Made this recipe with dried bay leaves, came to my senses and used fresh the next time. They definitely make a difference, so one must conclude the author of that piece is an idiot.
Modern Roman Libum Recipe (serves 4)
1 cup plain, all purpose flour
8 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
bay leaves
1/2 cup clear honey
Just donât Michael Bay, or youâll end up with an exploded saucepot and tomatoes all over the kitchen.
All they really need to do is post a picture of Christopher Walken at the top, and your brain should do it automatically.
Well, napalm isnât really a dinner flavor. It goes better with breakfast. Who doesnât love the smell of napalm in the morning?
California Bay also doesnât taste particularly much like regular bay, and the smell of it can trigger migraines/instant and splitting head pain. Another name for the things is headache tree. So frankly theyâre best avoided. Bay trees can be found at most garden centers on the cheap. But annoyingly most of the ones available in the US seem to be California bay. I had to order online to get a proper Mediterranean bay.
For anyone who really doesnât think bay has much flavor: First buy some new bay leaves. Second toast about 5 of them in olive oil or butter. Then add some salt and pepper and toss that shit with pasta. YOU WILL TASTE THE BAY. Its bitter, savory and something on the spectrum of menthol or anise flavors. But not nearly as astringent and not particularly similar to either (which why I no like California bay, it is astringent and mentholy). Its pretty subtle and easily falls into the background, which is why you think its not doing anything. If you want to bring it to the fore front you need a fair bit of it. None of this half a leaf or one leaf shit. And you need fat. Most of the flavors involved are more fat soluable than water, so your one bay leaf in a cup of water trick isnât a great way to see whats going on.
I make a nice beurre blanc with lots of bay and a tiny bit of pernod, mostly for shellfish. Its out of this world and all it is is lots of bay and some garlic briefly sauteed in a small amount of butter, white wine and a splash of pernod to reduce, and more butter whisked in. Then a pinch of salt and some fresh parsley.
California Bay is from the laurel family just like Bay Laurel. Eucalyptus is in the myrtle family.
Yup same family different genus.
So not particularly closely related. And I donât think they really taste all that similar.
My parents have a mature bay laurel that they keep outside in the summer, inside in the winter (when I say itâs mature, I mean it takes me and the carpenter neighbour to bring it inside/outside twice a year, large pot included). The flavour you get from those leaves is amazing. You have to crush them a bit (as you do dried bay leaves). All the bay leaf haters and skeptics would stop if they knew that flavour.
Dismissing bay leaves as a lie is entirely based on the shitty, stale bay leaves that are probably years old in the local Safeway.
Plus one for the leaves from my bay tree add a wonderful aroma that really helps build a complex flavour profile in stews and other dishes that traditionally call for them.
Not sure what crap this person was putting in their food.
Other uses::
"And now the Swedish masseuse lays the man on the smorgasbord and rubs the fresh bay leaves on his body"
This seems to be a plague in the Great Lakes states. This is why I do not like potluck. Every dish is some bland casserole (yeah, yeah, hotdish, non-Minnesotans are reading this) and then thereâs some damnable jello thingy with mushy fruits in it.
Bay leaves are a lie
ĂO.
The linked article is clearly a lame joke. It still features lots of serious comments from chefs.
Note to self: @chgoliz might not enjoy dinner at our house where we only stock those bulk containers of spices which we most definitely empty more than once a yearâŚ
The test: I have some dried bay leaves in my cabinet which are 8 years old. I have a cold, and have trouble tasting things.
I just started chewing on one. Thereâs not much flavor up front, but eventually it kicks in starting with a light pungent, peppery tingling, and then proceeds into bitterness. After the bitter fades a bit, itâs almost eucalyptus like.
Myth: Busted.
If you use a fresh one off a bay tree then you only need half of one leaf, or less, or it will overpower every other flavor.
Having grown up in Ohio: yes. Casseroles were the go-to potluck dish, usually some variant on tuna + noodles or hamburger + noodles. Using a layer of tater tots as a crust was a big plus. Seasoning: salt, pepper, and Lawryâs seasoned salt. It shouldnât be any surprise that my mind was utterly blown when an âadventurousâ cousin brought hummus and tabouli once. Flavor!!
Some friends and I recently had a Fargo season 2 marathon and had a hotdish potluck to be thematic. Tuna noodle casserole (topped with salt & vinegar chips) and beef stroganoff casserole, with Watergate salad for dessert. I grew up on this stuff!
As others have pointed out, this is most definitely a self-deprecating humor article, but I write not just to pile on the âItâs a Jokeâ wagon, but rather to reminisce about the halcyon days of Videogum. When I saw Kelly Conaboyâs byline, I had a twinge of bittersweet memory. I was a late-comer to the Videogum commenting community, which was at least as tight-knit, fun and regular-infested as the bbs. I drew a picture of kelly in a banana shirt once and posted it on the site, which shall stand in my mind at least as an indelible link between the two universes. Kelly Conaboy in a banana shirtâŚJust look at herâŚ
Well that sounds rather nice! 
I may go urban foraging this weekend, and fresh bay is on my list now. Iâm sure I can find pics of the leaves, and Iâm not useless when it comes to IDâing plants.
Iâm thinking (since you mentioned beurre blanc) a white bay chowder⌠This is gonna be fun, I wonder if I can score some mussels from the beach 
