this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2026
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Nothing too serious, i want to hear your petty, your eccentric, your off beat takes.

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[–] ZeroCool@piefed.ca 64 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (5 children)

I guess this hot take depends on the audience... But if you don't have bay leaves on hand for a recipe, your family and friends aren't going to notice the difference. When push comes to shove, it's probably the least important part of any recipe. If you're making soup or a stock, it's gonna be fine without it.

[–] toomanypancakes@crazypeople.online 45 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Bay leaves are kind of like bass in music. It adds an earthy undertone to everything. Whatever you're making won't necessarily be bad without it, but it'll be thin and less impactful.

[–] Ghoelian@piefed.social 17 points 2 weeks ago

Nah. A lot of music sounds much worse without bass, you're just missing an entire frequency spectrum.

[–] Cris_Citrus@piefed.zip 9 points 2 weeks ago

I agree. They're obviously not mandatory but I really like them being there

[–] FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] ZeroCool@piefed.ca 15 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Yeah, it's not as important as professionals make it out to be. Like, if you under-salt a dish, people will notice that the meal doesn't taste as good as the last time you made it, even if they can't identify why. But the "depth" that bay leaves are supposed to add to a dish, probably won't even register for most people. I don't think bay leaves are entirely useless, but I do think it's safe for home cooks to consider it an optional ingredient. If you have them, use them. If you don't this time? Don't worry about it.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I was about to go off about who didn't have bay, laurel (and rosemary and the third thing I forgot what is called. It's yellow.) grow like weeds up here.

What do you mean y'all don't live where I live

[–] FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

i don't put turmeric in my mustard but that one batch with cumin was good

[–] mlg@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

You can notice the difference, its just that you probably won't know what is missing.

[–] tunetardis@piefed.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

I'm partial to kombu over bay leaves, though it's hard to source where I am. It is at least edible after you cook it to death, and it has some additional merit as a folk cure for flatulence.

If anybody flips my table because I forgot to add bay leaves, they're not getting invited back. Nevertheless I do keep them on hand because they're not nothing.