Bay Leaves

[cardinalflower]

Hey all,
Not sure if this is the place to post this message but I've run out of fresh bay leaves my friend sent me when she pruned her tree.
They are so fab when thrown on the BBQ.
Does anyone have a bay tree that needs clipping?  ???

I'd happily pay for postage on them, and never go back to using the shop bought dried ones. They have virtually no taste compared to fresh ones or freshly dried ones!  :P

[cardinalflower]

[sarah]

i can help you out there i will pm you.

[Isleworth]

Hi Cardinalflower,

I only have a small bay tree so it's not being pruned yet sorry, but can I ask what you use the bay leaves for?

We haven't used any of ours yet and we are having a big BBQ soon.. so if you would share some tips I would be grateful ;)


Thanks,

IsleworthTW7

[cardinalflower]

Hiya ITW7

I use my bay leaves in all the curry's I cook including soups and roasts etc.

When marinading meat etc I pop them in with all the other spices, olive oil etc.

I would never use the shop bought ones after using both fresh and freshly dried as they are an awful greyish colour and the taste difference is worlds apart!

The ones I use fresh are a lovely glossy green colour and the ones that I dried from fresh still hold their colour, months after being dried. I left them on a flat plate and they just did their own thing, stored them in an airtight jar and they have lasted me about 9 months and still a lovely colour.

As for use on the BBQ, just throw them on fired up coals and they give a lovely scent when burning. You can do the same with rosemary.

All the best  8)

By the way don't eat them as they are poisonous!

[glosterwomble]

Hi cardinalflower, if you want to pm me your address I will send you some leaves, we have LOADS!!!

[littlebabybird]

hi cardinalflower
just to let you know they are not poisonous
we use them powdered all the time

[PurpleHeather]

I nearly cried when I packed my brown bin with them the tree had gone to 8 foot and was planted under a window ledge.

Any savory from a roast joint to bolognaise sauce-curry-stew-casserole will benefit, in flavour from the addition of a bay leaf or two during the cooking time. Remove the leaf before serving. So count how many you put in so that you can take the same number out. They are not chewable!

Add to marinades too.

I have heard that they make an interesting taste when added to the heating milk/cream when making custard, but have never ventured beyond vanilla for this.

[Lindsay]

I have loads too - two huge trees over 20ft high!  PM me if you haven't enough!

[cardinalflower]

Little lady bird.....  :P

Your right, I did abit of research and found this .....

Bay leaves are not poisonous -- if they were, you would not be cooking with them. The reason why you must always pick them out of the dish you are cooking before serving it is that the leaves do not become tender with cooking. They are thin, rigid, and have very sharp edges. If you accidentally ate one, it might lodge in your throat and choke you. Always count the number of bay leaves you put in a dish and make sure you take the same number back out again. Alternatively (and to help make sure you don't accidentally lose broken leaf bits) you can wrap the bay leaves and other spices (like peppercorns) in a bit of clean cheesecloth. Tie it off with cooking twine, put it in the pot, and attach the other end of the string to one of the handles on your pot to make it easy to fish out later.

Hope its useful to other people who thought the same as me!
:D

[syrahsuzie]

I always put a bay leaf in when cooking cauliflower as it reduces the 'cabbage' smell in the kithchen.

Also if I'm organised enough and not rushing to get dinner on the table, I put a bay leaf in with the milk for a cheese (bechamel) sauce and warm through before making the sauce - lovely for a lasagne.  Never tried it for sweet sauces tho.

[Jitterbug]

You can also use the smaller branches as skewers and make kebabs - the sticks impart a lovely taste to the steak/meat.  The portuguese people love to barbeque like this.

Jitterbug