Ultimate BAY LEAF Comparison Test | Do They Really Make a Difference? | Sorted Food
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ต.ค. 2023
- Today we ask the all-important question! DOES ADDING A BAY LEAF MAKE A DIFFERENCE?! We've put Chef Ben against Mike and Barry in a blind taste test to see if it does!
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From a cursory scan of the literature, the main flavor compound of bay leaves, eugenol, is fat soluble and not water soluble. So Ben makes a good point! Not much flavor is going to transfer from a water based poaching liquid. I wonder if the test would have gone differently if the salmon was poached in olive/neutral oil with the same aromats.
Interesting, so the same component that makes cloves so uniquely tasting.
make bay leaf tea, you'll clearly see you are looking at the wrong literature.
That's quite interesting actually, because there is a tradition of adding bay leaves to the cooking water (and you can absolutely smell them) for the Russian pelmeni (which is a type of meat-filled dumpling). You can absolutely taste the difference in the cooked product.
wow eugenol oil is what I used to kill the nerve of a tooth :) hmm bay leaf for toothaches ??
@@jamesray9009 Cloves are kown to work for that.
In my experience, beyond the subtle herbaceousness, Bay smooths out other flavours. Without Bay, individual flavours stand out, like spices, veggies in the broth, the sweet, the salt, the sour, etc. With Bay leaves, the flavours get unified from many different flavours into one, singular-but-complex flavour.
Well said!
Hear hear!! Very well said
Problem is if I'm making a Macaroni Cheese, I want it to taste of cheese. If I'm making Salmon I want it to taste of salmon.
I can't think of a single dish that would be improved by everything tasting slightly less like whatever I'm making and slightly more like a tree.
@@esmeecampbell7396what? Who said anything about a tree? Besides which, if that’s the way you cook…..wow, boring. Might as well not bother cooking at all. Because cooking changes flavours……are you seriously saying that if you cook a dish you just want it to taste of one thing? Because that’s what you just said. Have you ever tried cooking without salt? Cos the addition of salt doesn’t make things taste of salt(unless you’re ham fisted and add way too much), but it helps them taste of what they are. Flavourings aren’t there to hide anything, they’re there to enhance and balance tastes.
@@paulinemegson8519 It's a leaf, it tastes like a tree. That's what I mean.
Thanks for trying tell me that my food is boring because I want meat to taste like meat not dirt. I'll be sure to file your unsolicited advice in the nearest bin.
I'm obviously not talking about dishes like curries where the point is multiple flavours, but even in there I can't see how making it taste slightly less like a curry and more like a leaf is going to be good.
I'll keep adding exciting and noticeable things like lemon to cooking, you can keep your Koala food.
It sounds like bay leaves are the savory version of vanilla in baking. My sister always said that you put vanilla in to marry the flavors and it sounds like bay does that as well.
Vanilla also makes things seem sweeter
@@riverAmazonNZ and artificial vanilla tastes bad in overnight oats, natural vanilla tastes fantastic
yeah! adding vanilla makes things taste less eggy
Ben saying, “I’m now hard thinking about bay” almost killed me!!! 🤣
You have to love a good pun!
Part 2 with the dried vs fresh vs frozen vs powdered bay leaves please! And add it to a blind taste test with different herbs to see if they can pick out what bay really tastes like
(Edited to include the powdered version as mentioned by our fellow foodies)
Fresh is best, when I lived in Greece there are bay trees everywhere just pick some and throw them in, now in the UK I use dried ones and I get the argument as to how much they add to the dish.
Most people use the dried. I don't think I've ever seen fresh bay leaves before in my local stores.
That's the thing, These trees are everywhere, they are called Laurel abroad, same thing.@@mrow7598
Or Daphne.
Yes, how about fresh bay vs the stuff I can actually get at a regular grocery store. I stopped using it years ago, because I could never detect any improvement with it over without it.
I've been waiting for this, I think one of the reasons bay leaves don't make a difference is that so many normals use dried Bay leaves then don't cook it for long enough so no flavour comes out.
Best to infuse them in some boiling water like many garam masala recipes do with cloves, cardamom and cinnamon
Dried bay leaves still have a shelf life. They don't last forever. If you try using five year old dried bay you shouldn't expect to get much if any flavor from it. Unless you make absolutely massive amounts of stews and soups for a big family don't buy those big bags of dried bay and stick to getting a few leaves at a time, just however many you'll use in a month or so.
@@KenS1267 yes, I think the aromatics are quite volatile so maybe storing them in an air tight container might help to slow down the loss of flavour but buying smaller packets is probably the best option.
My grandma has a bay tree and we still dry leaves but we never leave them more than 6 months
I think for the most part it's the fact that when a dish is described, you never see bay leaf being part of the flavour profile, and when someone tries to explain the flavour of bayleaf, theres not a simple explanation.
Which leads people to thinking its most likely more a traditional placebo rather then a dish changing ingredient.
I'm so glad you guys finally settled it. I was also a non-bay leafer for years and years, until I found fresh bay leaves at the farmer's market. Fresh makes such a difference. Now I always have them in my freezer.
yup, dried, supermarket ones are trash, but fresh add a nice flavour
The dried ones are fine but you have to add like a dozen for a pot of stew, but the one or two listed on most recipe books.
@@ashm4938 Wrong. Fresh are better than dried, but dried are perfectly fine so long as you always crumple them before adding them to a dish. It releases the aromatics present in fresh leaves that get trapped during the drying process.
I too always keep my fresh produce in the freezer
Bay leaves make a big difference when a dish is cooking for more than an hour. Stews, casseroles and soups benefit from the earthiness. I also find that celery is very important in these dishes as well.
Oh yes you cannot omit either under these circumstances. Even celery salt is better than no celery
In my Indian family, we use bay leaves for soooo many gravies, and it absolutely does make a difference. I understood when I moved out and started cooking without it.
Thanks for sharing!!
THANK YOU for finally putting this argument to the test!! On that note, I would absolutely purchase a sorted food T-shirt with “I’m a Bay-leaver” on it…or “Don’t stop bay-leafing!”
Working on it!
@@SortedFoodNice 😊😊😊❤❤❤
@@SortedFoodYES!!!
Someone on here called it "Bayleafer" and I love it.
♫ Hold on to that SEA-SON-ING... ♫
Ben is more correct than Barry realizes about bay leaves being ornamental. The bay leaf, also called the bay laurel and still called "laurel" in romance languages, is the leaf that made up Caesar's iconic crown, and is the wreath that adorns film festival awards. It's also the source of the phrase "To rest on one's laurels."
We’ve been waiting for years! Please make it a recurring thing just to see Ben talking about that bay tree and Barry and mike just being happy when they lose too 😂
I am a 'normal' cook and I couldnt believe the hatred to bay leaves, they go in most the sauces I make! A bread sauce is not the same without them. We also had a bay tree right outside our front door. Maybe the more prounounced flavour of a fresh bay leaf is what makes the difference.
Proffesional cook here, i tend to be able to draw more aromatic flavor from the really dried out bay leaves, given i have never had them freshly picked from the tree, only locally sourced(maybe a day or two after picking) am i missing out?
@@henrikbylov5433I am going to have to test this now. I have never used fresh bay only ever dried, they don’t seem to sell it “fresh” in my local shops but stupidly because I keep forgetting, I have a bay tree in a pot by my front doorstep. I will try cooking with fresh the next dish that calls for it and see if I can see a difference. I’m really curious now if it changes dramatically or not from fresh fresh to fresh to bought dried to own dried.
@@fallensway855 Do keep us updated, if there’s any difference once you tried it because I’m curious as well.
@@xwushun I will do my best :) but it may be weeks or months
I get plenty of flavour from dried leaves, but I get through quite a lot so mine probably don't go stale.
I'm absolutely a "bay-leafer", adobo wouldn't be the same without them!
Loved the episode! I’d love a Part 2 (and 3) where Ben’s theory of Bay being Fat soluble rather than Water soluble is tested side by side with Kush cooking and Ben & Normals tasting maybe 3 of each dish (3 fat soluble dishes made with & without Bay and 3 water soluble dishes made with & without Bay) and another episode where the dishes that had the biggest difference from this episode and Part 2 are made with Fresh vs Dried Bay to see if there’s a noticeable difference.
Honestly this episode is one of the most informative I’ve seen and I love it
When making pickled or fermented vegetables i always put a couple bay leaves in. The tanin in the bay leaves keeps the veggies crisp instead of soft. Grape leaves also work but bay leaves are easier to get.
Awesome tip. I love making pickles, but grape leaves are a pain in the ass to find. Will definitely be trying bay leaves in my next batch of pickles.
I once was like Mike & Barry until a patient at our clinic brought in several shopping bags full of fresh bay leaves from her garden & i took one home. I started looking up recipes & the 1st thing I made was roasted potatoes. It was simple just potatoes tossed with some oil, salt, pepper & alot of those fresh bay leaves (maybe 10). They were the best roasted potatoes I ever had & it was then that I learned the taste of bay, now i can pick it out of anything. I loved it so much I bought a bay plant & have it growing in a pot on my lanai here in Hawaii... I think to learn the taste of bay itself you need to try it with just o e other ingredient like the potatos... Changed my perceptions of bay leaves in one bite.
I made bay leaf tea a little while ago because Mike and Barry were saying they did nothing. It tasted like eucalyptus and mint, and was surprisingly sweet. More weirdly, the tea tasted of nothing but after I drank it I could feel the flavors developing in my mouth for several minutes.
The mintyness has always stood out to me. With an undertone of bitterness and a touch of sweet.
I’ve never been 10000% on the “bay makes a notable difference” train but I am very happy to add them because they smell good, and doesn’t hurt. More spices are always good! To be fair I’ve also never bought FRESH, just the dried ones that come in the spice aisle. Maybe that’s where it comes from and they pack more punch fresh 🤷🏼♀️
they sorta work dried, just have to store em right (air-tight container, dark place, probably not somewhere too hot) although they will eventually go bad even then and from what I've been able to gather most people who are unsure about bay just seem to have gotten dried ones like a couple years back left em in the pantry for ages before being used
Here in Brazil, we always use bay leaves when cooking beans. It makes a big difference.
Bayleafer here, and I use dried leaves. I think that your description at the end is spot on, bay leaf is a flavor that ties everything together into a unified whole. It's a bit like a bunch of people playing music together, the sounds and the instruments are all there, and may sound lovely, but add a conductor to the orchestra and everything comes together with greater unison.
What a sweet way to put it, such a lovely visual.
not to mention, dried bay keeps like FOREVER. You could buy a bunch and keep them in a jar for months lol. We replenish our bay jar like once a year. If they're tasting a little weak we just add more because it's cheap as hell too lol
@@karu6111 Same here. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my bayleaves.
Homecook here who believes in Bay Leaves. My mom would always put them in her beef roast stock and it doesn't taste the same without them. I always add more than one (at least 4 to a large pot) to any beef or pork roast or stew and it gives a subtle, warm aroma akin to cinnamon or nutmeg but slightly more herbal. Edit: I wrote this comment before watching the taste test. Still a Bay-liever! Love the insight from Ben that it may be a fat-soluble aromatic compound which would explain why it works so well in beef and pork dishes, and also creamy dishes! I'll have to try it in mac 'n cheese!
His guess was also correct, many of the compounds are indeed fat-soluble.
I’ve always been a bay leafer especially in my gumbo, soups and stews. I think we need a part 2 where they compare the fresh, frozen and dried to see the difference.
I am a normal cook and have been using the dry bay leaves forever. I planted a bay leaf tree and love using fresh bay leaves over dry. Interesting you can freeze the fresh bay which I will start doing. Thanks Ben for that useful tip. Love Sorted Food.
My opinion has always been that bay leaves only work in long com dishes like stews and long cook sauces, otherwise you'd need 10- 20 leaves to make a taste difference.
I'd also add soups to this.. but like you said the long cooked stuff
If you cook rice for 10-15 mins, it also makes a difference. It's true and been proven.
No, one to two leaves make the difference but you need to know the subtleties in it. If you just think savoury, you can' t catch it. Look for weirdly floral notes. -Someone who has tasted bay for 30 years
Agree
Definitely. I think it works best in fatty tomato based dishes. In Nigeria it’s most commonly used in Jollof rice (a rice dish cooked in a rich tomato base) or tomato stew. Nah leaf pairs really nicely and absolutely needs to cooked for long to get the flavor out. It just adds and extra layer of something 😅
I had always thought bay leaves were useless, but that was when I was using dried, stale bay leaves. Recently, though, I had tried using fresh bay leaves in a stew, and it made a huge difference
Came here for this comment, I never see fresh bay leaves in stores. So I'd imagine that's where most people think bay leaves are useless.
I almost wish they'd have made 3 versions of the dishes. Dried/fresh/none
It's well worth buying a a small bay leaf bush to keep in a large pot in the garden so you have constant access to fresh bay leaves.
Dried are still fine. Just make sure they're not stale.
@@WordoftheElderGods best tip on how to make sure they last as long as possible I've gotten is to keep the dried ones in an airtight sealed container (preferably somewhere kinda dark)
I'm still a fan of freezing them to hand out to mates. Much like Kaffir lime leaves they do not work so good dry in my opinion. @@goranpersson7726
I've been wanting this video for a long time! And, no surprise to anyone, bay leaves did exactly what we thought they did. NOW, do a fresh vs frozen vs dried bay leaf. Maybe as a part of a cheap vs expensive episode 😮
they are supposed to be better dried!
@@helenswan705 I honestly don't know. I just know that I can't buy a bunch fresh because I wouldn't be able to use it all up. So I buy it dried. It's supposed to go into a stew most of the time anyway..But Ben keeps saying that dried bay leaves aren't good.
@@AdamPersson me neither. just use what you enjoy.
I love how devoted the normals were to their non-bay position.... the last time I made spaghetti sauce, I dutifully threw a couple bay leaves in... but actually didn't like the sauce with them as much as I did before I put them in... so I guess I will accede that bay leaves do make a difference, but not always by making a dish better, depending on your individual palette. Love you guys. So fun and informative! 🍃
God I love how annoyed Mike and Barry were, especially with the ragu. I love using bay leaves and never understood the bay hate here. I always have bay leaves in my freezer. Even in the fridge, they take ages to go bad
I personally think it sounds like it mutes flavors. I don't cook things I don't like the flavor of.
@@NoThankUBeQuiet Yes, I often feel like it takes all the tang out of things! especially tomato dishes. It really dulls the experience.
Guys, I am greek, we have a version of dahl here, and my family always used 3 dried bay leaves while cooking it (and then removing it when served). YOU CAN TASTE THE DIFFERENCE WHEN YOU ACCIDENTALLY FORGET ABOUT THEM, but for the life of me, no idea what the taste of them is, a rounding one is the most spot on description! Great video! ❤️
I'd love to see an episode like this, but testing fresh vs dried herbs.
I'm definitely a big bay leafer! I was the same in that I used to think it didn't add anything, but once I started cooking on my own, it was pretty easy to see the part bay leaves played in Bengali cuisine. You do need to add it fairly early on and cook it out with the other spices for it to actually work, which is where I think people tend to go wrong.
I have a little bay tree in my garden. It's hard work trimming it down to keep it like a little bush in the herb patch, but honestly, adding a fresh leaf or two in anything is infinitely better than adding the dried leaves. When I prune it the air is heavy with the herbal, earthy scent and I love it to bits.
This video didn't show how they were used, but the reason that lots of people (some chefs included) think they don't work is because almost everyone uses them wrong!
Most people add them to a simmering stew/ragu or something, but the main flavour in bay leaves is fat soluble, not water soluble (Which Ebbers did touch on). The best way to use bay leaves is to add them quite near the start of the cooking. I generally go: fry the onions (soften for a few minutes), then garlic and bay leaves to get them fragrent, then the rest of the recipe.
If you add the Bay Leaf at the frying step you will 100% be able to smell it, and then taste in it the final dish
The main compound is indeed fat soluble but they do have other compounds that are water soluble which is why ppl make things like tea with them
good to know because ive been unknowingly doing that in case i forget to add it later on lol
@@DimT670 Maybe, but the water soluble ones are so weak they may as well no be there. Go boil a bay leaf, then go fry one in olive oil and you tell me which one smells stronger
Good comment, I suppose you could make bay infused oil?
I disagree about it only being fat soluble, in that they do make a lovely "tea". However, I now plan on making a flavored oil, like you would make a chili oil to drizzle as a finish.
I’m THRILLED that y’all finally tested this ongoing debate! I absolutely LOVE bay leaves and definitely taste the difference. I use them A LOT in my cooking. It’s almost umami to me. Team Bay!!! :)
I’d like to see an Ebber’s episode now comparing various types of bay. - MJ
This is very much flavour of the month. It seems many channels are talking about it. From my personal experience, cook a sauce and leave a bay leaf in too long - you certainly know about it! Why are they such an iconic, historic addition to our cooking? Not because they taste of nothing! also traditionally we do not use them fresh. we use them dry. Not better fresh. Different, but not better.
I’m italian and while I was living in London I was craving one of my favourite dishes. I made it, I thought, exactly as my mum would make it, it didn’t turn out right. I called her and told them all I did, in the end she said: when did you put the bay leaf in?
Uh, never? That’s it. that’s the mistake.
I made it again with the bay leaf and when I tell you it changed the taste completely for me. I’m team bay leaf always.
Finally! Been requesting this for a while! Thanks guys! The discussion ends now! Im on They do! 🍃🍃🍃🍃
How come that you can make a taste competition so ooooo entertaining?!!!! All the puns, the reactions, the banter about a BAY 🍃?!!! - guys, you made my day!
I think the Bay Leave makes your dish a comfortable dish with an extra kiss of flavour. I also have a Bay tree and use it in many dishes.
Living with an Indian family and eaten all sorts of dishes, bay leaves to me don't really bring anything extraordinary to a dish like other herbs do, but they sure bring some cohesiveness to it.
I've always left a bay leaf out of recipes, not knowing what they do and thinking they don't do anything. Now, I'm thinking I will add them to see if I can taste the difference. Thank you for this as it's always been something I've wondered about. :)
Finally! It’s always stressed me out that you guys didn’t think bay did anything. I’ve always said you know when it’s not in there, especially in a ragu! So I was very happy to see that was the first test!
"That's the last time I shave for you." Was perfectly woven in there, excellent work Jamie, you deserve a raise just for that
I've said it once before, and I will say it again. Bay is amazing. My so-far-best homebrew beer contained bay (Irish red ale with bay and cumin), and it gave the batch so much earthy, almost tea-like flavour and depth. Also, here in Hungary, bay is a very common ingredient in a great variety of dishes. Long live bay!!!
When I cook adobo, not having bay leaves in it changes the flavor profile by a lot. It definitely adds depth of flavor.
I feel like this challenge would be improved by instead having the boys pick their favourite, as opposed to picking which one they think it's in. Therefore determining if it is worth using bay leaves.
Even better, have no explanation about what changed
Yes, as its set up the argument is less about what actually tastes better and more about what backs up the opinion they gave before the tests started. Different doesn't necessarily mean better.
Excellent point
@@lux0rd01even excellenter point
@@indigo0977expounding on an excellent point!
The freezer trick also is great for kaffir lime or curry leaves.
OMG, you finally did it!!! +hops+ I've been hoping for this for years! And YAY for team bayleaf! I love that Mike an Baz were willing to admit they were wrong even though they were disgusted by the fact.
You need to do double blind taste tests, where a series of dishes are served with and without an ingredient, but the tasters don't know which ingredient is the common thread and are simply asked between a and b which dish tastes better, and only at the end do they find out that the difference in all of the dishes is the same ingredient.
In Portugal, sometimes we use bay leaves on our rice. When you add the water for the rice to cook, afterwards add 3/4 bay leaves on top. That's a good way to detect their flavor, cause the rice absorbs it all the way through with the water. It's completely different.
As a Normal who's been blessed to always have access to a bay tree, it TOTALLY makes a difference! I'm so happy the boys have been converted 😂
It's a tradition to make our hot chocolate with a few fresh leaves; I've tasted some without it and wanted to cry because it was missing the warmth of the bay 😅
How do you make your hot chocolate with bay? Just steepnit in hot milk? I’m intrigued
Oh my gosh, thanks for sharing this! What a wonderful anecdote.
I'm so curious how it changes the flavor. I'm totally going to try this now, and I'll even do a taste test with and without Bay.
I'm also curious about this tradition. Is it just a family tradition or a regional thing? I'd love to know more.
One of the first things I did when I moved into my current house was to plant a bay tree. Every year I have to prune it back heavily down to about 2m high. The leaves really add something to dishes like spagbol and stews.
Try adding a fresh bay leaf when you cook white rice. Makes a huge difference and you can actually taste the flavour of the bay leaf in the rice. Has to be a fresh bay leaf though!
Midwesterner here…bay is often in recipes…never questioned. If it didn’t make it better…it didn’t hurt…if it was better, way worth it.
Fishy things here scare the bjeezus out of a lot. When I reveal I use anchovies in my sofrito for my pasta sauce (after they eat) it blows their minds.
My wife of 30 years and a home cook for 50 years, and a TEXAN... ALWAYS uses Bay Leaves in any kind of stew, soup etc. It just makes it better.
I’ve always been a bay-leafer, we use it all the time in our (Bangladeshi) curries. I think it works better with meat, chicken, veg, pulses rather than fish. It was interesting to see the difference it made!
indian bay is a totally different species.
I've never seen anyone be so disappointed by winning than Barry and Mike in this. LOL
As a homecook from Louisiana, bay, even dried does make a difference. Have a pot of cream style red beans that's simmered for a couple hours or a pot of proper jambalaya, bay makes a difference. I'd never really thought of appling tasting notes to bay as I see what it does as more mechanical than adding flavor. It helps fill out the body of a dish's profile and gives some space for some spices to mingle. It helps everything get along in an appropriate use. Alot of times I've tasted a dish wondering what was missing in its profile and it turned out to be bay. Not for flavor, but to make the flavor feel complete.
And I've only ever found dried bay in stores around me.
Bay doesn't grow near me so I've always used dried and it definitely makes a difference. I think some dried herbs are better than fresh anyway - it depends. I much prefer fresh basil or parsley to dried, but I prefer dried oregano to fresh.
In Greece we use dried bay leaves in lentil soup, beef mince and in some cases in fish. I can assure you that in lentil soup makes a huge difference!
Bay Leaf is the bass player of a dish. On it's own it's pretty meh, but as part of an ensemble you miss it when it's not there.
FINALLY!! An episode dedicated to bay leaves 🍃 Such a wonderful addition to dishes.
Straight bay leaf tastes like eucalyptus smells, just not very strongly. It adds a subtle flavor that pairs well with many things.
A thing I really appreciate about this channel is that they are very transparent about using pre written information. I like the little cards
I absolutely love this video! I have had this discussion with family and friends forever (since culinary school) and I fully believe that you notice that somthing is missing when you don't use them, but for most people you can't place what that something special is. I ran out of bay during a snowstorm forever ago and made chicken soup without it. It drove me nuts why it didn't taste right, the hubby though thought it was fine (his Mom never used them). I suggested this at our library as part of the cooking classes or STEM to taste things like bay vs no bay or salted water for pasta vs unsalted or seasoned and brownded ground beef vs just browned in chili, along with just showing tue differences in browned bones or meat vs unbrownec for stocks.
This is amazing! We have wanted this video & BOOM. We get it! Thank you sorted for listening to your fans! Awesome results as well. I've been a bayleaver, but I really was curious.
Our pleasure!
They definitely make a difference in taste to me. I've always thought of them as like a (perfume) base note. And like you guys say in the first one it reduces the tang in tomatoe dishes which is another reason i always use them. I've even made tea from dried bay leaves. They've definitely got a flavour, a very subtle one, but its the combination with other flavours that rounds out a dish.
So glad you finally did this and the boys have been convinced! I've been a bay-liever ever since I bought a packet of fresh leaves, which I slowly let air dry. I found that my bechamel sauce never tasted quite right unless I added bay to it - and putting a home dried leaf in with the butter and oil at the start of the roux made a HUGE difference. In fact I learned quickly not to add too many leaves cause that flavour can be so pungent! I'd love to have Ben go and talk to a food scientist about the science of how bay leaves round flavours out, it'd be fascinating!
I JUST used bay leaves in my chili and was wondering about when y'all would finally do this!
I'm so confused that some people think bay leaves taste like nothing. I've accidentally gotten a slice of dried bay leaf inside my serving of mince, and boy does it burn like whole peppercorns. The dish would usually only have one big or two small bay leaves.
I don't know where you are from, but apparently british bay leaves tast like nothing
Here in south america they are quite overpowering and you can smell them from the next room xD
ive eaten dried bay leaves here as well, also on accident. It just tasted like weirdly textured tasteless paper. Not like pepercorns or anything. I guess its strongly dependant where you're from and where the bay leaves come from.
Yeah no idea where that even comes from. I always thought they had a pretty strong taste but apparently some types just taste like nothing.
Yeah they’re way too strong to eat directly. Almost peppery and kind of numbing like cloves.
If they taste like nothing then they’re too old and need to be thrown out.
Ben: “I’m now hard thinking about Bae!(Bay)”
Annnnnd THERE’s the Benuendos we have come to expect and love over the last decade or so!
I think the issue is that there is a notion if you add an ingredient to a dish it must impart a distinct taste. But there are various components to the eating experience that is not solely resting on taste (texture for example)
So glad you guys did this comparison! It's always something I've wondered about so seeing the A:B testing is really helpful!
Bay leaf contains oils like 1,8-cineole (also called eucalyptol) and other oils which are as Ebbers stated not water but oil soluable. So thats why the fish didn't take any flavor from the bay leaf. So always use it in oily/ fatty foods
“I’m hard thinking about bay” from Ben made me cry with laughter 😂
My english mum taught me that beef stew needs a bay leaf or two, depending on the size of the leaves - when I've made it without Bay I've def noticed the lack.
Bay leaves really make a difference!🍃🍃 I’m not sure what taste it gives, but my soup/stew doesn’t taste round without it! My tip is to rip the bay leaf (but not to the extent that it separate from each other). This way you get more flavor with less leaves, and still only need to remove 1 piece of (haggard) leaf 😂❤
Sounds great!
This was great! As a Spaniard I absolutely believe that bay makes a difference. In fact, my dad notices it so much that he doesn't like the flavour! haha but again, it also depends on how many spices you are cooking with ;)
In the Caribbean, in addition to putting it into Soups, Stews, and most dishes, we also drink it as a Tea, as well as use it in our cooked cereals like Oats Porridge and so on. It's absolutely divine in dishes!
This is so relatable. When I started using bay leaves according to what recipe I was cooking I didn't get it either. But a few recipes later I noticed that bay leaves actually help to meld the spices together to homogenize the flavors that were added to the dish. Especially with meat dishes.
I asked for this, and you guys delivered! I'm so interested in trying Bay Leaf in more dishes
I love bay, both in food & as a scent. Bay Rum aftershave, though old-fashioned is still a favourite for me. There is a school of thought & unfortunately very little research into the fact that bay other ester and terpenoid flavour compounds may be among the genetically taste blind substances. Like some of us think coriander leaves taste of soap. Also like many terpenoids, the compounds in bay aren't water soluble, but they are in fats & alcohols. hence why Bay Rum aftershave extracts a lot of the compounds & the dairy/fatty dishes like the pork, mac'n'cheese & the panna cotta all tasted strongly yet the salmon which had the leaves in the court bouillon de poisson did not.
Great video, I feel Ben & all of us other bay lovers have been vindicated. 🍃🍃🍃
Home cook here, I’ve always been a fan of bay leaf. Ham and bean soup just isn’t the same without it. And it really adds an mmmm factor to a fish in wine sauce. The panna cotta idea sounds amazing!!
A lot of people store dried bay leafs for years and then blame them for lacking flavor. My mom always fixed her beans with a dried bay leaf or two and they definitely added a faint eucalyptus flavor.
If you leave bay leaves in a cooked dish, their flavor can become too pronounced, especially if left in leftovers.
Louisiana cook Justin Wilson felt that bay leaves easily overpowered dishes. He preferred to use a dash of dried mint instead. I can't agree with mint as a substitute but some people do think bay leaf has a minty element to it.
As someone who have used bay leaves but not sure if it did anything, I am honestly surprised by this results!!
I think once you eat a dish where bay leaves aren't just incidental but actually one of the 'stars' of the dish you really get a handle on exactly their flavour profile. In his book Appetite, Nigel Slater has a roast pork recipe where the pork is rubbed with 8 bay leaves turned into a paste with 4+ cloves of garlic, salt and pepper, oil so the meat is completely marinaded. It's fantastic and the bay leaves are front and centre.
My grandma has a bay tree, I bring a small branch that a put on a vase to dry and lasts for years. I use it to cook rice, lentils, poached fish, stews (and I usually put 1 leaf on the pot)... it is such a distinguishable flavour and potent aroma, specially while fresh, that I'm even wondering if we are talking about the same bay.
These comparison testing videos are the best videos on the channel!! Please do more of them
So Bay leaves add a roundness to dishes, most notably wetter dishes. i wonder if they're a similar ingredient to things like the Black Stone Flower they tried ages ago, which again, didn't add a huge flavor itself, but instead added a roundness/completeness to the overall dish.
Filipino dishes are incomplete without them! I think it's hard to discern the taste because they give more of a "scent" rather than actual flat taste in your mouth, which is why you can't concretely describe it. I can definitely tell when they're missing from dishes!
Thank you for the episode we have all been waiting for!!! I have a small bay tree on my patio and am grateful for it!
I'm so glad you did this. I love bay leaves, especially with beans.
Was reading a thread on Reddit earlier full of people finding bay leaves in their take away food (mainly Americans in chipotle) and thinking they were either just a random leaf off a tree that had gotten into their food or a certain type of leaf that was going to make them high. So the bay leaf debate over the pond is a bit different to the UK debate 😂
I’m #TeamBay and growing up we always had a bay leaf tree outside in our garden and I would be sent to get cuttings to wash and add to dinner that night, as an adult I’ve always had a bay leaf tree too. Costs nothing to grow your own. Someone get Barry one for Christmas
Got the reddit link? :D
Indian Bay is a cinnamon species. European Bay is a laurel.
VERY DIFFERENT TASTE PROFILE
I have been adding dry bay leafs to my spaghetti sauces and tomato based soups for the past few years, and it makes a big difference. I now can not imagine ever making either without bay leafs. I can also say I have accidentally added too much a few times, and bay leafs definitely has a very distinct taste. I would say it has a tannin taste.
There it is! Been waiting for this for years, it feels like. Glad you guys finally cleared this up.
I really don't understand why people find it so hard to believe that bay leaves can make a difference. You can literally smell them immediately, just like any other herb. How is it any different from throwing some sprigs of thyme in while basting a steak and then removing them? Or a cinnamon stick in a pot? They all impart something, often mostly by scent. It's just a herb that you then remove.
It would have been funny to give them 2 dishes, neither with bay. See if they notice!
When I've poached fish in milk, I used cod and two bay leaves. I was making fish cakes. I did some in bay free milk and there was a difference. I often put bay leaves in Indian food when I make it. Crushing them imparts a stronger flavour as well. I am a proud bay-leaver. I have my dried ones in a glass jar and fresh ones have stronger bitter flavours. Salmon has a pretty strong flavour on it's own and I tend to pair basil or oregano with it.
Bay gets stronger in flavor and less bitter when drying but the oils fade quickly in the dry leaves so you cannot keep them long, in their dried state. Prefer using fresh Bay off my tree as the mild bitterness is enjoyable. Always cut slits on the leaves when I use them too. Their aroma is great and needed when doing a Gammon at the festive.
Nice video. Thanks as always.