What is oregano?
A: Oregano is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae.
It was native to where?
A: The Mediterranean region, but widely naturalized elsewhere in the
temperate Northern Hemisphere.
What color are the flowers?
A: They are purple, 3–4 mm (1⁄8–3⁄16 in) long, produced in erect spikes in
summer.
It is sometimes called what?
A: Wild marjoram.
Its close relative, O. majorana, is known as what?
A: Sweet marjoram.
Both are widely used as what?
A: Culinary herbs, especially in Turkish, Greek, Spanish, Italian, Mexican,
and French cuisine.
Oregano is also an ornamental plant, with numerous
cultivars bred for what?
A: Varying leaf color, flower color and habit.
Oregano is related to what herb?
A: Marjoram, sometimes being referred to as wild marjoram.
It has purple flowers and spade-shaped what?
A: Olive-green leaves.
It is a perennial, although it is grown as an annual in
what?
A: Colder climates, as it often does not survive the
winter.
When is oregano planted?
A: In early spring, the plants being spaced 30 cm (12 in) apart in dry soil,
with full sun.
It will grow in what pH range?
A: Between 6.0 and 8.0.
It prefers what kind of climate?
A: A hot, relatively dry climate, but does well in other environments.
Many subspecies and strains of oregano have been
developed by humans over centuries for what?
A: For their unique flavors or other characteristics.
Tastes range from spicy or astringent to what?
A: More complicated and sweet.
Simple oregano sold in garden stores as Origanum
vulgare may have a what?
A: A bland taste and larger, less-dense leaves.
It is not considered the best for what?
A: Culinary use, with a taste less remarkable and pungent.
It can pollinate other more sophisticated strains, but
the offspring are what?
A: Rarely better in quality.
Oregano is a culinary herb, used for the flavor of its
leaves, which can be more intense when what?
A: Dried.
It has an earthy, warm, and slightly bitter taste,
which can vary in what?
A: Intensity.
Good-quality oregano may be strong enough almost to
what?
A: Numb the tongue, but cultivars adapted to colder climates may have a
lesser flavor.
Among the chemical compounds contributing to the flavor
are what?
A: Carvacrol, thymol, limonene, pinene, ocimene, and caryophyllene.
Oregano is the staple herb of what?
A: Italian cuisine, most frequently used with roasted, fried, or grilled
vegetables, meat, and fish.
Oregano combines well with what?
A: Spicy foods popular in southern Italy.
It is less commonly used in the north of the country,
as what is generally preferred?
A: Marjoram.
Its popularity in the U.S. began when soldiers
returning from World War II brought back with them a taste for what?
A: The "pizza herb", which had probably been eaten in southern Italy for
centuries.
In Turkish cuisine, oregano is mostly used for what?
A: Flavoring meat, especially mutton and lamb.
During the summer, generous amounts of dried oregano
are often added as a topping to what in Portugal?
A: A tomato and cucumber salad, 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 what?
A: 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 what?
A: Herbal tea.