Oregano

Oregano
Flowering Oregano
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Origanum
Species:	O. vulgare
Binomial name
Origanum vulgare L.

Oregano (pronounced UK: /ɒrɨˈɡɑːnoʊ/, US: /əˈrɛɡənoʊ/) – scientifically named Origanum vulgare by Carolus Linnaeus – is a common species of Origanum, a genus of the mint family (Lamiaceae). It is native to warm-temperate western and southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region.

Oregano is a perennial herb, growing from 20–80 cm tall, with opposite leaves 1–4 cm long. The flowers are purple, 3–4 mm long, produced in erect spikes. It is sometimes called Wild Marjoram, and its close relative O. majoramum is then known as "Sweet Marjoram".

Subspecies and cultivars

The taxonomy is different types of Oregano follows the usual rules which classify other plants according to genus, species, subspecies, and cultivars (strains).

Many subspecies and strains of oregano have been developed by humans over centuries for their unique flavors or other characteristics. Tastes range from spicy or astringent to more complicated and sweet. Simple Oregano sold in garden stores as "Origanum vulgare" may have a bland taste and larger, less dense leaves, and is not considered the best for culinary uses, with a taste less remarkable and pungent. It can pollinate other more sophisticated strains, but the offspring are rarely better in quality.

Syrian Oregano

Notable subspecies are:

• Origanum vulgare gracile (= O. tyttanthum). Originally from Khirgizstan. It has glossy green leaves and pink flowers. It grows well in pots or containers, and is more often grown for added ornamental value than other oregano. Pungent and spicy.^[1]
• Origanum vulgare hirtum – Italian Oregano, Greek Oregano. A common source of cultivars with different aroma^[1] than those of O. v. gracile. Vigorous and very hardy. It has darker green, slightly hairy foliage. Generally considered the best all-purpose culinary subspecies.
• Origanum vulgare onites – Cretan Oregano, Turkish Oregano, rigani, "pot marjoram". A tender perennial growing to 18 inches tall, with pale green to gray-green woolly rounded foliage. Strong, intensely spicy flavor.
• Origanum vulgare syriacum (= O. maru) – Syrian Oregano, Lebanese Oregano, za'atar – Larger leaves that vary in colors ranging from pale green to grayish. Their taste is pungent and similar to Greek Oregano.

Example cultivars are:

• 'Aureum' – Golden foliage (greener if grown in shade). Mild taste.
• 'Greek', 'Kaliteri' – O. v. hirtum strains/landraces. Small, hardy, dark, compact, thick, silvery-haired leaves, usually with purple undersides. Excellent repuration for flavor and pungency as well as medicinal uses. Strong, archetypal oregano flavor (Greek kaliteri: "the best").
• 'Hot & Spicy' – O. v. hirtum strain.
• 'Nana' – dwarf cultivar.

Cultivars traded as 'Italian', 'Sicilian' etc. are usually Hardy Sweet Marjoram (O. ×majoricum), a hybrid between the southern Adriatic O. v. hirtum and Sweet Majoram (O. majorana). They have a reputation for sweet and spicy tones, with little bitterness, and are prized for their flavor and compatibility with various recipes and sauces.

Uses

Culinary

Dried oregano for culinary use.

Oregano growing in a field.

Oregano is an important culinary herb. It is particularly widely used in Turkish, Palestinian, Syrian, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, Latin American, and Italian cuisine. It is the leaves that are used in cooking, and the dried herb is often more flavourful than the fresh.^[2]

Oregano^[3] is often used in tomato sauces, fried vegetables, and grilled meat. Together with basil, it contributes much to the distinctive character of many Italian dishes.

It is commonly used by local chefs in southern Philippines when boiling carabao or cow meat to eliminate the odor of the meat, and to add a nice, spicy flavor.

Oregano combines nicely with pickled olives, capers, and lovage leaves. Unlike most Italian herbs, oregano works with hot and spicy food, which is popular in southern Italy.

Oregano is an indispensable ingredient in Greek cuisine. Oregano adds flavor to Greek salad and is usually added to the lemon-olive oil sauce that accompanies many fish or meat barbecues and some casseroles.

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

Oregano growing in a pot.

It has an aromatic, warm and slightly bitter taste. It varies in intensity; good quality oregano is so strong that it almost numbs the tongue, but the cultivars adapted to colder climates have often unsatisfactory flavor. The influence of climate, season and soil on the composition of the essential oil is greater than the difference between the various species.

The related species Origanum onites (Greece, Turkey) and O. heracleoticum (Italy, Balkan peninsula, West Asia) have similar flavors. A closely related plant is marjoram from Turkey, which, however, differs significantly in taste, because phenolic compounds are missing in its essential oil. Some breeds show a flavor intermediate between oregano and marjoram.

Pizza Sauce

The dish most commonly associated with oregano is pizza. Its variations have probably been eaten in Southern Italy for centuries. Oregano became popular in the US when returning WW2 soldiers brought back with them a taste for the “pizza herb”.^[4]

Health benefits

Oregano is high in antioxidant activity, due to a high content of phenolic acids and flavonoids.^[5][6] Additionally, oregano has demonstrated antimicrobial activity against food-borne pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes.^[5] Both of these characteristics may be useful in both health and food preservation. Main constituents include carvacrol, thymol, limonene, pinene, ocimene, and caryophyllene. The leaves and flowering stems are strongly antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, cholagogue, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, stimulant, stomachic and mildly tonic. Aqueous extracts, capsules, or oil extracts of oregano are taken by mouth for the treatment of colds, influenza, mild fevers, fungal infections, indigestion, stomach upsets, enteric parasites,^[7] and painful menstruation. Edible oregano preparations such as these were first introduced to the North American market by an Illinois based company, North American Herb & Spice.

It is a strong sedative and should not be taken in large doses, though mild teas have a soothing effect and ensure restful sleep. Used topically, Oregano is one of the best antiseptics because of its high Thymol content.^[8]

Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine, used oregano as an antiseptic as well as a cure for stomach and respiratory ailments. A Cretan oregano (O. dictamnus) is still used today in Greece to soothe a sore throat.^[9]

Oregano has recently been found to have extremely effective properties against methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), showing a higher effectiveness than 18 currently used drugs.^[10][11]

Oil of oregano has been found helpful against ear infections.

Practitioners of alternative medicine often recommend oregano as an herb essential to aid in the recovery of a variety of ailments.

Other plants called "oregano"

Plectranthus amboinicus

• Cuban Oregano (Plectranthus amboinicus, formerly Coleus aromaticus), also of the mint family (Lamiaceae). Sometimes also called "Mexican oregano", it has large and somewhat succulent leaves.
• Mexican Oregano (Lippia graveolens) is not of the mint, but of the closely related vervain family (Verbenaceae), including e.g. the Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citrodora). It is a highly studied herb that is said to be of some medical use and is common in curandera (female shamanic practices) in Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Mexican oregano has a very similar flavour to oregano, but is usually stronger. It is becoming more commonly sold outside of Mexico, especially in the United States. It is sometimes used as a substitute for epazote leaves; this substitution would not work the other way round.
• Poliomintha longiflora is also occasionally called "orégano" in Latin America.

Etymology

Oregano is the anglicized form of the Italian word origano, or possibly of the medieval Latin organum; this latter is used in at least one Old English work. Both were drawn from Classical Latin term origanum, which probably referred specifically to sweet marjoram, and was itself a derivation from the Greek origanon ὀρίγανον, which simply referred to "an acrid herb". The etymology of the Greek term is often given as oros ὄρος "mountain" + the verb ganousthai γανοῦσθαι "delight in", but the Oxford English Dictionary notes that it is quite likely a loanword from an unknown North African language.^[12]

See also

• Carvacrol
• Thymol
• Thymus vulgaris
• Za'atar

References

External links

• How to Grow Oregano Information about planting, propagating and growing oregano.
• Flora Europaea: Origanum vulgare
• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Origanum vulgare
• Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages: Oregano (Origanum vulgare L.)
• Inhibition of enteric parasites by emulsified oil of oregano
• Oregano Herb Profile: vulgare