Name: Bay Leaf Brown Sugar With Lemon and Ginger Recipe
Total time: 10 min
Yield: Makes ¾ cup
Ingredients: 1 lemon; 2 fresh bay leaves; 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar; 2 tablespoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt; 1 tablespoon ground ginger

Print RecipePrint Recipe

By Ben Mims

Aug. 19, 2021

Spicy and cooling, ground-up bay leaves mimic those same qualities in ground ginger in this mix. Lemon adds sharpness while the molasses in the brown sugar helps ground all the bracing spices into a mellow mix. Try it on the best watermelon you can find.

Read More Read Less

1 lemon

2 fresh bay leaves

¼ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup packed light or dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt

1 tablespoon ground ginger

Using a Microplane, finely grate the zest from the lemon into a bowl. Place the bay leaves in a small skillet set over medium heat and cook, swirling occasionally, until they’re fragrant and warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the bay leaves to a work surface and let cool completely.

Crush the bay leaves with your fingers and add to a spice grinder or small food processor. Add the granulated sugar and pulse until the leaves are finely ground. Scrape the bay sugar into the bowl with the lemon zest and add the brown sugar, salt and ginger. Use your fingers to mix and rub the sugar until everything is evenly combined.

Spread out on a plate or small baking sheet and let dry at room temperature for about 2 hours or overnight. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Ben Mims

Ben Mims is a former cooking columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He has written three cookbooks and has worked as a food editor and recipe developer for several food media publications, such as Lucky Peach, Food & Wine, Saveur, Food Network and Buzzfeed/Tasty.