DESCRIPTION

The bay laurel is a tall evergreen tree native to Asia Minor, but it has grown around the Mediterranean for centuries and has long been associated with the cuisines of the region. Its Latin name means “noble laurel,” and in Greek and Roman times, winners of battles or sports competitions were often crowned with a laurel wreath. Poets were sometimes recognized in the same fashion—thus the origin of the term poet laureate. Most bay leaves, including those on the supermarket spice shelf, come from Turkey. California bay leaves are from an
entirely different species and are much stronger than Turkish bay leaves.