Oregano (Greek & Wild Zaatar)

Sold dried in 4 oz jars and as a live plant in the nursery.

Oregano is a culinary herb, used for the flavor of its leaves, which can be more intense when dried than fresh. It has an earthy, warm, and slightly bitter taste. Among the chemical compounds contributing to the flavor are carvacrol, thymol, limonene, pinene, ocimene, and caryophyllene.

Oregano’s most prominent modern use is as the staple herb of Italian 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 is generally preferred.

In Turkish cuisine, oregano is mostly used for flavoring meat, especially mutton and lamb. In barbecue and kebab restaurants, it can be usually found as a condiment, together with paprika, salt, and pepper.

During the summer, generous amounts of dried oregano are often added as a topping to a tomato and cucumber salad in Portugal, but it can be used to season meat and fish dishes as well.

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.

In Albania, dried oregano is often used to make herbal tea which is especially popular in the northern part of Albania