Ahh, the bay leaf. A little, stiff, crunchy leaf that you add to your stew just to take it out again. Allegedly, it adds flavor, but you aren’t exactly sure what flavor that is. Bay leaves smell good, but you can’t taste that flavor in the final dish. So do bay leaves actually do anything? What is their purpose?
Recently, the everyday chefs of TikTok have been pondering this dilemma. After making a seemingly perfect soup or sauce, creators such as @sourdough_hoochie and @xiaolongbby toss a bay leaf into their dish with captions like, “There you go little guy. Go do whatever it is you pretend to do,” and, “Me after adding a bay leaf to the dish while not fully understanding what the purpose is.”
These comments seem to suggest that bay leaves have no purpose, are just pretending to add flavor, and putting them in dishes is a matter of tradition rather than actual culinary necessity. An understandable assumption to make, given that you can’t actually eat a bay leaf to taste its flavor. However, bay leaves do in fact have a purpose and a rich history in various culinary traditions.
What is a bay leaf?
The bay leaf is an aromatic herb. It most commonly comes from the Laurus nobilis plant, also known as a bay laurel or a Turkish bay. This plant, native to the Mediterranean, produces the small, rounded, olive-green leaf we know as a bay leaf. However, there are other kinds of bay leaf plants, such as the California bay leaf, the Indian bay leaf, the Indonesian bay leaf, and the Mexican bay leaf. Each of these leaves has a slightly different shape and flavor. For instance, the Indian bay leaf is much longer than the bay laurel, with a skinny shape and a more cinnamony and citrusy flavor.
Bay leaves are related to other plants of the laurel family that are poisonous to animals and humans. Some believe that bay leaves must be removed from food before eating because they are toxic, but this is not true. Bay leaves can, in theory, be eaten, but it would not be a pleasant experience. They are removed because they are stiff and hard to eat even after cooking, and they can be abrasive in the digestive tract if eaten.
Additionally, bay leaves contain essential oils such as eucalyptol, terpenes, and methyleugenol. These oils contribute to their aroma and a variety of other uses.
What cuisines traditionally use bay leaves?
Bay leaves are used to flavor a variety of dishes, including broths, grains, soups, stews, and stocks. In Indian cuisine, they are used in rice dishes such as biryani and in garam masala, a warm spice blend that includes cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, and other spices.
Bay leaves are also highly utilized in Filipino cooking, in dishes like menudo (pork and liver in a tomato-sauce stew), beef pares (braised beef stew with garlic fried rice), and abodo (meat marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic). In the Caribbean, bay leaves are a key ingredient in making jerk chicken. Bay leaves and pimento sticks are placed on the grill, and the chicken is laid on top.
What flavor do bay leaves add?
The key is in the fragrance, not the taste. Bay leaves are very bitter to the taste, but likely, we do not eat them. So what fragrance do they give off?
When dried, the aroma of bay leaves is floral and herbal, similar to oregano and thyme. In dishes, bay leaves enhance the flavor and complexity of the food. Heating the leaves brings out their oils, which is what gives off the aroma. Although it is hard to taste the flavor of the bay leaf itself, they are very important in enhancing other flavors and making the taste more complex. Bay leaves balance out dishes by adding a bitterness and acidity that cuts through rich and heavy flavors. Additionally, their aromatics can neutralize undesirable tastes, making the eating experience more enjoyable. So yes, they do have a purpose. Bay leaves are a key ingredient in making elevated, complex dishes.
What other uses do bay leaves have?
Bay leaves are not just for savory dishes. They can be used in desserts such as panna cotta, pound cakes, cookies, and creams. They give a minty, aromatic note that adds depth to the sweetness of the dessert.
Bay leaves are also used in making drinks. They can flavor liqueurs and certain kinds of vodka, gin, and rum. Additionally, you can make bay leaf tea by boiling fresh bay leaves for three minutes — long enough to release the flavor but not so long that the tea becomes bitter. If you are looking to see what a bay leaf truly tastes like on its own, this tea might be your best bet.
Finally, the essential oil eugenol found within bay leaves has antimicrobial properties, meaning bay leaves can be used in food preservation. They can also serve as insect repellents, so people often place them in pantries or dry food storage.