I use bay leaves in most of my cooking, but I haven't bought any in decades because there's a bay laurel bush just outside the kitchen door. I keep it trimmed low, otherwise it wants to be a 20 metre giant and might push the house over.

But I've been intrigued by Indian bay leaves and finally bought a packet. AUD $3 for 50g, which I stuffed into an old coffee jar (my personal favourite spice jars). Should keep me going for a bit!

They are certainly different. For a start, you can see three veins running the length of the leaf, not just the one that bay laurel leaves have. As to the aroma, it's more like cloves. Am looking forward to trying in some spicy cooking.

The leaves come from a member of the cinnamon family:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamomum_tamala

NB: the packets all mostly just say Bay Leaves, and one even said it was Laurus nobilis (the bay laurel) but the leaves clearly had three veins, not just one central one.

#BayLeaves #IndianCooking

After reading this article, I'm going to give bay leaves another go, but:
1. be more selective in sourcing the leaves;
2. probably grind them in my spice & nut grinder; and
3. add them at the beginning of a dish, which is normally sautéing an allium in some EVOO.

https://www.livescience.com/health/food-diet/do-bay-leaves-actually-add-flavor-or-is-it-all-a-con

@vegancooking @wfpb
#food #WFPB #vegan #vegetarian #omnivore #health #bayLeaves #cooking

#InSeasonNZ for this month: #localGrown Bay Leaves

#inSeason #BayLeaves #Herbs

#Food

#InSeasonNZ for this month: #localGrown Bay Leaves

#inSeason #BayLeaves #Herbs

#Food

#InSeasonNZ for this month: #localGrown Bay Leaves

#inSeason #BayLeaves #Herbs

#Food

#HonestlyTruly, it is... I'll take a better photo of it when it's not dark and blowing a gale, which it is at the moment...

Next you'll be telling these aren't #Chives...

#Updated with #BayLeaves

🧙⚔️🤖🐺🤖⚔️🧙 | 🌿​🦹🌱​🦄​🌱​🦹🌿

#BayLeaves are #TheBomb; you can't make a proper #AutoPilotPaella without them...

My #RomanCatholicMother always kept a #BayTree, and I do #TheSame...

You can #MakeThings without #BayLeaves; but, #IT's #JustNotTheSame...

🧙⚔️🤖🐺🤖⚔️🧙 | 🌿​🦹🌱​🦄​🌱​🦹🌿

THERE
ARE
*FOUR* [1]
LIGHTS! [2]

[1] three
[2] bay leaves

#PeaSoup #BayLeaves #_bay_leaves_in #_bay_leaves_out

One of my colleagues has a bay leaf tree that needed pruning, so he brought a whole load of cuttings to the office. I took one branch home and dried the leaves in the oven, we now have enough bay leaves for stews and such for at least the upcoming year! 😄

#bayleaves #bayleaftree #bayleaf #bayleavesdrying