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What is "bay leaf"

Crossword clues for bay leaf

bay leaf
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
bay leaf
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Add lentils, thyme, and bay leaf.
▪ Add the lentils, broth, tomatoes and their juice, water, bay leaf, black pepper and salt.
▪ Heat the butter and add the onion, garlic and oregano and bay leaf.
▪ I forgot to say take out the bay leaf before it sets.
▪ In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine water, salt, butter, and bay leaf.
▪ Open pan, remove clove & bay leaf.
▪ Remove bay leaf and serve over rice.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Bay leaf

Bay \Bay\, n. [F. baie a berry, the fruit of the laurel and other trees, fr. L. baca, bacca, a small round fruit, a berry, akin to Lith. bapka laurel berry.]

  1. A berry, particularly of the laurel. [Obs.]

  2. The laurel tree ( Laurus nobilis). Hence, in the plural, an honorary garland or crown bestowed as a prize for victory or excellence, anciently made or consisting of branches of the laurel.

    The patriot's honors and the poet's bays.
    --Trumbull.

  3. A tract covered with bay trees. [Local, U. S.]

    Bay leaf, the leaf of the bay tree ( Laurus nobilis). It has a fragrant odor and an aromatic taste, and is used for flavoring in food.

Bay leaf

Bay leaf \Bay" leaf`\ See under 3d Bay.

Wiktionary
bay leaf

n. A herb derived from a shrub of the family Lauraceae.

WordNet
bay leaf

n. dried leaf of the bay laurel

Wikipedia
Bay leaf

Bay leaf (plural bay leaves) refers to the aromatic leaves of several plants used in cooking. These include:

  • Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis, Lauraceae). Fresh or dried bay leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavor and fragrance. The leaves should be removed from the cooked food before eating (see Safety section below). The leaves are often used to flavor soups, stews, braises and pâtés in Mediterranean cuisine. The fresh leaves are very mild and do not develop their full flavor until several weeks after picking and drying.
  • California bay leaf – the leaf of the California bay tree ( Umbellularia californica, Lauraceae), also known as California laurel, Oregon myrtle, and pepperwood, is similar to the Mediterranean bay laurel, but has a stronger flavor.
  • Indian bay leaf or malabathrum ( Cinnamomum tamala, Lauraceae) is somewhat similar in appearance to the leaves of bay laurel, but is culinarily quite different, having a fragrance and taste similar to cinnamon (cassia) bark, but milder.
  • Indonesian bay leaf or Indonesian laurel (salam leaf, Syzygium polyanthum, Myrtaceae) is not commonly found outside of Indonesia; this herb is applied to meat and, less often vegetables.
  • West Indian bay leaf, the leaf of the West Indian bay tree ( Pimenta racemosa, Myrtaceae), used culinarily and to produce the cologne called bay rum.
  • Mexican bay leaf ( Litsea glaucescens, Lauraceae).

Usage examples of "bay leaf".

I made rice with chicken broth and pignolia nuts, thyme, parsley, and a bay leaf and cooked it in the oven.

Geilie's loose, flowing gowns smelled always of the essences she distilled: marigold, chamomile, bay leaf, spikenard, mint, marjoram.

They rigged up a serviceable shelter and dined sparingly on a stew of leeks and turnips flavored with a bay leaf and cooked over an open fire in the kettle they had found in the deserted camp.

Which ought to have been obvious, seeing that this animal is the only one lacking gall (namely, the poison that all other animals carry, attached to the liver), and Pliny said that if a dove falls ill, it plucks a bay leaf and is healed.

Add the pieces of meat, vegetables and bay leaf to the beans and cook covered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Mayhap the scribes who wrote the grimoires were in the pay of the bay leaf importers?

I've heard enough of that song and dance, we're having eels and that's that, with milk, mustard, parsley, and boiled potatoes, a bay leaf goes in and a clove, no, no, please Alfred, don't make eels if she doesn't want them, you keep out of this, I didn't buy eels to throw them away, they'll be nicely cleaned and washed, no, no, we'll see when they're on the table, we'll see who eats and who don't eat.

The squat little crockery pot now sat on the back of the stove, emitting the fragrance of tender beans and bay leaf.

The cobblestone fireplace was hung with dried bay leaf, braids of pearly garlic, and sheaves of lemon thyme.

There are a lot of ways to make demi-glace, but I recommend you simply take your already reduced meat stock, add some red wine, toss in some shallots and fresh thyme and a bay leaf and peppercorns, and slowly, slowly simmer it and reduce it again until it coats a spoon.

I watched, fascinated, as he fell asleep amid the scent of bay leaf and lilac.