George Shirley wrote:
On 3/18/2016 1:16 PM, Derald wrote:
George Shirley wrote:

I also miss my sassafras tree
so brought a cutting with me and it's almost three feet tall now.
Sassafras leaves are the spice called bay leaf and we use a lot of
it.
Yours is the first time I've seen sassafrass referenced as "bay
leaf". In cookbooks I've seen, kitchens I've inhabited, as well as
he
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2468/
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/search?q=Bay%20Leaves
"bay leaf" is, well, bay leaf. That is the leaf from the "sweet bay"
tree (Lauris nobilis), native to the eastern Mediterranean and the
so-called "middle east" and is not the misnamed magnolia that grows
widely in the Southern flood plain. It is the stuff sold in grocery
stores as "bay". Sweet bay (Lauris nobilis) leaves never are lobed.
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum), OTOH, is native to NA and also is a
member of the Lauraceae family but its culinary uses are more limited
than bay. In their fresh native state, sassafrass leaves' essential
oil contains a known carcinogen.
http://www.bellarmine.edu/faculty/drobinson/sassafras.asp
However, dried and powdered, sassafras becomes a finishing seasoning
known as "filé" along the Gulf coast. The "Zatarain's" brand of
filé is what's available in supermarkets here but I suspect
home-grown might be more flavorful.
I have a container-grown dwarfed Lauris nobilis that is eight or
nine years old. Although it has modest nutrient and water needs and
is native to warm latitudes, I must protect it from strong summer
sun as well as heavy summer rains. The oils in fresh bay leaves
absolutely brutalize the soft tissue inside the mouth but that
instantaneous burst of pure tutti frutti flavor that precedes the
discomfort can be worth it.

Yes, you're right, lost my mind at night. It is a true bay tree,
should have said the sassafras leaves are used for gumbo file'.
That's what I get for not getting enough sleep the night before. Had
the two of them side by side in Louisiana, both useful trees.

We have sassafras growing wild all over the place here ... had no idea it
could be used for anytrhing but root beer flavoring . Growing some okra
again this year , might be a pot of gumbo in my future . I'll be looking for
a bay tree too .

--
Snag