Bay leaves are a lie

boing
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Homoeopathic cuisine?

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Ohh, that reminds me. Something like this? https://fallingfruit.org/?c=forager%2Cfreegan&locale=en
Look for “California laurel” / “Umbellularia californica”

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If we are being trolled, is it by Kelly Conaboy, or by Rob? The knowing smirk in Rob’s avatar suggests the latter to me, but that is pure speculation on my part. :smirk:

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oh hell yeah. i just found half a dozen cherry trees within a mile–and they should be setting soon. THANKS!!

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Okay, I read the post. Not sure about it since it inextricably blends ignorant shit-stirring and bored-blogger-a-trolling in large steaming heaps.

If bay leaves aren’t fresh, they’re useless.
When fresh, the eucalyptus scent note is obvious even to trollish bloggers.

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Not really. I mean, it’s clearly in a joking style, and partly making the same point I did about how people argue now, but I think the author really doesn’t believe that bay leaves do anything.

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Oh yeah, this is so true. My kids make me a batch every year for my birthday… rum, bay leaves, orange and lemon peel, with a little vanilla. RatWoman claims it’s an aphrodisiac. We’re working on the fourth kid, so draw your own conclusions! :slight_smile:

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68

haven’t learned yet have you? :wink:

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You can also find another variety up in Canada. It’s called Hudson’s Bay. A company was formed in 1670 specifically for exporting this fragrant spice.

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Once you have a hypothesis, you have to test it.

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I won’t hear anything bad about cumin. It can turn moldy dry hamburger into salsbury steak in no time flat!

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Bog help us all. Came here to make a joke that “at least we can all agree the bay leaf cake is a lie,” but no – it is not.

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Bay leaves, like many plants, can be cloned. Just cut off a branch and put it in water. If you want to make sure, add some of that rooting hormone they sell at nurseries. A lot of commercial plants are cloned since they either don’t have seeds (e.g. bananas) or don’t breed true (e.g. apples, oranges).

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Whattaya mean? I think we’re getting pretty good at it! :slight_smile:

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The cinnamon conspiracy is real, man!

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my big one is Cilantro. I love the stuff and never quite got how folks could think that it tastes like soap… until last year. Lays potato chips came out with a pico flavor and I believe the person in charge of designing the flavor is one of those people… cuz I’ll be damned if that potato chip didn’t taste like soap. (i was not alone as fellow pico lovers tasted the same from the chip)

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That’s the thing: if you buy tiny amounts from the bulk section, you’ll use them up before they go bad. Most households can’t go through the big bottles quickly enough.

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I tell you what’s a lie - that fucken dodgy link Rob posted. Redirects to scammy bullshit sites.

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If you think leaves have no taste, stick a California Bay in your mouth.

Mediterranean bay leaves are from the laurel (remember Roman crowns?) and taste vaguely tea like, unless they dried out 1000 years ago and left to rot in your local megamart.

California bay is a species of eucalyptus and tastes like a spoonful of Vick’s vapo-rub.

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I have both nearby California Laurel trees (I live near Laurel Canyon, even) and a Mediterranean Bay Tree in a large pot on my back patio. I’ve had both, fresh and dried.

California Laurel is much stronger-flavored (and yes, more like eucalyptus), while Mediterranean Bay makes a subtle but WONDERFUL scent when you crush the fresh leaves or macerate them in alcohol.

But if I cook with fresh Med. Bay leaves, the results are bitter. Freshly-dried leaves are much better, and much, MUCH tastier than most spice-jar “bay leaves” (many of which are California Laurel).

Most older recipes are intended for Mediterranean Bay - If you’re using California Laurel, you only need about 1/4 as much leaf material to produce similar flavor intensity.

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