Food Witchcraft

[Anonymous No.12559445]

Do these things actually do anything other than make it a pain fishing them out of my beef stew?

[Anonymous No.12559471]

>>12559445
Bay leaves? They add good smell and flavor, enriching your dish. Just as pepper. I don't buy them, just grab whenever I see a plant

[Anonymous No.12559488]

>>12559445
Yes moron they are what makes the stew taste good

[Anonymous No.12559491]

>mfw i have a big ass bay tree with hundreds of leaves

[Anonymous No.12559498]

>>12559491
i'm guessing the fresh ones add more flavor. i tried chewing on a raw bay leaf once and didn't really get any flavor sensation from it

[Anonymous No.12559500]

>>12559498
yes

[Anonymous No.12559504]

wow thats pretty crazy

[Anonymous No.12559520]

Make a pot of beef stew.
Remove half of it and place that half into a second pot.
Add laurels to one of the two pots and give it time to steep.
As they were made simultaneously, there's no way you could have made one accidentally any differently than n the other besides the inclusion or lack of laurels.
Taste the two stews.
That's what laurel tastes like.

In my country, we also powder laurels to use in spice mixtures we rub onto roasted meats, especially pork and veal.

[Anonymous No.12559528]

>>12559498
Dry and fresh are both good, though. And you can't powder fresh ones.

[Anonymous No.12559532]

>>12559520
Where are you from anon?
To me, rosemary and bay leaf is just childhood aromas

[Anonymous No.12559779]

>>12559445
suck on one... that's what they impart - peppery thyme with a hint of eucalyptus. You don't notice it much in rich dishes, but you will notice its absence.

[Anonymous No.12559787]

>>12559445
Fresh leaves are better. You only need one.
With the dried you need 4 or 5 for a pot of stew.

[Anonymous No.12559789]

>>12559498
>didn't really get any flavor sensation from it
really? they are sweet and perfumy, almost reminiscent of bubble gum

[Anonymous No.12559798]

>>12559445
they are good for soup or sauce

[Anonymous No.12559805]

>>12559498
Might've been an old leaf. While spices don't expire, they slowly lose flavour over time.

[Anonymous No.12559832]

I always put a few leaves in when canning pickles. Never tried a batch without though.

[Anonymous No.12560694]

>>12559805
how long are bay leaves good for? i'm assuming they sit on the shelf for 6 months at the supermarket before getting restocked

[Anonymous No.12560698]

>>12559445
The fresh ones are a million times better than dried

[Anonymous No.12560699]

>>12560694
no item sits on a shelf at a grocery store for more than 1 week

[Anonymous No.12560905]

>>12559445
You have to use too much one day. Only then will you know the power of them.

[Anonymous No.12560906]

>>12559445
Breaking the leaves in a few parts enhances the taste. I get them from bushes in the countryside and use it for years.

[Anonymous No.12560919]

>>12560699
I've bought dry beans that were 3 months out of date at Kroger once.

[Anonymous No.12560985]

>>12559445
if you can't taste the difference you are 100% tastelet and there is no hope

[Anonymous No.12560992]

[Anonymous No.12561125]

>>12559445
they smell good if you toast them

[Anonymous No.12562560]

>>12560992
should wahmen be allowed to vote?
>>12561125
i've heard of doing this for spices used in indian curry. i'm assuming 5 minutes on a low heat skillet...

[Anonymous No.12562903]

>>12562560
>should wahmen be allowed to vote?
i'll give you a hint, it rhymes with 'ho'.

[Anonymous No.12562910]

>>12561125

They also toast good if you smell them.

[Anonymous No.12562912]

>>12560694
If you buy the stuff in Mexican packages, it was useless before it was packaged. A lot of the cheap spices in Mexican sections of grocery stores are good, but the bay always sucks beyond use. Also, don't buy Mexican cinnamon.

[Anonymous No.12562916]

>>12562903
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtndscQua6w

[Anonymous No.12562956]

i don't know how much bay leaf is in old bay seasoning but god damn is it delicious

[Anonymous No.12563103]

>>12559445
what are food tweezers?

[Anonymous No.12563398]

>>12559445
When I was a kid, whoever got the bay leaf had to do the dishes... God, we were such a nice and happy family until my dad killed my mom.

[Anonymous No.12563413]

>>12559445
OP, I used to believe the same. I bought them from all kinds of regular stores and they never amounted to a damn thing. 100% tasteless. Neither fresh, nor dried (verdict is out on which is best, but it shouldn't really matter that much).
Then I bought a small bucketful of dried ones for next to nothing at an asian store.
Holy shit, the flavor! Not only really good, but fucking powerful too. Difference like day and night. I need to be careful with how much I put in there now.
Search for the good ones. It may take a while, but they exist.

[Anonymous No.12563422]

>>12563103
>bayleaf seeking tweezers exist
technology is getting scary

[Anonymous No.12563431]

>>12563413
A famous chef in my country claims that one leaf is enough to season 10 liters (2.6 gallons for Americlaps) of water. Highly anecdotical evidence but there you go.

[Anonymous No.12563448]

>>12562560
Fry spices for indian curry on high heat for 10 seconds in ghee

[Anonymous No.12563455]

>>12563431
fresh ones maybe, but dried? no way.

[Anonymous No.12563620]

I have a plant, my friend is gardner he said it was laurier, bay leaf... but it tastes like any other leaf with a bitter finish. So what was it, old leaf? Wrong plant? I'll stick to store bought I think...

[Anonymous No.12563632]

>>12563620
pic of plant?
Prunus laurocerasus is coloquially known as Laurel, but it's poisonouse and probably bitter.
But is has much larger and lighter green leaves that True Laurel (Laurus nobilis).

[Anonymous No.12564154]

I have an aunt who put loads of bay leaves in every single fucking thing she cooks. I can't stand her food anymore, everything tastes the same because of those fucking niggers.

[Anonymous No.12564264]

>>12563632
Almost replied to the pic without reading the post.
Yeah, if your mum has one of those growing out back you should not eat it.

[Anonymous No.12564267]

>>12563632
Yes much larger

[Anonymous No.12564288]

>>12564267
definitely cherry laurel. do not eat, it contains cyanide.

[Anonymous No.12564848]

>>12559491
Have you ever burned cut branches of it when it grows too big? All the oil burns up massively and it smells great.

[Anonymous No.12564863]

>>12563455
>dry vs fresh debate
It's much more complicated than that..
source: serious eats

[Anonymous No.12566143]

>>12560699
based retard