Are Bay Leaves a Big, Fat Scam?

Last fall, as she was making chicken adobo, Emi Boscamp decided to film the finishing step, one she later posted on TikTok and dubbed the bay leaf salute. As the pot of chicken bubbled away, Boscamp used a pair of red tongs to pluck out a single bay leaf and said, very succinctly, “Thank you for your service.” She didn’t expect much of a reaction, but the five-second clip would later go viral, getting more than 207,000 likes and nearly 650 comments.

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Boscamp didn’t expect the video to get so much attention, but, as senior food editor at TODAY, she was well aware of the discourse around bay leaves. “I had definitely seen TikToks before of ‘me putting this ingredient in having no idea what it does’,” says Boscamp. “This TikTok plays into it. You could earnestly be saying thank you for your service for imparting your flavor into this dish, or you could be like, ‘I just put you in because I was following a recipe and I have no idea what you do, but thank you anyway.’”

No other herb or spice seems to be as controversial as bay leaves. What is it about this herb that makes it so ripe for satire and hot takes? Are they, as some insist, a big, fat culinary scam? We talked to some experts and conducted our own taste test to settle the debate.

So, What Exactly Are Bay Leaves?

As the name suggests, bay leaves are, well, leaves. They come from the laurel tree, a small plant that’s native to the Mediterranean, and have a smooth, glossy texture and dark green color when fresh. But most of us have probably only seen bay leaves in their dried form since that’s how they’re typically sold for cooking. The individual leaves are bundled into small plastic bags or stuffed into herb jars, destined for kitchens where in all likelihood, they’ll be used one or twice, then forgotten until the next spice cabinet cleanup.

What Do Bay Leaves Even Taste Like?

While this other funny TikTok video would have you think otherwise, it’s not that hard to describe what bay leaves taste like. The herb has a distinct, slightly floral aroma with hints of eucalyptus and clove. An essential ingredient in many cuisines—including Mediterranean, Indian, and Mexican—the herb is most often used in soups, stews, marinades, and sauces to impart a subtle depth of flavor.

“It adds a high note,” says Ethan Frisch, co-founder of single-origin spice company Burlap & Barrel. “Bay leaves play a role in balancing other flavors—you get a bit of brightness or mintiness and eucalyptus that’s hard to get from other spices.”

West Indian Bay Leaf Tea

To get a better idea of what the herb has to offer, start by buying high-quality leaves (this really applies to all of your herbs and spice), then break them apart, advises Frisch. 

“I think the best way for someone to understand the flavor is to take some bay leaves that they already have and grind them up in a blender or spice grinder, or pick up a jar of ground bay leaves, then smell the ingredient itself. It’s hard to do it with a whole leaf. You’ll get a lot more of the potency once it’s ground.”

The Great Bay Leaf Debate

If you’ve ever looked at a recipe calling for a bay leaf and wondered if it was necessary, you’re not alone. Not only is the flavor it adds hard to pinpoint, but it’s the only herb that comes with the additional chore of fishing it out at the end of the cooking process. But many culinary pros insist that adding a bay leaf or two can elevate dishes in a way that’s clearly noticeable.

“I’m a fan, as I believe that their subtle flavor provides a slight aftertaste and keeps people thinking, what is that?” says Sameer Kuthe, chef de cuisine at regional Indian restaurant Baar Baar in New York City.

Kuthe most often uses tej patta, or Indian bay leaf, which imparts an additional cinnamon flavor. “We use tej patta in curries and rice preparations, such as pulao and biryani, for example, as well as in a barbecue sauce, or lamb keema. I think it works best in rice preparations as it can get lost when there are more dominant spices at play.”

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Boscamp agrees: “If a recipe calls for it, I always put it in. I would probably still enjoy adobo without it because it has strong vinegary, coconutty flavors. But in pasta fagioli or chicken soup that has more delicate flavors, I think you can taste the difference. It imparts something almost tea-like and herbal.”

For Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack, the recipe developer behind Muy Bueno and author of the new cookbook Muy Bueno Fiestas: 100+ Delicious Mexican Recipes for Celebrating the Year, bay leaves contribute more than just flavor. As she worked on recipes for her books, Marquez-Sharpnack noticed that the herb appeared in many of her family’s recipes, prompting a little investigation.

“My grandma always had a little spice jar filled with dried bay leaves and used them in stews and any slow-cooked dishes like shredded brisket and pot roast,” she recalls. It turns out, bay leaves contain compounds that act as tenderizing agents, and there’s actual scientific proof that backs this up. “I have made brisket without them, and to be totally honest I didn’t notice the difference in flavor, but guess what? The meat was tougher and didn’t shred as easily. I think there is something magical about them.”

Others aren’t as convinced that bay leaves matter when it comes to flavor. When speaking on the New Yorker Radio Hour last winter, the entertaining doyenne herself, Ina Garten, questioned the need for bay leaves while answering a caller question.

“I will say that I always also wonder whether a bay leaf makes a difference," she replied. "There are a couple of things that I use bay leaves in and I've always wanted to make them without the bay leaves to see if it made a difference and I never have, so I'm not sure."

The Ultimate Taste Test

Ina obviously doesn’t have the time to pull off a great bay leaf experiment, so we took up the challenge. To see if cooking with the herb makes a difference, we tested this chicken stew twice, once with bay leaves and once without. The recipe, which calls for baking chicken, veggies, stock, and canned tomatoes in the oven for two hours, was the perfect candidate: It’s slow-cooked, giving the leaves plenty of time to reach their full flavor potential.

“I use bay leaves a lot at home and I miss them when I forget to add them. As with anything, you notice the difference when the quality is better and the flavor is stronger with fresher products,” says Burlap & Barrel’s Frisch. “It might not be an ingredient you can put your finger on or an ingredient you’re used to experiencing on its own, but it’s a good member of a chorus of spices.”