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Oregano (perennial marjoram)
Origanum vulgare L.
Oregano (Perennial marjoram) - Origanum vulgare.
Fragrant perennial up to 50 cm high. From mass re-growth of shoots to flowering and the first cut 62 days. When dried, it has a warm spicy balsamic aroma. Fresh and dried leaves and young shoots are used as seasonings for various dishes, for canning. 1,0 g = 7000-8000 seeds.
Height 30-50 cm.
Hardiness rating: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
A hardy perennial herb with sweet smelling, aromatic foliage which can be used fresh or dry for flavouring moussaka, stews, sausages, omelets, stuffings, pizzas and all Italian dishes.
Try it sprinkled on lamb or pork before cooking. The flowers produced in summer and autumn can also be used for flavouring after they have been gently dried. Flowering in summer.
Sowing Instructions: Sow from late winter to early summer 1.5 mm deep in good, free draining seed compost. Make sure it is moist but not wet and seal in a polythene bag until after germination which usually takes 14-21 days at +16+18°C.
Growing Instructions: transplant when large enough to handle into 7.5 cm pots. Later plant out 30 cm apart into ordinary well drained soil in full sun.
Aftercare Instructions: a little winter protection of a layer of peat of leaf mould is helpful in cold areas.
Sensoric quality: Aromatic, warm and slightly bitter. Quality is so strong that it almost numbs the tongue, but the cultivars adapted to colder climate have often insatisfactory flavour.
Main constituents. The essential oil (max. 4%) may contain variable amounts of the two phenoles carvacrol and thymol (see also thyme and savory); furthermore, a variety of monoterpene hydrocarbons (limonene, terpinene, ocimene, caryophyllene, β-bisabolene and p-cymene) and monoterpene alcohols (linalool, 4-terpineol) are reported.
In Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) an essential oil of very similar constitution is found. A typical analysis is as follows: 50% thymol, 12% carvacrol, 9% p-cymene and a number of further monoterpenoids (1,8 cineol, γ-terpinene, terpinene-4-ol and terpinene-4-yl acetate) in amonts between 1 and 5%.
Origin: Several species of genus Origanum are native to the Mediterranean, all of which are traded as a spice. The influence of climate, season and soil on the composition of the essential oil is greater than the difference between the various species. The most important species are Origanum vulgare (pan-European), Origanum onites (Greece, Asia Minor) and Origanum heracleoticum (Italy, Balkan peninsular, West Asia).
A closely related plant is marjoram from Asia Minor, which, however, differs significantly in taste, because phenolic compounds are missing in its essential oil. Some breeds show an flavour intermediate between oregano and marjoram (gold marjoram = gold oregano).
Mexican Oregano stems from the plant Lippia graveolens (Verbenaceae) and is closely related to lemon verbena. Although only loosely related to oregano, Mexican oregano displays a flavour very similar to that of oregano, albeit stronger. It is increasingly traded, especially in the US. Its strong aroma makes it an acceptable substitute for epazote leaves if the latter are not available; this wouldnt work the other way round, though.
There is a significant taxonomic confusion about the term “oregano” in Mexican cooking. Several plants are named thus in different parts of Mexico, and there is little clear information about those. Some plants that have been identified as “Mexican Oregano” are Poliomintha longiflora, Lippia berlandieri and Plectranthus amboinicus (syn. Coleus aromaticus). This is the old fashioned type of Oregano like your grandmother grew in decades past and is a perennial kitchen herb with small fragrant leaves and very beautiful purple flowers.
Oregano is used very extensively in cooking and is especially a necessity in any meals involving tomatoes.
Fragrant perennial up to 50 cm high. From mass re-growth of shoots to flowering and the first cut 62 days. When dried, it has a warm spicy balsamic aroma. Fresh and dried leaves and young shoots are used as seasonings for various dishes, for canning. 1,0 g = 7000-8000 seeds.
Height 30-50 cm.
Hardiness rating: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
A hardy perennial herb with sweet smelling, aromatic foliage which can be used fresh or dry for flavouring moussaka, stews, sausages, omelets, stuffings, pizzas and all Italian dishes.
Try it sprinkled on lamb or pork before cooking. The flowers produced in summer and autumn can also be used for flavouring after they have been gently dried. Flowering in summer.
Sowing Instructions: Sow from late winter to early summer 1.5 mm deep in good, free draining seed compost. Make sure it is moist but not wet and seal in a polythene bag until after germination which usually takes 14-21 days at +16+18°C.
Growing Instructions: transplant when large enough to handle into 7.5 cm pots. Later plant out 30 cm apart into ordinary well drained soil in full sun.
Aftercare Instructions: a little winter protection of a layer of peat of leaf mould is helpful in cold areas.
Sensoric quality: Aromatic, warm and slightly bitter. Quality is so strong that it almost numbs the tongue, but the cultivars adapted to colder climate have often insatisfactory flavour.
Main constituents. The essential oil (max. 4%) may contain variable amounts of the two phenoles carvacrol and thymol (see also thyme and savory); furthermore, a variety of monoterpene hydrocarbons (limonene, terpinene, ocimene, caryophyllene, β-bisabolene and p-cymene) and monoterpene alcohols (linalool, 4-terpineol) are reported.
In Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) an essential oil of very similar constitution is found. A typical analysis is as follows: 50% thymol, 12% carvacrol, 9% p-cymene and a number of further monoterpenoids (1,8 cineol, γ-terpinene, terpinene-4-ol and terpinene-4-yl acetate) in amonts between 1 and 5%.
Origin: Several species of genus Origanum are native to the Mediterranean, all of which are traded as a spice. The influence of climate, season and soil on the composition of the essential oil is greater than the difference between the various species. The most important species are Origanum vulgare (pan-European), Origanum onites (Greece, Asia Minor) and Origanum heracleoticum (Italy, Balkan peninsular, West Asia).
A closely related plant is marjoram from Asia Minor, which, however, differs significantly in taste, because phenolic compounds are missing in its essential oil. Some breeds show an flavour intermediate between oregano and marjoram (gold marjoram = gold oregano).
Mexican Oregano stems from the plant Lippia graveolens (Verbenaceae) and is closely related to lemon verbena. Although only loosely related to oregano, Mexican oregano displays a flavour very similar to that of oregano, albeit stronger. It is increasingly traded, especially in the US. Its strong aroma makes it an acceptable substitute for epazote leaves if the latter are not available; this wouldnt work the other way round, though.
There is a significant taxonomic confusion about the term “oregano” in Mexican cooking. Several plants are named thus in different parts of Mexico, and there is little clear information about those. Some plants that have been identified as “Mexican Oregano” are Poliomintha longiflora, Lippia berlandieri and Plectranthus amboinicus (syn. Coleus aromaticus). This is the old fashioned type of Oregano like your grandmother grew in decades past and is a perennial kitchen herb with small fragrant leaves and very beautiful purple flowers.
Oregano is used very extensively in cooking and is especially a necessity in any meals involving tomatoes.
Eng.: Common marjoram, European oregano, joy of the mountain, perennial marjoram, Turkish oregano, wintersweet. Suom.: Mäkimeirami, metsämeirami. Sven.: Kungsmynta, dosta, koning, konungagräs, spansk humla, vild mejram. Bot. syn.: Origanum creticum L.
