Which herb do you use most?

[Orang Utan]

What if you don't know what bay smells like??

Go to the supermarket and buy some dry leaves

 

[Orang Utan]

Your mint died? You're either very rubbish or don't own a watering can.

I didn't do anything to it - it rains, doesn't it?

 

[geminisnake]

Go to the supermarket and buy some dry leaves

Fresh and dry will smell slightly different though no?? And why buy something when I can take a photo for FREE and get an id for FREE.
Nearest supermarket is over 2 miles away(and I'm not going there til Wednesday anyway), we don't all live in towns/cities you know

 

[killer b]

rosemary, although it would've been basil till fairly recently. got sick of pasta all the time though...

 

[Orang Utan]

I thought you were joking about not knowing how bay leaves smell
How can you have got through life without bay leaves for stews?

 

[Orang Utan]

Fresh and dry will smell slightly different though no?? And why buy something when I can take a photo for FREE and get an id for FREE.
Nearest supermarket is over 2 miles away(and I'm not going there til Wednesday anyway), we don't all live in towns/cities you know

A photo wouldn't be the most effective way to ID a tree with such a regular shaped leaf:

How about I send you a few dry and fresh?

 

[whoha]

ganja

cant believe that took 47 posts

 

[geminisnake]

A photo wouldn't be the most effective way to ID a tree with such a regular shaped leaf:

How about I send you a few dry and fresh?

Does it get purple berries when it's mature?? It was just a bush across the road when I moved in and coz I've done nowt to it cept an occasion trim in 12 yrs it's now heading towards being a tree

My step mother used bay in spag bol but I left home 27 yrs ago and it's just not something I've thought of using. You have to remember to take it out again don't you??

No point sending me some. I'd probably forget I had it Thanks though

 

[Orang Utan]

I've never seen berries on a tree, but I've only see one bay tree in a friend's garden.
It should have a long trunk with no branches til near the top.

As for taking them out, I just take them out when I find them in my food

 

[AnnaKarpik]

I've never seen berries on a tree, but I've only see one bay tree in a friend's garden.
It should have a long trunk with no branches til near the top.

As for taking them out, I just take them out when I find them in my food

That's the way it's been clipped OU But how big do those things get? We've kept bay for years (10?) and our biggest one, which I don't pick, is about shoulder height and bushy. There is a different thing which looks very like bay and gets much bigger ime and that's a sort of laurel. Doesn't smell the same.

 

[AnnaKarpik]

Does it get purple berries when it's mature?? It was just a bush across the road when I moved in and coz I've done nowt to it cept an occasion trim in 12 yrs it's now heading towards being a tree

My step mother used bay in spag bol but I left home 27 yrs ago and it's just not something I've thought of using. You have to remember to take it out again don't you??

No point sending me some. I'd probably forget I had it Thanks though

Never seen berries of any colour on mine Don't you know anyone who grows bay? Borrow a leaf and compare smells? tbh I don't think your tree sounds like the kitchen herb bay. If you do know someone who has some, it is fairly easy to propagate; we bought an unwanted plant from the local nursery for a quid years ago, split the pot-bound wreck into 8 pots and still have 6 of them 10 years later. So not even that expensive to buy.

As for uses, bay goes very well indeed with potatoes, and cauliflower, is almost obligatory to flavour the milk in a cheese sauce and makes regular appearances in curries. Just warn your guests not to try to eat them and if you're blending stuff like soup, do take the time to find the buggers and get them out.

 

[WouldBe]

But how big do those things get?

A proper bay tree can grow to 35 foot high and the same in diameter.