Bay leaf is widely used in the preparation of various meat, fish and vegetable dishes. In addition to cooking, bay leaf is also widely used in medicine to treat various diseases. However, this product also has a number of contraindications, as it can harm human health.
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Bay leaf. General information
A bay leaf is nothing but the dried leaves of a plant called a noble laurel. The homeland of the bush is Asia Minor and the south of the Balkan Peninsula. The Laurel family also includes other famous and valuable plants that have given us avocados, cinnamon, various essential oils and medicines.
Due to the bitter taste and pleasant aroma, this product has been used since ancient times as a seasoning. The leaves are placed in the container where the dish is prepared, but at the final stage of preparation they will be removed, because the bay leaves are hard and not suitable for food. Sometimes they are crushed and used in powder form. Bay leaf - an integral seasoning of various soups, borscht, broth, jellied meat, thick sauces and other dishes.
Bay leaf is also used in folk medicine to strengthen immunity, in the treatment of neurological and infectious diseases, to stop bleeding, with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys; they are treated with psoriasis and diabetes. With tonsillitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis and other diseases of the respiratory system, inhalations with a decoction of bay leaves are used. A warm bath with the addition of laurel leaf infusion helps to lose weight. But they need to be taken in underwear in order to avoid a burn from the essential oils contained in large quantities in the leaves of laurel. Also, housewives use this plant in the fight against moths, which are frightened off by its spicy aroma.