Greek oregano, which grows well even in winter, has the most intense taste of all of the oregano varieties. And Greek oregano doesn’t lose its flavor when it is heated during the cooking process. In contrast to other species, it blooms white.
General information abour Oregano:
From Wikipedia:“Oregano (... scientific name Origanum vulgare, is a flowering plant in the mint family (Lamiaceae). It is native to temperate western and southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region.
Oregano is a perennial herb, growing from 20–80 cm (7.9–31.5 in) tall, with opposite leaves 1–4 cm (0.39–1.57 in) long.”
Subspecies:
“O. v. subsp. hirtum Ietsw. - (Italian oregano, Greek oregano) is a common source of cultivars with a different aroma from those of O. v. gracile. "Growing" is vigorous and very hardy, with darker green, slightly hairy foliage. Generally, it is considered the best all-purpose culinary subspecies. - Greece, Balkans, Turkey, Cyprus”
Culinary uses:
“Oregano's most prominent modern use is as the staple herb of Italian-American cuisine. Its popularity in the U.S. began when soldiers returning from World War II brought back with them a taste for the "pizza herb", which had probably been eaten in southern Italy for centuries. There, it is most frequently used with roasted, fried, or grilled vegetables, meat, and fish. Oregano combines well with spicy foods popular in southern Italy. It is less commonly used in the north of the country, as marjoram generally is preferred.
The herb is widely used in cuisines of the Mediterranean Basin, the Philippines, and Latin America, especially in Argentinian cuisine
In Turkish cuisine, oregano is mostly used for flavoring meat, especially for mutton and lamb. In barbecue and kebab restaurants,[clarification needed] it can be usually found as a condiment, together with paprika, salt, and pepper.
The dried and ground leaves are most often used in Greece to add flavor to Greek salad, and is usually added to the lemon-olive oil sauce that accompanies fish or meat grills and casseroles.
Oregano is used in the southern Philippines to eliminate the odor of carabao or water buffalo when boiling it, while simultaneously imparting flavor.”
Flavor and influencing factors:
“Oregano is an important culinary herb, used for the flavour of its leaves, which can be more flavourful when dried than fresh. It has an aromatic, warm, and slightly bitter taste, which can vary in intensity. Good-quality oregano may be strong enough almost to numb the tongue, but cultivars adapted to colder climates often have a lesser flavor. Factors such as climate, season, and soil composition may affect the aromatic oils present, and this effect may be greater than the differences between the various species of plants. Among the chemical compounds contributing to the flavour are carvacrol, thymol, limonene, pinene, ocimene, and caryophyllene.”
Oregano oil:
“Oregano oil and oregano have been used in folk medicine since ancient times, including by Hippocrates. Oregano essential oil is extracted from the leaves of the oregano plant. Although oregano or its oil may be used as a dietary supplement, there is no clinical evidence to indicate that either has any effect on human health.”
Interesting facts abour Oregano oil:
In 2005, the US Federal Trade Commission brought legal action against a firm that had claimed oregano oil treated colds and flu or relieved bacterial and viral infections. In 2014, the US Food and Drug Administration warned a Utah company, Young Living, that its herbal products, including oregano essential oil, were being promoted to have numerous anti-disease effects and so were being sold as unauthorized misbranded drugs subject to seizure and federal penalties.”
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