these aromatic leaves are best used whole and are always removed from the pot before eating.

Cold and flu season. It comes around every year and every year we wait and see if we'll get struck down, like we always do.

Bay Leaves (Laurus nobilis, Lauraceae) have a long and noble history.