Bay Leaf Question

[Bill Spohn]

No, I don't mean Bayleaf's Irish Cream! I mean those pesky leaves you have to hunt for to try and take them out so they don't end up on someone's plate.

I have removed the main leaf rib and powdered the leaves in an old Braun coffee mill repurposed to use exclusively for spices (grinding spices in the same mill you use for coffee can result in interesting but not always good tasting coffee). If the leaves are quite dry (only those harvesting and drying their own need worry about this as store bought are always tinder dry) the powder is fairly fine and no removal chores before service is the pay off.

Do others ever do this, or are you all leaf-fisher outers?

[Carl Eppig]

I used to get powdered bay leaves in small quantites from Penseys', but alas they no longer provide it. Am currenty looking for another reputable source. I believe that a quarter teaspoon of fresh powdered bay does more for a dish that a whole one.

[Jeff Grossman/NYC]

I like the whole leaves because they stay potent longer than the powdered version.

[Bill Spohn]

Jeff, I agree that any spice will stay fresher in large form and I'm not suggesting one keep powdered bay on hand, just that powdering it yourself is no big effort and gets excellent results, so I wonder why I rarely see any recipes doing anything but telling you to just chuck the whole leaves in and go fishing later.

[Jeff Grossman/NYC]

Jeff, I agree that any spice will stay fresher in large form and I'm not suggesting one keep powdered bay on hand, just that powdering it yourself is no big effort and gets excellent results, so I wonder why I rarely see any recipes doing anything but telling you to just chuck the whole leaves in and go fishing later.

Your point is well-taken. Perhaps it is simply the case that electric spice grinders are still kinda new-fangled for recipe writers? (I see plenty of recipes call for a food processor and a few that call for an immersion blender but the rest of them call only for very traditional tooling.)

[Karen/NoCA]

Since a recipe usually calls for one or two at the most, It is simple to fish them out. You can tie them with a string and leave a short piece hanging out of the pot, or put it in cheese cloth. I have a bay leaf tree, so I just go out and pluck what I need. I also have a few in a glass jar that I dried for those wet and muddy days.

[Jenise]

I'm a convert to fresh bay leaves. Never considered it a problem to fish out a leaf!

[Mark Lipton]

two words: bouquet garni

Mark Lipton

[Bill Spohn]

I'm a convert to fresh bay leaves. Never considered it a problem to fish out a leaf!

Yeah, but the amount of flavour you get is far more from freshly powdered than from chucking any number of whole leaves in there...

[Jenise]

You're not wrong about that, in dry ground vs. dry whole, but fresh has a unique and special flavor that I love. And I have an endless supply from my own tree.

[Bill Spohn]

No question that is the way to go, but for those of us that are lacking a laurel bush...

[Jenise]

No question that is the way to go, but for those of us that are lacking a laurel bush...

Not everyone likes fresh, though! David N., for instance, prefers dried.

In your case, you could always "borrow" a few from the Gav bush. That spindly thing in their driveway?--that's bay laurel. Rob must be caring for it though, as I noticed last month that it's not nearly as spindly as it has been in the past. Someone who cares has been pruning it right.