Dried Bay Leaf.
Bay leaf symbolized fame and glory to the Roman’s and the Greeks. They crowned their kings, poets, generals with wreaths of bay leaf. Fresh leaves need tobe crushed or bruised to release their aromatic compounds. Bay is very important and almost indispensable in French and Mediterranean cooking.
Health Benefits of Bay Leaf.
The essential oils fro Bay Leaf has bactericidal and fungicidal properties and has been used in times of epidemic to avoid infection. In Lebanon bay leaf and berries are used as stomach tonic. Bay leaf and berries are steeped in brandy and kept in the sun to cure for several days, then distilled to help against rheumatism and sprains. The fruit is used to cure facial growth or moles, and hardening of soft tissues in the joints or tumors of the eye.
Bay leaf is an important Herbal Medicine.
Culinary Uses.
Bay leaf release their flavor slowly, therefore they are useful in stews, soups, sauces, and pickles. Put a leaf or two on a Pate before baking, or add bay to any fish stew. It combines well with fennel and lemon to fill the cavity of any fish before baking. Bay leaf is also used to flavor pilaf.
The Turks use bay leaf in cooking slow cooked lamb dishes. Moroccans use it in cooking chicken and lamb. The French use bay with Beef to make beef Provencal.
Just two to three bay leaves favor a dish for four to six people. If you put too many, the flavor will be too strong. Bay leaf is good with beef, chestnuts, chicken, citrus fruits, fish, game, lamb, lentils, rice, tomatoes, and beans. Bay leaf combines well with garlic, juniper, oregano, parsley, sage, savory, and thyme.
Grow a bay tree in your yard, they taste great in soups and may offer you health benefits as herbal medicine someday!
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