Be honest with me: does the bay leaf even do anything?

I& #39;ve been putting these things in soups my whole life and I could not begin to tell you what & #39;bay leaf& #39; tastes like. I& #39;m tired and I want answers.

So far I& #39;ve learned that a bay leaf is a dried aromatic you add to certain foods in order to have long online arguments

Ten years of thwacking internet beehives and this is the thread where I& #39;ll get ratioed

Deep vein of spice snobbery I& #39;m discovering among certain followers is turning me into a bay leaf truther. I& #39;m sure a hair plucked fresh from the wild Moroccan thistle badger& #39;s asshole imparts an unforgettable flavor to soups and stews, but real American spices can handle storage

Business idea: reusable rubber bay leaf, too big to accidentally swallow. Maybe you could keep it on a chain attached to the cookpot, for easy removal. Similar in spirit to the Lucky Iron Fish https://luckyironfish.com/ ">https://luckyironfish.com/">...