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A side-by-side taste test with my team proved bay leaves are useless in our stocks.
I've cooked identical batches with and without them for months... and nobody can spot the difference.
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david_murray7mo ago
Seriously, I read something that made this exact point! The argument was that the flavor compounds in bay leaves are oil soluble, not water soluble. So if you're just simmering them in a watery broth, they might not do much. You need some fat in there for them to actually release their flavor, like in a stew with oil or meat drippings. Maybe that's why your stock test didn't show a difference. It kinda needs the right conditions to work.
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mark9687mo ago
Yeah but I've made clear vegetable stocks with just bay leaves and still tasted it fine. That whole "needs fat" idea doesn't match my experience at all. If you simmer them long enough in just water, the flavor definitely comes out. Maybe it's stronger with oil, but to say they do nothing in broth? Ngl, my soups say otherwise.
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carr.xena7mo ago
Okay but "simmer them long enough in just water" is the key thing you said. I've done that too and you DO get flavor, it's just a different kind. The oil soluble stuff gives that deeper, rounder taste. For a clear veg stock, try cracking the bay leaf in half before you drop it in. It helps a bit more of whatever CAN come out in water actually get out.
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