Wholesale Bay Leaf, Whole (Organic)

Bulk Herbs: Bay Leaf, Whole, Organic Laurus nobilis Format: Whole leaves Size: 1 oz package Also known as: Laurus nobilis. Identified in specialty cookbooks as sweet laurel, dafni (Greek), lager (Swedish), Laurb*r (Danish), laurier (Dutch), lauro (Italian), lavr (Russian), yue gui (Mandarin), Baie, Bay Tree, Daphne, Grecian Laurel, Lorbeer, Noble Laurel, Roman Laurel, Sweet Bay, and yuht gwai (Cantonese). Farming Type: Organic Origin: Turkey The leaf of the bay laurel, a native shrub of the lands surrounding the northern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean, has a mythic history. Ancient mythology recounts that Apollo pursued the uninterested nymph, Daphne. Apollo stalked Daphne until the gods granted her protection by turning her into a bay tree. In the Greek language, the herb is still called "dafni." At the Temple of Delphi, which is dedicated to Apollo, the priestesses would eat bay leaves before divining the future. Because bay leaves are mildly narcotic, this may have helped induce the trance state. Even the roof of the temple was thatched with bay leaves. This roofing not only served as a sunscreen but also as protection against lightning, disease, and evil spirits. Romans considered the bay tree the best protection from thunderstorms, and Nero believed that bay trees purified "vapors" thought to cause disease. As recently as the beginnings of the American era, superstition held that when bay trees died, disaster followed. The greatest commercial production of bay leaves today is in Turkey. Bay laurels do not withstand heavy frost but require hot, dry summers for the production of concentrated essential oils. In the US, the plant is best suited to interior southern California, although smaller specimens can survive as far north as Oregon. The California bay leaf is oilier and more pungent than the Turkish bay leaf. Culpepper's Complete Herbal recommended bay leaf oil for pimples and "all manner of griefs and pain proceeding from wind." A more modern medical application of the herb would be increasing insulin sensitivity, lowering blood sugars, and retarding weight gain, used as one of many similar herbs, including cinnamon, cloves, and turmeric. The Greeks and Romans crowned victors with wreaths of laurel. The term baccalaureate means laurel berry, and refers to the ancient practice of honoring scholars and poets with garlands from the bay laurel tree. Ever since humans have been using bay leaves, they have been associated with good luck and warding off evil.