Diving Into the Ingredients That Make Us: The Bay Leaf – wayfarersoliloquy

When I moved to California in my late teens, I developed one of my first olfactory memories while hiking in the cool canyons of Santa Barbara. I kept smelling a pleasant fragrance. I narrowed it down to one plant, picked a leaf, and sniffed a fragrance that reminded me of the synthetic purple markers I used as a kid. What I found was a California Bay Laurel, an evergreen with pungent leaves and a Native American culinary history. It also has a close smell and flavor to its Mediterranean cousin: The common bay leaf. 

The Californian bay leaf and the common bay leaf are members of the family Lauraceae which includes some highly poisonous tropical and subtropical plants as well as delicious edible flavor enhancers. Most of us are very familiar with the common bay leaf. This ubiquitous ingredient in most western pantries tells a story as old as cooking itself. 

A Distinguished History

The bay leaf—Laurus nobilis—we all know and love comes from the Mediterranean region. However, like in California, there are regional laurels in South Asia and tropical Southeast Asia that are used extensively in cooking. Some local species are used to make the famous curries of Malaysia and Thailand. 

The ancient Greeks used bay leaves, along with parsley, in their ceremonial wreaths, and the Romans, too, adopted this custom for their royal caesars. Poets and academics also got in on the laurel wreath wearing. Today, the English language uses two common honorary academic terms originating with this tradition: a poet laureate, an honorary poet, and a baccalaureate, a bachelor’s degree. Both these terms end in laureate, signifying that they deserve to be crowned with laurels. 

What Do They Taste Like? 

Bay leaves add a subtle aroma and taste to food. Most chefs and foodies can’t explain exactly what they impart, but know that food is often missing something without them. They can have the subtle nutmeg flavor and floral aroma, similar to vanilla. 

Bay Leaves have high amounts of pungent eucalyptol which can be distilled into an essential oil. Its modern and ancient use has been as an effective natural cough suppressant. Going along with a developing theme of these articles, the bay leaf too might have won people over by its use as a medicine first and then as a food ingredient. 

As for my hand-picked Californian Bay Leaves, they taste excellent, just a little stronger. Even fresh, these leaves are full of flavor and add an incredible aroma to food. Use them in stews, pasta, Mediterranean, or middle eastern dishes to boost the floral aromas and make your dishes shine. Even their fruit is edible and has been an important part of Native American diets for centuries.