On Sun, 29 Jul 2012 07:14:27 -0400, Jim Elbrecht >
wrote:

> On Sun, 29 Jul 2012 07:03:25 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>
> >I'm out of them and need to buy some this week.
> >Then I got to wondering just how important are they in many recipes that
> >call for them. Just how much flavor actually comes out of one? Wouldn't
> >think that a bay leaf or two would do all that much to a gallon of soup.
>
> If I went to make nearly any soup and didn't have bay leaves, I'd wait
> until I did. To me, they are the umami that makes soup, soup.

I think bay is one of those flavors that when you're used to it in a
certain dish, it's an essential ingredient... but if you've never had
it there, it's no big deal. I never use it in soup and wasn't brought
up eating bay in anything so I don't use it very much.

There was one dish in my husband's family that I liked to much I
wanted to learn how to make it. My SIL told me how she did it, I made
it and it tasted fine but something was missing. I got the
instructions again and followed them to a T, but it was still not
right. The third time I spoke to her about "something is missing" she
told me about the bay, which turned out to be it... but that's the
only dish where I think bay is an important component.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.