Are you able to find fresh bay leaves where you are? Do they really make a difference? Also where are you finding them, if you don't live in a warm climate? Whole Foods only had dried.
>>20505884i grow them. i don't use them enough to know the difference
>>20505884Fresh bay is quicker but you also gotta pull it earlier
>>20505900No you add it later. Terrible advice btw.
>>20505961That's the same thing
ever drink bay leaves from a shoe
>>20505884I don't think it's a big deal, dried bay leaves are so strong that most people use only a few for a whole meal. Can't say I've tried fresh ones though.
>>20505884Fresh bay is much more fragant and aromatic.
Yes. Yes. Literally every supermarket in my area that isn't a bargain store or discounter. >Whole Foods only had dried.lolwutIf fucking ShopRite, Hannaford/Food Lion/Giant and Acme/Safeway all have fresh fucking laurels/bay leaves, then Whole Foods does, too.>tfw Delaware is now a subtropical paradise because OP can't find laurelslmao
>>20505884Bay leaves do literally nothingBiggest scam ever
>>20506623What if you didn't live within 100 miles of a major port? >But I did eat breakfast this morning
>>20505965cooklet detected
>>20507060I've seen the fresh shit in fucking Pittsburgh, FOHWTBS
i bought a bay plant like a year ago and keep it in my kitchen. shit doesn't die even if i forget to water it for two weeks.
>>20507655Pics, please? I can't imagine growing one in a pot so I'm very curious to see, if you wouldn't mind.
>>20507676Not that guy but my mother does the same but in a larger pot outside and inside during winter.
>>20507680I guess I misworded. My mother kept one, too, in a fuckhugic pot outside. But dude said he kept it inside, strongly implying a much smaller pot. I'd like to see this smaller pot of laurels.
>>20507676not home at the moment but i just bought one like this from a garden centerchanged its pot once but it just seems to stay alive.
>>20507700Neat! Thanks for posting something.
Yeah in my garden. I can even harvest during winter
>>20506635their taste is just very subtle, that's why i use it for rice
>>20508180>subtleFucking wut.They have an extremely strong flavour. Trying buying ones that were picked and packaged in this decade, homie.
>>20506635This. It is a memeleaf and adds nothing, but retards will love to be condescending about it and lie to themselves to feel superior.If someone gives me a recipe and a bay leaf if one of the ingredients, I know with confidence that person is a certifiable retard.
>>20508328They give a sort of vegetal/fir like fragrance just fix your pallet bro
>>20505884in the bay
>>20505884>warm climate?you don't need it, i'm in northen Italy and i have a bay tree in my garden.
>>20510789I'm in central Germany and it even works here. Shit is getting huge
Alright let's settle it. On the left we have organic dried store-brought bay leaf, on the left we have freshly picked bay leaves from the tree in my garden. Let the comparison begin:
>>20511481First, smell.A similar amount was crushed up and smelled. The dried bay had very little smell at all! Perhaps a very mild hint of old citrus and a bitter tone. The fresh smelled fantastic - a very citrusy fresh floral "essential oil" type smell.
>>20511491Next I cut up the same amount to do a brew test
>>205114935 minutes in hot (but not boiling water, left to steep). A comparison between the colour of the tea shows little difference, perhaps the fresh being slightly more 'yellow' if I squint a bit. The flavour differences between the taste of the tea were HUGE though. The fresh leaf tea being just a liquid version of the smell - a prominent, pleasant floral citrusy "herbal" drink. Notes of rosemary, thyme, lemons, essential oils. Very refreshing and I actually drank the cup.The dried however? The overall flavour was less prominent, but the flavour itself was different - little to no floral or aromatic notes, with a prominent almost bitter "stale lemon" flavour after being swallowed, with little prominent flavour beforehand. It wasn't particularly pleasant.
>>20511499Conclusion: we have a clear winner. Fresh Bay! Although I do think dried bay leaves could add a subtle background "bitter citrus" note to a soup or stew, I'd imagine you'd be better off just adding a partial lemon, especially to avoid the almost "stale" taste. It's hard to describe as it's not actually stale its like a muted, dead leaf (duh) type of flavour. The fresh is great however, giving a complex aromatic herbal/citrus flavour notes that goes beyond just what a lemon would add to a dish. Good enough to just drink as a tea as well, which I may end up doing again.
>>20511508Neat, thanks for sharing. Is the one growing in your garden Laurus nobilis or some other species of bay leaf?
>>20505884why do they need to be fresh?are you making bay leaves irish cream?
>>20511508based
