Bay Leaf Powder

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Bay Leaf Powder

Dried bay leaves, their fragrance; taste and appearance, remind me of the forlorn wailing of murky foghorns enduring empty and cold West Coast nights, moonless and desolate. Yet I adore them and the stabilizing depth bay leaf brings to the flavour profiles of any savoury dish when introduced in moderation. I might even be so bold as to declare that bay leaf’s grounded simplicity resonates in tune with my soul.

Similar to the fax machine of the previous century, bay leaf powder is an inspirational solution that you never knew existed nor realized that you needed all your life until you run full tilt into it the first time. The same goes for exotica such as ground thyme, rosemary, juniper berries and orange peel powder: all little gems that make kitchen life a wee little easier and quite considerably more intriguing. Generally I like to think that it's neat little tricks such as these that extend and boost the ability and experience of a mature cook.

Crushed Bay Leaves, Ground Powder & Utensils

If I may indulge in a little light, pre-breakfast paranoia? Bay leaf powder is probably one of those products the large retail spice companies reckon we don't need. Whatever will we do with it after all? Plenty; it turns out – as I have already demonstrated in previous posts and in future posts to come:

In some previously published recipes, whole bay leaves can be successfully substituted with bay leaf powder:

Substitute three medium large bay leaves with approximately a ½ ml of bay leaf powder.

The culinary purists may balk at the idea of using – and even substituting – dried herbs in the place of the freshly picked equivalents, but in our fast paced, high powered modern lives the idea and process hold merit. Not many of us today have the time or gardening space available to fiddle with keeping a herb garden alive, let alone thriving. And it seems so wasteful to purchase entire punnets of fresh herbs only to have them wither and die in the fridge after a single use.

In addition, a large and well stocked collection of dried herbs and spices empowers an innovative and curios cook to explore and investigate a huge variety of new culinary adventures, being limited only by the boundaries of that cook’s imagination. Herb & spice mixtures, powders, seasoning rubs and impromptu concoctions have several benefits difficult to achieve with fresh herbs. Some of the more obvious advantages are:

A large variety of ingredients can be kept on hand and preserved without taking up too much space.
Constant availability: nobody is limited to seasonal availability or the vagaries of annuals dying off just prior to being needed.
A powder or rub’s ability to uniformly cover any surface is much greater than that of original fresh herbs.
Faster, more efficient and uniform flavour transfer occurs into the surface of the 'target' item being seasoned.
Herbs powders, mixes and rubs are immediately on hand at the kitchen counter to improve or intrigue whatever is before you on the cutting board when inspiration hits like a sledge hammer.

Obviously as many arguments as above can immediately be fielded against using dried herbs and spices, but we shall be magnanimous and excuse them for today.

Investing in a small rotating blade type coffee bean grinder and a medium large sieve with the finest mesh you can find is recommended for 'grinding your own'. Hammering and frustrating away with a mortar and pestle is not recommended for the sake of your sanity and blood pressure. Modern life is in fact too short to mortar and pestle.

Possibly, the liquidizer jug attachment of a food processor unit will also work in an emergency. However, the process will be wasteful and inefficient if you need only a small quantity of product for a quick experiment or spur of the moment application of a trusted standby.

Some caveats on ‘grinding you own’ are in order here:

Safety first! Use healthy doses of common sense when planning an herb and spice grinding session.
The small, blade type coffee grinders will have a very hard time grinding dense and tough, woody objects such as cinnamon sticks, cassia bark, star anise pods, whole nutmeg chunks, etc. Process these woody spices with a fine microplane grater or pepper grinder. Watch out for your finger tips when using a microplane grater!
Red and black peppercorns, mustard and coriander seeds, fenugreek seed as well as dried juniper and pimento berries can be ground in small quantities and in short bursts in the rotary blade type coffee bean grinder.
Do not fill the coffee grinder cup beyond half full. It slows the grinding process considerably and significantly raises the risk of overheating (and possibly burning out) the small, high speed induction motor inside.
Grind all herbs and spices in short bursts and smallish batches. Sift regularly and return all leftovers to the grinder for another round of grinding.
It goes without saying: for the sake of all you hold holy, dear and true, keep your fingers and all utensils away from the operating blade!!! Do not bypass the grinder's safety features to operate the machine without its lid (for whatever illogical or sacred reason you may see as valid). The wicked little blade at the bottom of the grinder's bowl is driven by a very powerful, high speed induction motor, small as it may be. The torque and motive force of that motor will destroy the blade and anything else inside the grinding bowl before being stopped itself. You have been warned.

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BAY LEAF POWDER

– PRINT RECIPE –

Preparation time:

± 5 Minutes

Difficulty level:

Easy

Special Equipment Required:

1 x Electrical coffee grinder, rotary blade type

1 x Finest mesh sieve, medium small

Ingredients:

Dried bay leaves

As needed

Method:

Crumble any whole leaves before placing them in the bowl of the grinder. Keep an eye out for – and discard – any dried twigs, pieces of bark or other foreign materials.
Put the lid on the grinder and whizz for approx. 30 seconds. Let the blade come to a stop and tap the grinder bowl lightly with a wooden or synthetic utensil to settle and level the contents of the bowl.
Whizz another two rounds and switch off the grinder at the wall plug switch.
Using a small spoon or spatula, transfer the ground herbs or spices to the sieve suspended over an appropriately sized bowl. Sieve gently by bumping the sieve against your hand repetitively.
Return the remaining particles in the sieve to the grinder bowl, add some extra material to be ground and repeat the grinding process.
Collect the siftings, bottle, seal and label.

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Comments:

Grinding up the invariable residual broken leaves and shards left behind at the bottom of the bay leaf storage container is an efficient and effective way to salvage the last of the herb. Anyway, nobody wants to pick escaped, cooked bay leaf parts from their plate of food at the table irrespective of how thoroughly the cook searched for them in the pan or pot prior to dishing up and serving the guests.
Clean the UNPLUGGED grinder on the inside with a moist, clean cloth afterwards. Do not use any soap or other cleaning product. DO NOT IMMERSE THE GRINDER IN WATER!
For removing pungent spices or herbs, grind some parboiled rice after wiping out the grinder bowl and letting it dry.

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