Back in December of last year, Ina Garten spoke with David Remnick on "The New Yorker Radio Hour," and in answering a listener's question, she shared her feelings on bay leaves — which were ambivalent.
She stated that while she uses them when a recipe calls for the leaf (or herb), she always "wonder[s] whether a bay a leaf makes a difference." And, to be honest, she wasn't entirely sure if they did or not. While she didn't give the bay leaf a pointed yay or nay, Remnick summarized the conversation like this: "Ina calls BS on bay leaves."
