Laurus Nobilis Vitality (Laurus nobilis)

Laurus Nobilis Vitality is the dietary-labeled version of Young Living’s Laurus Nobilis oil, steam-distilled from the leaves of the bay laurel tree (Laurus nobilis) — the same slow-growing Mediterranean evergreen behind the dried bay leaves sold in every grocery store’s spice aisle.

From tree to bottle

Bay laurel has been cultivated around the Mediterranean for millennia, prized as much for its aromatic leaves as for the wreaths woven from its branches in ancient Greece and Rome. The essential oil is steam-distilled from fresh leaves, concentrating the same 1,8-cineole-rich, herbal-camphoraceous character that a dried bay leaf releases slowly over a long simmer — except almost instantly, and far more intensely.

In the kitchen

A single drop delivers the herbal, slightly peppery, faintly eucalyptus-like flavor of bay leaf to soups, stews, braises, and slow-cooked sauces. Because the oil is dramatically more concentrated than a dried leaf, start with far less than instinct suggests — you can always add more, but you can’t take a drop back out of the pot the way you can fish out a whole bay leaf.

Internal use

Follow label directions closely. Bay laurel oil is potent enough that a single drop can flavor an entire pot; treat it the way you would treat a strong extract rather than a dried herb.

Twin oil

The standard (non-Vitality) Laurus Nobilis bottle is meant for aromatic and topical use — diffused for its warm, herbal aroma or diluted before applying to skin — rather than for cooking.

What pairs well

Bay laurel’s herbal, slightly medicinal note works naturally alongside thyme, rosemary, and clove flavors in slow-cooked dishes.