How many times have you put a bay leaf into a stew or soup and wondered what the heck it was doing? Can you even taste it? What’s the purpose? You can detect the flavor that most herbs add to food. You know the flavor of mint, oregano, basil, rosemary, sage, or thyme. Or, at least you recognize the difference they make. But we’re told to put bay leaves in some many dishes and we can’t be sure what flavor they bring to the dish if any. It’s a mystery ingredient. We’re not even supposed to eat the leaves themselves. So, what do bay leaves do when you put one into a soup or stew? What is the flavor of bay leaves? Or, are they useless useless as many cooking experts believe?
The bay leaf is a faith-based ingredient. You put it in food and take it on faith that it’s doing something to improve the dish. This helps to lighten up the flavor and give it a subtle lift. No, you probably can’t detect the flavor of bay leaves in your soup. But if it’s not there, something will be missing. The main thing that bay leaves do is to impart a subtle bitterness to a broth or other liquid.
The main reason that most of use don’t know what bay leaves taste like is because we use dried bay leaves and have been warned not to eat them. As well, a dried bay leave does not retain 100% of the flavors of fresh leaves, although the herb does dry well. If you taste a bay leaf, you’ll notice a bitter taste with hints of mint, black pepper, and a slight overtone of menthol reminiscent of eucalyptis. Compared to other herbs, its most similar to thyme or oregano. You may also think it reminds you of cloves or pine.
Again, do not try tasting a dried bay leaf, only a fresh one and do not try to chew the leaf completely and swallow it! The sharp leaves could get stuck in your throat and cut on the way down.
Uses For Bay Leaves
- Bay leaves add depth and brightness to soups, stews, sauces (including tomato sauce), marinades, and broths
- Can be used as part of a traditional bouquet garni
- Can be ground and used as part of a dry rub for meat, fish, or poultry
Not Everyone Agrees That Bay Leaves are Useful
Some cooking “experts” have had some harsh words for bay leaves. For example, in a 2016 article, Kelly Conaboy called bay leaves a “vast conspiracy” and said of them:
What does a bay leaf taste like? Nothing. What does a bay leaf smell like? Nothing. What does a bay leaf look like? A leaf. How does a bay leaf behave? It behaves as a leaf would, if you took a leaf from the tree outside of your apartment building and put it into your soup. People say, “Boil a bay leaf in some water and then taste the water if you want to know what a bay leaf tastes like. No.
This is perhaps one of the most well-known articles calling bay leaves useless, perhaps because it is one of the very few that exist. The article consists of nothing but the author asserting that bay leaves have no taste and then quoting a bunch of chefs stating they are useful, and calling them liars.
But, notice that she said “a bay leaf.” Bay leaves don’t taste like oak leaves. They don’t taste like a random leaf from a tree outside your apartment. But no matter how much flavor a leaf has, putting just ONE into a whole pot of stew isn’t going to do much. So, my advise to readers who want to find out whether bay leaves do anything is to use 3 or 4 at least. Most recipes calling for one bay leaf are just plain wrong. You may as well not add them at all, if you are only going to use one. The flavor of a bay leaf is subtle. It’s not going to not your socks off with a strong aromatic presence. But not all herbs have to knock your socks off to add a little something to food.
However, if you don’t want to pay the money to have a little container of bay leaves sitting in your cabinet for years and years because you hardly ever use them, you can feel quite justified in not bothering with them. Using them will add a bit of brightness and depth to a soup, stew, or sauce, but not using them will absolutely not ruin a dish!
As far as using ground bay leaves as part of a seasoning mix or dry rub, I personally believe that is a waste of time and will not do much unless you add a lot, which will be too bitter. Bay leaves are best when simmered in a liquid for a while.
Fresh Versus Dry Bay Leaves
If you can buy them fresh, then by all means use fresh. You can keep them in the freezer in a plastic bag and they will hold up well.
Many chefs will tell you that dry bay leaves are useless since they don’t have as much flavor as fresh. This is not true. However, most of us keep dry bay leaves for months and months until they become quite stale. This is the main problem with dry leaves. So, if you buy bay leaves, plan to use them!
