Ultimate BAY LEAF Comparison Test | Do They Really Make a Difference? | Sorted Food

Today we ask the all-important question! DOES ADDING A BAY LEAF MAKE A DIFFERENCE?! We've put Chef Ben against Mike and Barry in a blind taste test to see if it does!

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[Virginiafox]

From a cursory scan of the literature, the main flavor compound of bay leaves, eugenol, is fat soluble and not water soluble. So Ben makes a good point! Not much flavor is going to transfer from a water based poaching liquid. I wonder if the test would have gone differently if the salmon was poached in olive/neutral oil with the same aromats.

[JohnBainbridge]

In my experience, beyond the subtle herbaceousness, Bay smooths out other flavours. Without Bay, individual flavours stand out, like spices, veggies in the broth, the sweet, the salt, the sour, etc. With Bay leaves, the flavours get unified from many different flavours into one, singular-but-complex flavour.

[EmilytheBaleester]

It sounds like bay leaves are the savory version of vanilla in baking. My sister always said that you put vanilla in to marry the flavors and it sounds like bay does that as well.

[myjewelryu]

Ben saying, “I’m now hard thinking about bay” almost killed me!!! 🤣

[DenisedeCastro]

Part 2 with the dried vs fresh vs frozen vs powdered bay leaves please! And add it to a blind taste test with different herbs to see if they can pick out what bay really tastes like

(Edited to include the powdered version as mentioned by our fellow foodies)

[ewannorth]

I am a 'normal' cook and I couldnt believe the hatred to bay leaves, they go in most the sauces I make! A bread sauce is not the same without them. We also had a bay tree right outside our front door. Maybe the more prounounced flavour of a fresh bay leaf is what makes the difference.

[rexzsjv]

I'm so glad you guys finally settled it. I was also a non-bay leafer for years and years, until I found fresh bay leaves at the farmer's market. Fresh makes such a difference. Now I always have them in my freezer.

[RiverDanube]

Bay leaves make a big difference when a dish is cooking for more than an hour. Stews, casseroles and soups benefit from the earthiness. I also find that celery is very important in these dishes as well.

[erinnyren]

THANK YOU for finally putting this argument to the test!! On that note, I would absolutely purchase a sorted food T-shirt with “I’m a Bay-leaver” on it…or “Don’t stop bay-leafing!”

[lucindawillis]

I've been waiting for this, I think one of the reasons bay leaves don't make a difference is that so many normals use dried Bay leaves then don't cook it for long enough so no flavour comes out.

[billyeveryteen]

Ben is more correct than Barry realizes about bay leaves being ornamental. The bay leaf, also called the bay laurel and still called "laurel" in romance languages, is the leaf that made up Caesar's iconic crown, and is the wreath that adorns film festival awards. It's also the source of the phrase "To rest on one's laurels."

[NJTRAF]

Loved the episode! I’d love a Part 2 (and 3) where Ben’s theory of Bay being Fat soluble rather than Water soluble is tested side by side with Kush cooking and Ben & Normals tasting maybe 3 of each dish (3 fat soluble dishes made with & without Bay and 3 water soluble dishes made with & without Bay) and another episode where the dishes that had the biggest difference from this episode and Part 2 are made with Fresh vs Dried Bay to see if there’s a noticeable difference.

Honestly this episode is one of the most informative I’ve seen and I love it

[Grimmance]

My opinion has always been that bay leaves only work in long com dishes like stews and long cook sauces, otherwise you'd need 10- 20 leaves to make a taste difference.

[marymaryquitecontrary]

I once was like Mike & Barry until a patient at our clinic brought in several shopping bags full of fresh bay leaves from her garden & i took one home. I started looking up recipes & the 1st thing I made was roasted potatoes. It was simple just potatoes tossed with some oil, salt, pepper & alot of those fresh bay leaves (maybe 10). They were the best roasted potatoes I ever had & it was then that I learned the taste of bay, now i can pick it out of anything. I loved it so much I bought a bay plant & have it growing in a pot on my lanai here in Hawaii... I think to learn the taste of bay itself you need to try it with just o e other ingredient like the potatos... Changed my perceptions of bay leaves in one bite.

[katiablejer]

We’ve been waiting for years! Please make it a recurring thing just to see Ben talking about that bay tree and Barry and mike just being happy when they lose too 😂

[AdamPersson]

I've been wanting this video for a long time! And, no surprise to anyone, bay leaves did exactly what we thought they did. NOW, do a fresh vs frozen vs dried bay leaf. Maybe as a part of a cheap vs expensive episode 😮

[andrineslife]

I'm absolutely a "bay-leafer", adobo wouldn't be the same without them!

[xyzalan]

In my Indian family, we use bay leaves for soooo many gravies, and it absolutely does make a difference. I understood when I moved out and started cooking without it.

[melissairvan]

When making pickled or fermented vegetables i always put a couple bay leaves in. The tanin in the bay leaves keeps the veggies crisp instead of soft. Grape leaves also work but bay leaves are easier to get.

[marcusdire]

I'd love to see an episode like this, but testing fresh vs dried herbs.