Al, I don't know, but I just wanted to say Hi and welcome you to this forum, and hope you'll come around from time to time.

All you cooking forum regulars: Al is the source of my most treasured recipes -- for potting soils! My "Clippings" file is an odd melange of food recipes from this forum and Al's soil mixes. He is very, very generous with his time and knowledge.

Seems to me I "know" Al from the Hosta forum...
Powder your own bayleaf in a blender....takes an instant and it's always fresh.
Linda C

Hi, Al. Nice to meet you!

I checked all over when Penzey's discontinued and found just a couple of internet sites where it was still offered. But the kicker was that you had to buy such gargantuan amounts of the stuff that you'd have to own a whole chain of restaurants to justify it.

I tried making my own using a mini-Cuisinart. The reason I love that little puppy so much is that it handles small quantities of herbs, garlic, etc., lots better than a full-sized processor, so I thought it would handle the leaves with ease. To my surprise, though, it didn't even manage to mince the bay leaves, much less actually pulverize them. The result was about the same as breaking them up by hand, with pieces big enough that they would have added an unpleasant texture.

Linda C, would the way a blender's blade works or is shaped or whatever be so different from that of a f/p? (I'm a real mechanical genius as you can probably tell.) I never use the thing anymore except for an occasional pitcher of margaritas, but I'm sure going to pull it out tomorrow. Thanks for the tip!

sm

An electric coffee/spice mill may work better than either the small food processor or a blender. A Suribachi and Pestle (a ceramic bowl with groves set into its surface) would also work fairly well, but crush the bay leaf first if using a Suribachi. -Grainlady

I use a Kitchen Aid 4 oz. Blade Coffee Grinder to turn bay leaves (for Blackening seasoning) and sassafras leaves (for file) into a powder. It works real well.

Dan

I always just cooked with whole ones and then picked them out after they have flavored things.

: )
lyra

You know, I do that too, pick them out after cooking, but I've often wondered, just how much flavor DO they impart? I have a coffee grinder which I use for spices, so if I get inspired, I might put a couple o' bay leaves in it tonight and see what happens. I'll let you know. If it works well, I think I'll convert to doing that instead of picking the leaves out every time.

Welcome Al...stick around! We love dirty guys!

Hi Al : Welcome to the FF.
I was going to tell you to ask Grainlady but she beat me to it.
Or, You could Google it on the net.
LOU

About 99.9% of the time, you would want the leaves whole. What you occasionally need the powdered form for is use in seasoning blends. I've added it to rubs for blackening, as Dan mentioned. But the main thing I use it for is a homemade seasoning mixture for seafood that's similar to Old Bay (but much better imo). Now that the problem of making it is solved, anybody else have any good uses?

sm

lowspark,

You'll find that 98% of the leaves will be ground real fine with the grinder. The other 2% are leaf stems and pieces that can be removed with a fine wire mesh screen. I'm too lazy to remove the stems before grinding

Dan

The Spice House sells powdered bay leaf. I haven't bought from them yet but some people here have recommended Spice House as a Penzey's alternative.

Here is a link that might be useful: Powdered bay at Spice House

The blender will make a fine powder of everything....try it!
Linda C

Cloud Swift: you're the second person that beat me.
I just saw the Spice House Ad. I'm getting beat up today.

Dan : Good Show !!! I heard the Indians had a recipe for
healing, using powdered Bay Leaves ???

Sm: Can we have the recipe for home made " similar " to Old Bay.

Linda,

I must have a wimp blender. Mine doesn't grind to the powder form as well as the coffee grinder.

For anyone grinding your own gumbo file. Be sure to harvest your sassafras leaves after the third week of August.......that's what the Indians taught us.

Dan

steelmagnolias said, About 99.9% of the time, you would want the leaves whole.

This may be a stupid question, but, why?

The Spice Hosue carries the powdered Turkish bay leaves. Great company; terrific customer service; freshest spices ever. I never buy from Penzeys anymore.

WOW!size>

You guys are great & so helpful! I can't believe the response. ;o) Special thanks to Cloudy Christine for the kind words and to Cloud Swift for the link. I really appreciate the words and the help!

Thanks to everyone else for the welcome, too, though I've been here a few times in the past for help - the last time was when I needed help finding 'Flavor Gem' soup base. I'm sorry to say that search was not as successful as this. ;o)

I REALLY like the powdered bay over the whole leaves and was disappointed to learn Penzey's had discontinued it. It keeps for such a long time w/o losing it's flavor and is MUCH more pungent than the whole leaves. I add it to pasta water, soups, some Mexican dishes, and a few other things.

A belated 'Happy Valentine's Day'color> and a big thanks to EVERYONE. BTW - I always wondered why Cupid was considered a fitting symbol for V-Day?? When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon...

Al

Thanks for the info, cloud swift -- and for the recommendation, beanthere. I don't think I've ever heard of Spice House. It's always good to find new sources for hard-to-get items, especially when someone can vouch for their reliability. At least there's an alternative now if my blender turns out to be as wimpy as Dan's.

lowspark, I guess the way I phrased that sounded like I had some special knowledge about the subject -- but, not so! When I said most of the time you'd "want" whole leaves, all I really meant was that's what is called for. You'll find thousands -- probably tens of thousands -- of recipes that list a specific number of bay leaves to use for every 1 that requires the powdered version. From a practical standpoint, it just seems a lot easier to use them in the form specified (and fish them out) rather than spending time grinding and then trying to figure out how much powder is equivalent to "1 large bay leaf" and whether or not grinding increases the potency or whatever. So my comment was strictly from an "if ain't broke..." perspective.

Lou -- here you go. From Bon Appetit, if I remember correctly. Should probably note for anyone who might think about trying it that this is NOT a copycat version of Old Bay. It's different. Subtler, but somehow far more flavorful. If you grew up on seafood seasoned with OB and are addicted to it, you may not like this. (Hey, I can relate. Although I hate most commercial seasonings, they'll have to pry the giant economy-sized shaker of McCormick's Season-All out of my cold, dead hands.) Just go into it with an open mind, okay?

DELMARVA SEASONING

2 t. salt
1 t. ground celery seed
1 t. ground mustard
1 t. sweet paprika
1 t. ground black pepper
1 t. bay leaf powder (DA-DUM!)
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. ground allspice
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground cardamom
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground nutmeg (much better if freshly-ground!)

Combine all ingredients, stirring well to mix. Put in a tightly-sealed container; store in a cool, dark place. Keeps indefinitely.

Enjoy!

sm