They work both ways..

I agree, altho' the taste is somewhat different.

It's one of the few herbs which is best used dried. It is actually best to use the older leaves, not the young, immature ones.

Do not use bay when pregnant. It is abortifacient, may cause high blood pressure and vomiting.

Bay should be used very sparingly. One leaf goes a long way for flavour!

Sprinkle a few bay leaves on your pantry shelves, and put a leaf in each of your storage canisters for flour products (including rice, breakfast cereals and pasta) to prevent weevils.

Couple of recipes for you:

Bay Custard
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 bay leaves
4 egg yolks

Scald the milk and 1 bay leaf, set aside. Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until the mixture becomes pale yellow and forms a ribbon. Remove bay leaf from the milk and add the milk gradually to the egg mixture. Stir constantly over heat until mixture thickens, but do not allow to boil. Add the second bay leaf and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Remove bay leaf. Delicious served over stewed fruit.

Beef in Bay Leaf Gravy
2kg rump roast
2 carrots, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup white vinegar
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
salt to taste
500g sour cream

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, sear roast until browned on all sides. Scatter chopped carrots, celery and onions over and around roast. Add vinegar and water, and season with bay leaf and salt. Reduce heat to low, and cook for 2-3 hours. Remove roast to a cutting board, and slice thinly. Remove bay leaf, stir sour cream into gravy until blended. Return sliced meat to Dutch oven, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir a bay leaf in the milk when heating for custard desserts, or in the liquid when poaching fish, and when cooking pumpkin, cucumber, zucchini or marrow.

Toss a few Bay Leaves on your barbecue when cooking your meat. The smoke smells delicious, the flavour subtly permeates the meat, and it will help keep the mosquitoes away as well.

Use bay in/with: Soups, stews, vegetables, sauces, shellfish, game, milk puddings. Use in a bouquet garni. Good for meats, especially pot-roasts. Marinades.

thank you all for the info. daisyduckworth i love the recipes. i'll let you know how they turn our.
what is you best way of drying them?

I simply cut off a 'branch' of leaves and leave it lying around on my dining table on a cake rack. The table is near the back door, where it's shady and the air comes through and they dry in a few days. If I had somewhere to hang it, I'd probably do that. Once the leaves are dry, I strip them from the 'branch' and store them in an airtight container in my pantry cupboard where it's nice and dry and dark. They keep for a long time without losing flavour. (As a general rule, the larger the particles, the longer the storage time.)

Unfortuantely bay leaves don't work for me to keep weevils out of the pantry. Other ideas?
Jude

Jude: I have really good luck using the Safer brand of Pantry Moth trap.

Here is a link that might be useful: Safer Brands

Jude, how are you using your bay leaves in the pantry? I put a leaf or two inside my containers (they don't flavour the contents), and also scatter a few around on the shelves. Weevils don't bother me at all with that protection!

Of course, you need to make sure you aren't actually filling your containers with weevil-infested foods! Bay won't kill them, just deters them. Once you've had an infestation, you need to thoroughly clean out containers, cupboards etc to kill off any eggs. Use any of the herbs mentioned below, including bay, as a tea to wipe or spray over surfaces.

However, you could try the following:

WEEVIL-REPELLENT SACHETS:
Place cloves of unpeeled garlic on a baking tray in a warm oven for about an hour. Combine with crushed bay leaves and place in small muslin bags. Scatter sachets in cupboards and amongst food, or inside large containers of food. Weevils are also deterred by basil, Derris dust, feverfew, neem, pyrethrum, quassia.

You could also hang sachets of black pepper inside your pantry.

Thanks for this forum. A couple years ago I bought a bay laurel bush, and I was disappointed that they didn't seem like the bay leaves I buy. Ah ha!! Thanks for telling me that they must to be dried to attain that flavor! I found a couple old leaves on the bush that were dry, crushed one, and oh my!! We have bay leaves! I pruned the thing and took a rack out of the oven. They are hanging out on that rack in the garage till they get dry! Who knew? Thanks!!

I use my bat fresh, for me its stronger with better flavor but definately from the older leaves

I also recently purchased a bay leaf tree. Surprisingly they can grow to be 80ft and more here on the west coast.
For moths and other bugs which are attracted to grains and flours, I use fresh and dried Santolina sprigs. Santolina is a native plant from latin america growing to 3ft tall, prefers well drained organic soil. Unfortunatly, mine is sufferin in a pot awaiting a move to our new home.
As it grows to better health next year, I'd be glad to share with anyone requesting a branch to see if it works for you also.