I use bay leaves in cooking a lot, mostly in soups, particularly french onion soup. These are my favorite, especially with the glass jar. The ones in the supermarket, even in the jar, never seem as fresh as these when I order them from Amazon so I have them on a subscribe and save so I get them on a regular interval. They seem to always arrive fresh and fragrant and even when I get to the end of the jar they are still pretty good. The jars come with a freshness seal under the lid, underneath a shaker lid, which at first seemed odd, but I keep them and when I am done I make my own rub and seasoning mixtures and put them in these jars so they can be re-used.