I haven't heard of it, and I've hunted the WWW for information without success. I do know that the berries of Laurus nobilis are abortifaciant, however.

I'm curious to know where you heard of pickling the berries, and one of the reasons is that it might be possible to confuse 'bay berries' with 'bayberries', the latter being from the Bayberry (Myrica cerifera, M. carolinensis).

However, here's a basic,generic pickling recipe that you might find helpful. I take no responsibility for whatever you choose to use it for!

Pickling Vinegar
1 litre white vinegar
1 cup sugar (or less to taste)
1 teaspoon salt

Mix ingredients together and bring to the boil. Add any spices, such as peppercorns, cloves, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon mixed spice and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. If you add the spices, let mixture boil for an extra 10 minutes. Strain and allow to cool before use. (Never use iodised salt for pickling, use plain salt, sea salt or pickling salt.) Before pickling, vegetables should be left to stand in a brine solution of about 3-5% salt to water. Use jars with plastic or glass lids instead of metal, unless lids are protected from acid reaction with several layers of greaseproof paper. Vegetables suitable for pickling are: beetroot, cabbage, cucumber, onions, peas, shallots, red cabbage, walnuts, zucchini.

Daisy: I haven't "heard" of doing this. I was just noticing how much the buds of the Bay Laural looked like Capers (buds). Since the leaves are used in cooking, I was wondering about the buds or seeds. (Mine are in-flower right now.)

Fair enough! My concern is that the berries of Laurus nobilis don't often rate a mention - which indicates to me that they aren't often used, and that there must be a reason for it.

I tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to herbs, and if I can't find any references for using a herb in a particular way, then I won't use it in that way.

Usual substitutes for capers are green nasturtium seeds, or elderflowers.

Thanks, Daisy, I'll just let them be.

Just for my curiosity I googled Laurel nobilis. It took some hunting and search refining and, after reading way too many articles have come to the conclusion, as you said, that it is best to let the berries be.

If you had tried LaurUS nobilis berries you would have found www.herbdatanz.com/sweet_bay_picture_monograph.htm which is quite a comprehensive account of the uses of bay

Here is a link that might be useful: bay berries

Just fyi, capers are the fruits of Capparis spinosa.

I think you'll find they're the flower buds.

The following article says that laurel berries are toxic and should only be used externally
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Atlantis/3699/laurel.htm

Can anyone tell me how to propogate a bay tree? I would also like to know what kind of soil/water needs they have.