Added at the beginning of cooking, fresh or dried bay leaves yield their fragrant, warm flavours gradually. Traditionally, bay is an indispensable part of a bouquet garni, tied in a bundle with thyme and parsley, and removed before serving.
The flavour profile of bay leaf is dominated by a terpene compound called cineole, which has an unusually penetrating, powerful eucalyptus scent. The next most abundant flavour compound is a spicy, sweet, warming phenol called eugenol. There are also small amounts of peppermint-like and slightly citrusy phellandrene, pine-like pinene and terpineol, and floral geraniol and linalool.
