Even cinnamon has a ground down version??
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There are recipes where you use ground bay leaf. As to why you would one time and not another… it is probably a slightly different flavour. Just a guess
Try & rub a dry leaf together with your hands into whatever meal you’re preparing next. See if it dissolves like any other spice. A bay leaf is a leaf at the end of the day and leaves are pretty damn brittle. Making it almost impossible to not have left over leaf chunks in whatever you are cooking.
I think probably bc it’s a pretty tough leaf and would taste gross even if ground down. So keeping it whole means we can take it out easier bc no one wants to eat it.
Similar for curry leaves. Some don’t like them and pick them out; some tear or grind them up and blend it in.
I blame Big Bay Leaf for lobbying to even include these pointless additives in the first place.
You’ll get lots of gastrointestinal symptoms from eating indigestible plant matter like that. It’s like eating cheap chili powder that has lots of stems and seeds ground up in it.
It’s because the flavor is too intense when ground. We grind spices to release more of their essential oils, and in the case of bay leaves that would be overpowering. There are other spices we use whole. Star anise comes to mind. Grind some of that up and you won’t taste anything but licorice for a week.
You can do so. I do it. Use a spice grinder if you have a bunch of them. Use a mortar if you just want a few ground down.
It’s more like putting whole spices in food was always a thing and for whatever reason us food abandoned 99% of it to only use spices you use ground and for whatever reason exactly one spice escapes that
I’ve seen it sold ground here in Colombia, where it’s called laurel.
I typed “ground bay leaf” into Google, and a lot of hits came back. Here is one from McCormick:
https://www.mccormickforchefs.com/en-us/products/mccormick-culinary/bay-leaves-ground
I’ve never used it myself.
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