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Oregano - The Spice(lat. Origanum vulgare) also Dost, Origano or wild Majoram. Gourmets know Oregano, a plant of the family lamiaceae (mint family), usually as a mediterranean spice used on pizzas or in tomato sauces. |
Sensoric quality
Aromatic, warm and slightly bitter. Oregano largely varies in intensity: Good quality is so strong that it almost numbs the tongue, but the cultivars adapted to colder climate have often insatisfactory flavour.
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 O. vulgare (pan-European), O. onites (Greece, Asia Minor) and O. 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).