Do they deepen dishes, adding subtle notes of flavor, as the dogma insists, or are the leaves a sharp and pricey fraud?

NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe talks to the Boston Globe’s Beth Teitell < > about the bay leaf and whether it’s necessary or not for your dish.

While bay leaves are often used in cooking to flavor dishes, they also have surprising aromatic qualities. Burning them in your home can bring numerous benefits.

Although fresh leaves are becoming more widely available, they are usually sold dried. The dried bay leaves are more strongly flavoured than fresh ones, but the uses for both are the same.

Despite some of the ingredients suggested in the video having some medicinal benefits, there is no scientific proof to ...

Serve a ball of ice cream in chilled bowls on top of a blob of softly whipped cream (yes, that's not a misprint) Sprinkle with bay leaf dust and serve as soon as possible. Dry the fresh bay leaves ...

NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe talks to the Boston Globe’s Beth Teitell < > about the bay leaf and whether it’s necessary or not for your dish.