A-Z Blogging -- "I"

 Well, Hello there!!! I am so pleased that you stopped by  to visit!
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    For the past many years I have had an interest...no, make that a fascination with herbs, spices and seasonings. - About how they were used by our ancestors centuries ago for a variety of ailments, and how they are used today to enhance your favorite recipe.

With this in mind I am attempting to present a different herb, spice or seasoning  for each day of the  A-Z Challenge. Please drop by often and perhaps we both will learn something new.

Learn more about these terms.

Now for today's letter!  "I" is for Indonesian Bay Leaf



My options were extremely limited for this letter so there was only one choice for me....

INDONESIAN BAY LEAF

Indonesian Bay Leaf is known my many different names and is from a tree native to India, Nepal,
Bhutan and China. It can grow up to 20m (66ft) tall. It has aromatic leaves which are used for culinary and medicinal purposes. It is thought to have been one of the major sources of the medicinal plant leaves know in classic and medieval times as  malabathrum .
Indonesian Bay Leaf, also called Daun Salam is known only in Indonesian ad Malay cooking, and is totally different from the Indian Bay Leaf.
The dried brown leaves are aromatic and somewhat sour. It is used a spice and also the leaf is applied to meat.                                                                          
I found some yummy recipes at this site. Haven't tried them yet, but maybe when this is done!!

Medicinal Uses:

As well as providing spice to cooking, the Salam leaves are used to provide effective  relief from diarrhea, high blood pressure, stomach pain, and the effects of drinking too much alcohol. The leaves are  washed, and  boiled in water. There are different proportions  of leaves to water ratio depending on the ailment. 
                                                                                                   
                                               

sources: Wikipedia,  Spice Pages

Disclaimer

The material provided on this site is designed for information and educational purposes only. The materials are not intended to be a self diagnostic and/or self treatment tool. I encourage you to use this information as a tool for discussing your condition with your health practitioner.    *The medicinal usages are for informational and educational purposes only*