I cook all the time, every day, and have never once said, “This needs a bay leaf.” I don’t even know when it’s appropriate to use it. My mom puts a bay leaf in everything - spaghetti sauce, chili, pot roast, etc. - but I’m not convinced she knows what she’s doing, she just does it.
Seriously, what’s a bay leaf for? What does it do to the flavor?
It has a soft flavor. I don’t put it into anything spicy, and probably won’t be noticeable with the way Americans seem to do seasoning. But if I’m making a soup with some meat and potatoes and various vegetables, I’ll put it in, it’ll be noticeable.
If you just boil beef with and without it, you’ll feel the difference the most, I think.
Have you tried a little bit of espresso grounds? It adds a certain flavor to meats that’s just… incredible… Might not go with what you have here though.
Or like tap out the tiniest amount of cinnamon on your hand and add whatever falls off of it? It shouldn’t even be enough to say there’s cinnamon in it. It’s like nature’s msg, it just makes it taste better, gives it a good homogeneous flavor that pops somehow. Straight up witchcraft
Cinnamon is my favorite spice, but I don’t put it in my chili, even though I know people who do. I think I’d be able to taste it too much.
And I’m not a coffee drinker, at all, so I don’t think a coffee ingredient is going to work for me. I get it, though.
The cocoa powder was the big revelation for me, it really adds a nice hint of molé. Next was lime juice, which does something to balance the flavors. I’m finding it handy for lots of stuff.
The thing with the cinnamon is you’re not adding anywhere close to enough to taste it. Not even really enough to say that it’s in there. It’s like the bay leaves in this thread, adding the most miniscule amount to a recipe does something to the flavor. It’s not enough cinnamon for it to logically be the cinnamon but it just tastes better somehow.
I’m not a coffee person at all either. So that’s totally understandable.
Bay leaf is subtle but nicely “rounds out” the dish. It’s not a distinct spice flavour like pepper or thyme. I use it in a lot of the food I cook but not everything. Putting it in chili is exactly where it should be put.
MSG only enhances umami and has a distinctly salty flavor. Try substituting a bay leaf for a fuller, richer flavor. You may want to remove the leaf before serving.
MSG isn’t just enhancing umami, it tastes umami by itself, because the umami taste is triggered by receptors on the tongue that react to some amino acids, one of them being the glutamate in Mono-Sodium-Glutamate. The salty part comes from the sodium, which has its own receptors as well.
I cook all the time, every day, and have never once said, “This needs a bay leaf.” I don’t even know when it’s appropriate to use it. My mom puts a bay leaf in everything - spaghetti sauce, chili, pot roast, etc. - but I’m not convinced she knows what she’s doing, she just does it.
Seriously, what’s a bay leaf for? What does it do to the flavor?
It has a soft flavor. I don’t put it into anything spicy, and probably won’t be noticeable with the way Americans seem to do seasoning. But if I’m making a soup with some meat and potatoes and various vegetables, I’ll put it in, it’ll be noticeable.
If you just boil beef with and without it, you’ll feel the difference the most, I think.
I’ve read it enhances every other flavour, kind of like salt but without making things salty
Hmm, that’s interesting. I got a pot of chili scheduled for later today, I’ll try a bay leaf.
I’ve been perfecting my chili recipe for years. It includes red wine, cocoa powder, and lime juice. Perhaps a bay leaf will become part of it.
Have you tried a little bit of espresso grounds? It adds a certain flavor to meats that’s just… incredible… Might not go with what you have here though.
Or like tap out the tiniest amount of cinnamon on your hand and add whatever falls off of it? It shouldn’t even be enough to say there’s cinnamon in it. It’s like nature’s msg, it just makes it taste better, gives it a good homogeneous flavor that pops somehow. Straight up witchcraft
Cinnamon is my favorite spice, but I don’t put it in my chili, even though I know people who do. I think I’d be able to taste it too much.
And I’m not a coffee drinker, at all, so I don’t think a coffee ingredient is going to work for me. I get it, though.
The cocoa powder was the big revelation for me, it really adds a nice hint of molé. Next was lime juice, which does something to balance the flavors. I’m finding it handy for lots of stuff.
I’ve been experimenting with soy sauce, too.
The thing with the cinnamon is you’re not adding anywhere close to enough to taste it. Not even really enough to say that it’s in there. It’s like the bay leaves in this thread, adding the most miniscule amount to a recipe does something to the flavor. It’s not enough cinnamon for it to logically be the cinnamon but it just tastes better somehow.
I’m not a coffee person at all either. So that’s totally understandable.
Soy sauce is a surprisingly adaptable ingredient!
Bay leaf is subtle but nicely “rounds out” the dish. It’s not a distinct spice flavour like pepper or thyme. I use it in a lot of the food I cook but not everything. Putting it in chili is exactly where it should be put.
Interesting, I’m looking forward to giving it a try.
I just toss a sprinkle of msg in, does wonders
MSG only enhances umami and has a distinctly salty flavor. Try substituting a bay leaf for a fuller, richer flavor. You may want to remove the leaf before serving.
MSG isn’t just enhancing umami, it tastes umami by itself, because the umami taste is triggered by receptors on the tongue that react to some amino acids, one of them being the glutamate in Mono-Sodium-Glutamate. The salty part comes from the sodium, which has its own receptors as well.
This stuff is literally made for our taste buds.