any cooks in here try using these instead of just a regular bay leaf?

I thought they were the same thing?
Kurt & Ann K.

I'm NOT sure they are, but a friend in Coos Bay has been gathering them up for us and sending them north to us here for years.

As far as I can tell, they DO seem to make a difference in the food they are used in ....but maybe its only because the ones we are using are fresher than the store bought ones ??

Freshness could make a lot of difference just as it does with other spices.
According to internet info, Bay leaves are the leaves of the Bay Laurel tree.
Nice to have friends who have access to them, enjoy.
Kurt & Ann K.

If you have access to a bay laurel tree, you can use the leaves (fresh or dried) to repel those little moths that get into your cereal and leave weevils behind. (My bug terminology might be bad, but the bay leaves repel them whatever they are.) I put my containers of breadcrumbs and such inside plastic bags with the bay leaves and haven't had nearly the trouble I've had in the past.

I have a tree that could use thinning if you're in So Cal.

Marian

Ha! Wish I had known this a while back, we called them flour bugs, and there we were, with plenty of Bay leaves on hand! (Can't make soup without bay leaves and dill.)