I have a question about bay leaves?

J

jillelaine

Well-known member
I have a bay leaf plant. Is it better to dry them before using them? I have never seen them fresh anywhere so I am thinking I need to dry them first. Thank you!

 
Use them either way...(more)

I would certainly dry them, but also keep some fresh for those recipes that call for fresh bay leaf. You can find fresh bay leaves in with the fresh produce area that may stock fresh herbs in those smaller plastic packages from places such as Dehn's Farms.

 
OR have an 8 foot bay tree like I do!! ;o)

I had not heard about cockroaches but they do keep mealy bugs out of cornmeal and grits, for example, and they are often put in curry powders for bug resistance.

 
I think using them fresh is such a luxury and far better than dried. I harvest

them only when my extremely overly-sensitive little tree looks as though it is going to succumb to some pest. THey are apparently quite prone.

Mine is in recovery right now but such despair when I thought I had lost it (for the 3rd time).

 
Fresh is preferable to dry just like with other herbs

Fresh Bay leaf gives such a wonderful flavor. I used dry until I moved to Hawaii and found fresh available. What a difference! Now I only use dry when away from home or after drying my own leaves.

Since the trees can get to over 20' high (here anyway) you can cut branches, strip off the leaves and skewer meats, fish or vegetables on them. The flavor is incredible.

 
I keep a few scattered in my cupboards around the flour and other...

starchy things (pasta, rice). It also keeps the moths/larvae (ewww) away.

 
Marg, How do you keep the pest away? My baby twig, "tree" .....

loved it on my deck this summer and more than doubled in height but something (other than me!) loves the leaves. Every leaf has a blemish. Do you know who these greedy little pests are?

 
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