Bay Leaves, do they really add flavor?

[Hotler]

If you make a recipe and leave out the bay leaves can you tell? I use them but, I do not know if I can really taste them. I like pinto beans and ham hocks and throw in 3-4 and it always come out good. A mexican restaurant by me uses a them in their green chile. When do you use bay leaves and how many?

[Lucinda]

1. In soups and bean dishes. And yes, I can taste the difference without them.

We use 3-4 depending on the dish and the size.

[Denninmi]

2. Definitely.

If you can't tell whether or not they're contributing to a dish, I would suggest that they may be too old. They lose their flavor after a couple of years, yet many people hold onto those, as well as other herbs and spices, for a long time.

If you really want to see what bay should taste like, pick up a package of fresh ones in the produce department, most larger stores carry them with the fresh packaged herbs. Or, at least buy a fresh supply of dried.

I have a potted bay tree, which I've had for years. It's about 7-8 feet tall. I cut it back to stubs every other year, and it yields gallons of bay leaves, which are nice to share.

[Lucinda]

3. I've often thought of growing one potted. Do they need any special care?

I was growing a lot of my own herbs when I felt better, and have been thinking about starting up again. Bay leaves would be a nice addition.

[Denninmi]

4. No, it's pretty much bullet proof.

Over the years, I've tried to kill it in all kinds of ways, forgetting to water it, throwing it in a too dark spot, letting the pot blow over in a summer storm and having a lot of the soil fall out, and then not bothering to add more soil for months. It just looks at me, says "Thanks for nothing, fool" and goes about its business.

[Lucinda]

5. LOL

Thanks for the info! We use a lot of bay, home grown and dried sounds like a good idea. :)

[Retrograde]

6. Except for me

I've killed more potted bay trees than I care to think about. However, when we decided to replace the )*&^%$$ holly tree on the property line, my neighbors agreed to a full-sized bay tree. It's still small now, but it should grow to about 30' eventually. Fresh bay leaves have more taste than the ones in stores.

[Denninmi]

7. Well, I killed a few before I found out the secret to growing them.

The secret is that they are NOT tropical plants. While they can't take a tremendous amount of chill (USDA Zone 7 or 8, I can't remember which), they do tolerate freezing and snow, and I'm sure they're hardy to at least about 20 degrees.

So, when I tried to winter them in the warm part of my house, they would always die. Tropical plants do fine in those conditions -- my hibiscus blooms all winter, my orchids are happy. Bay trees die in dry, warm conditions. At least they always did for me.

I winter mine in our "family room" which was converted from an attached garage. The south is a glass doorwall. I don't heat it, just leave the door open. Temps range between 40 and 50 all winter. The bay tree goes to the back of the room, where its relatively dark. I water it sparsely during the winter months, just enough to keep it from drying it. Since its cooler out there, its relatively humid compared to the rest of the house.

It does great out there.

One winter, I didn't want to take a bunch of sub-tropical/mild temperate zone plants indoors, so I trenched them -- dug a deep trench below the frost line, put in some straw, laid the plants in, more straw, then boards, the soil and leaves. That worked well. The bay tree looked the same the day I dug it out of the trench as the day I put it in. Some other things were damaged or destroyed by mice, so I didn't try that experiment again, but it did work from the climate perspective.

[pengillian101]

10. Wowee!

You are a Super Gardener in my book!

:hi:

[Duer 157099]

8. Next time you boil some potatoes, throw one or two in

Then you'll know.

[tea and oranges]

9. I Won't Cook

Beans, artichokes, or soup w/out bay leaves. I once was forced (ran out of 'em) to cook bay-leafless artichokes. Not nearly as good!