“My grandma use to have a bay tree in her yard, so for most of my life, if any of us in the family needed bay leaves, we took a trip to grandma’s house. After she passed, we needed a new source, so I bought a ‘Laurus nobilis’ start and gave one to my mom as well. We were surprised though when neither of our plants had the pungent aroma that we were use to. Turns out there are multiple types of ‘bay laurel’ trees and what we were use to was the ‘California Bay Laurel.’ With the California Bay, we could often use the leaves fresh off the tree, but for the ‘true bay,’ they definitely need to be dried prior to use so that you can extract the essential oils during cooking. Either way, be sure to know what type of bay leaf you have, as the California Bay leaves are twice as strong as the ‘true bay,’ Laurus nobilis.” – April Ferre

2025 Recipe – April Ferre