Bay Leaf..What is the Point?

There are so many recipes I have found that call for bay leafs to be added and I just do not understand why. I used to add them in spaghetti and gumbo, and would have to caution the hubs about not eating them, and then I wondered if a severe choking hazard was really necessary to make certain dishes taste good. Well, I cooked up a delicious pot of spaghetti last night, with NO bay leafs, and me and the hubs enjoyed every single bite! I am anti-bay leaf to the point I do not even keep them in our house anymore. See, this is our spice collection and there is not a single container of bay leafs.

After devouring the spaghetti (and some incredible Aldi breadsticks with cheese stuffed inside) I did some research to see what these bay leafs really do. And what did I find?

So, it’s good to have them scattered about to kill bugs, and really, honestly, that’s about the best bay leaf tip I found. According to various websites they are mostly used in Mediterranean recipes, as well as various soups and stews…and since I’ve made plenty of meals without them that were not lacking that non existent yummy bay leaf flavor I will only buy bay leafs if I have a bug problem and scatter them in the pantry to repel and kill them.

If anyone out there has any recipes they feel this pointless lovely spice needs to be in please do share! It isn’t even pretty:

I am sure there is some great chef out there that will read this (insert sarcasm font!) and tsk-tsk my thoughts on bay leafs, but hey, great chef, fix me two of the same meal and add bay leaf to one and not the other—I guarantee I won’t taste the difference. AND, there will not be a choking hazard in the sans bay leaf dish.