Can you eat laurel leaves

Bay leaves are very tough and have a woody stem. The edges of the leaf are quite sharp and don't break down well during cooking. If you eat fresh or dried bay leaf, the rough edges could cut your mouth or throat. If you swallow a fresh, dried or cooked bay leaf, it could get stuck in your throat, since bay leaves are very hard to chew. Remove the bay leaf at the end of cooking not only to avoid a choking hazard but also to keep the strong flavor from overpowering your dish.

Bay leaf is used as an herbal medicinal treatment for stomach ailments and as an aid to digestion, the Monadnock Herbal Society claims. For a spice used to season numerous dishes, bay leaves have an undeservedly frightening reputation. While fresh bay leaves are hard to find, according to Ponikowski, specialty food stores might carry them in late summer and fall. This is an extremely common myth but holds no merit. It is believed that this myth began because there are leaves that look strikingly similar to the bay leaf mountain laurel and cherry laurel leaves that are poisonous to humans and animals.

A word of caution though, we do still recommend you fish that bay leaf out of your stew after preparation. The purpose of the bay leaf is to simmer in your soup to release added flavor and aroma. However, even after hours of cooking, the bay leaf remains very rigid and stiff.

Swallowing a large piece could cause you to scratch your digestive tract or potentially although rare pose a choking hazard. You can leave it there, actually, but someone might accidentally eat it and that is not going to be a tasty experience. So, how do you tell if the packet of bay leaves you just bought is, in fact, laurel? Will it make a lot of difference if the bay leaf we use is really Indian bay leaf, Indonesian bay leaf or Mexican bay leaf?

All three are also aromatic but in different ways. Bay leaves, or laurel, are more aromatic when dried. What is left in the packet, you can transfer to a jar with a tight cap. Keep in the pantry, away from the sun, and use within a month. After that, they start losing their aroma. For best results, drop a piece of silica gel in the jar with the bay leaves. This is especially useful in regions where humidity is oppressively high. The silica gel will absorb moisture that will prevent molds from forming.