What to use instead of bay leaves
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Background aromatic in a long braise or stock
The leaf gives its oils up slowly over an hour or more in hot liquid, adding a faint tea-and-eucalyptus note that mostly announces itself by being missing.
Dried thymeRan out
1/2 tsp dried thyme per 2 bay leaves
A woodier herb note that sits on top of the dish rather than underneath it, and it does not fade over a long cook.
Crushed juniper berriesRan out
3 berries per bay leaf
Piney and resinous, and it pushes the pot towards game, cabbage and pork rather than leaving it neutral.
Mexican oreganoRan out
1/2 tsp per 2 bay leaves
Brighter and more citrus-pine, and it reads as seasoning you can taste rather than a background you cannot name.
Boldo leafRan out
1 boldo leaf per 2 bay leaves
Stronger and more medicinal. Past one leaf per pot it takes over the whole braise.
What doesn't work: Ground bay leaf. It is far more concentrated and it never fades, so the pot turns bitter and dusty. If it is all you have, use a pinch and stir it in for the last ten minutes only.
Tannin in a brine or a quick pickle
In cold brine the leaf gives a dry, tannic edge that keeps the brine from tasting soft, and those tannins slow the enzymes that turn a pickle limp.
Grape leavesRan out
1 leaf per quart jar
Brings the tannin and none of the aroma, so the vegetables stay crisp and the brine tastes of what you put in it.
Loose black teaRan out
1/4 tsp per quart jar
Tannic and faintly smoky, and it tints the brine and the vegetables brown within a day.
Juniper berries with a strip of lemon peelRan out
4 berries plus 1 strip of peel per quart jar
Piney and citrusy up front instead of a quiet background, and no tannin, so the pickle softens on the usual schedule.
What doesn't work: Doubling the dill or the peppercorns to make up for it. Those are top notes, and without a tannin source the brine tastes soft and the vegetables go limp a week sooner.
Cook with dried bay or fresh sweet bay, Laurus nobilis. Cherry laurel and mountain laurel are different plants and are not food, so a leaf off an ornamental hedge is never the swap.