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My bay leaves don't taste of anything

jonathannhsYUowIilWjonathannhsYUowIilW Posts: 6
in Problem solving
Hi All,

When I moved into my house I bought a bay laurel and put it in a pot outside my front door. 

The plant is fine and I've had it a year now. It has flowered and had small black fruit on it. To keep it in shape i cut off some of the growth and dried the leaves. 

I tried putting them in bolognese sauce but found that they don't have anywhere near as strong a taste as the ones you get in the supermarket, despite being larger and heavier-looking. 

When I sucked on one of the leaves after it had been cooking, I could taste that it did taste like a bay leaf, but just seems to have a much weaker taste to it than the supermarket ones.

Does anyone know why? Maybe they use a special variety in the ones grown for cooking that has more taste to it.

Jonathan.
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Posts

  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    If you have picked the leaves when young/soft, they aren't much good for culinary purposes.  The old leaves are the ones to use.
    If you only bought the tree a year ago, you may need to wait a while to get the leaves you want.

  • jonathannhsYUowIilWjonathannhsYUowIilW Posts: 6
    Hi Philippa,

    I'm not sure it's that - as the ones I picked were big, thick leaves. A lot bigger than the ones you get in the supermarket and pretty mature leaves. 

    The tree itself must be reasonably mature as it is about 6 feet tall.

    BW

    Jonathan.


  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I’ve always found that I need to use 3 fresh bay leaves to be the equivalent of 1 dried, whether I’ve dried them myself or I’m using bought ones. 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    are you sure it's a Bay, errors have been made at nurseries


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Mediterranean herbs and other aromatic plants generally produce more of the aromatic oils which give the flavour in hot climates. My guess is that supermarket ones are grown in hotter sunnier countries. Maybe try yours again later in the summer/autumn.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I never dry mine,  just take off the tree as needed. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    @jonathannhsYUowIilW  If you are sure that it is actually a culinary Bay as per @nutcutlet's post , then the mature leaves will have a leathery texture and will definitely give off the "bay" scent when torn in half. Just avoid any soft/new leaves.
    I have used both dried and fresh and yes, you sometimes do need more leaves when picking fresh.  It's often the case with any herb which has been dried that the flavour is more concentrated and you don't need to use so much.Either way, it obviously depends on your personal sense of taste tho.
    Hope you manage to sort it out - I admit I'd be lost without Bay leaves  ;)
     
  • RedwingRedwing Posts: 1,511
    Dovefromabove said:
    I’ve always found that I need to use 3 fresh bay leaves to be the equivalent of 1 dried, whether I’ve dried them myself or I’m using bought ones. 

    I agree with that. Dried leaves are more pungent.  You could pick some and dry them to use for cooking, otherwise double or treble up.
    Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
  • Simone_in_WiltshireSimone_in_Wiltshire Posts: 1,073
    I agree with nutcutlet.
    @jonathannhsYUowIilW Are you 100% sure it's bay leave?
    There is a tree/shrub its leaves look very similar to bay leave and are slightly bigger than bay leaves.
    Did you try one of the older leaves to see if they have the typical taste?

    I ♥ my garden.

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Agree, there should be some smell and taste even with the young soft growth. 
    Ask someone else to have a sniff too - just in case it's you😊
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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