Daun salam vs Curry leaf
The short answer
Both are Asian leaves used whole, both are called bay by somebody, and neither is bay or the other. Curry leaf is Murraya koenigii, a citrus relative, intensely aromatic, added to hot fat where it crackles and gives its aroma up in seconds. Daun salam is a myrtle relative, much milder, and goes in at the start of a long simmer. The techniques are opposite and so are the results.
Side by side
| Daun salam | Curry leaf | |
|---|---|---|
| Botanical identity | Syzygium polyanthum (Wight) Walp. | Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng. |
| Part used | leaf | leaf |
| Origin | Southeast Asia — Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and adjacent regions — where the tree grows wild and is planted in gardens as much as farmed. | The Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka, where it grows wild and has been cultivated domestically for centuries. |
| Flavour notes | tea-like, mild, astringent, savoury, faintly resinous | citric, resinous, nutty, faintly bitter |
| Heat | Scoville does not apply | Not established |
| Flavour | Mild, savoury and faintly sour, and it works as a background rather than a note — a rendang made without it tastes flatter and no one can say why. This is the opposite of bay, which is identifiable in a dish. | Mild in the mouth relative to how strongly it smells. The fried leaves are pleasant to eat, slightly bitter and nutty, and much of what the leaf contributes to a dish arrives as aroma rather than as taste. The dried leaf tastes of very little. |
| Aroma | Faint. Tea-like and slightly astringent with a hint of the myrtle family’s resinous warmth, and nothing of bay’s eucalyptus. A leaf held to the nose gives very little, which surprises anyone expecting bay. | Citric and resinous with a distinctly nutty, faintly smoky edge, quite unlike any other leaf used this way. Bruising a fresh leaf releases it immediately; frying it in fat changes it, deepening the nuttiness and softening the citrus. |
Which should you buy?
Daun salam
—
Curry leaf
The starkest fresh-versus-dried gap in this dataset, and the one where the widely available form is the wrong one. Dried curry leaf is sold everywhere and is worth very little; fresh leaf is worth going out of the way for, and frozen leaf is nearly as good and keeps for months. If the choice is between a jar of dried leaf and leaving the ingredient out, leaving it out and not pretending is often the better dish — the recipe will be missing something either way, and dried leaf adds a hay note that the fresh leaf does not have.
Full detail on daun salam and curry leaf, including evidence grades and sources for every claim above.