Oregano

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Oregano: It is Not A Plant!

Well, oregano is not a plant, but it is a plant. Confused? So are many other people, so don’t feel bad. (For purposes of this article, we will limit our discussion to culinary oreganos, and omit the ornamental oreganos.)

Oregano is a wonderful culinary herb utilized by almost every culture in the worlds temperate and tropical zones. The word ‘oregano’ refers to many different plants from many different parts of the world, which botanical span several different plant species and families. Some of these oreganos grow low to the ground and root as they creep along, never growing more that a few inches high. And other oreganos grow in small clumps with large, thick, almost ‘succulent-looking’ leaves. And still, others grow upright into large shrubs reaching heights of 6 feet or more. They all vary widely in appearance, but have one commonality–they all smell (and, consequently taste) like oregano! "How can this be?!", you ask. (Good, we like inquisitive minds!)

The answer lies in a compound, and that compound is phenol carvacrol. It is the high presence of phenol carvacrol in a plant that creates the taste of ‘oregano’. And phenol carvacrol is present in many different, unrelated plants. Hence, any plant with a high presence of phenol carvacrol is often called, and utilized as, oregano.

To complicate things a bit more, oreganos in the origanum genus are highly promiscuous. They cross very readily both in the wild, and under cultivation or hybridization, giving the rise to many different cultivars (cultivated varieties) of oregano. The challenge to the home grower, and cook, is to find the types of oregano that suit their individual palates for a specific recipe. This may mean growing several different types of oregano to provide a variety of different flavors to utilize in the kitchen.

There are many different oreganos available to the home grower, and we will elaborate on the varying aspects of just a few of them (and yes, Lingle’s Herbs offers most of the oreganos in the following discussion). Whatever type of oregano you grow, plant it out in full sun, and let the soil get fairly dry before watering.

Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare subspecies hirtum) is among the more common oreganos available in the U.S. We feel that Greek oregano is as close as you can get to the ‘true’ oregano flavor. Greek oregano grows low to the ground, rooting as it grows outward. It is a vigorous spreader, but not invasive. This is the ‘workhorse’ oregano in the Lingle’s Herbs kitchen. We use it in many of the Mediterranean dishes we cook, because it adds a wonderful warm and earthy dimension to the flavor of the dish when used moderately, and never overpowers a dish to which it is added. We have a very good ‘mother’ plant from which all of our cuttings are made, assuring you a great Greek oregano plant high in phenol carvacrol.

Italian oregano (Origanum x majoricum) is another great oregano in the kitchen. Not the ‘true’ oregano flavor of the Greek, Italian oregano has a bit of the sweet, perfumey scent of marjoram. (Must have been one of those promiscuous crosses.) In any Italian recipe calling for oregano, we use the Italian oregano. The flavor comes out as lighter, less earthy, a little ‘headier’. Italian oregano has a permanent place in our personal kitchen herb garden!

And the Italian oregano we offer from Lingle’s Herbs has a great history. Several years ago, an Italian friend of ours was touting the Italian oregano she grew in her garden, telling us it was "the best oregano to cook with". Well, we have heard these testimonials many times before. Our Turkish friends telling us that Turkish oregano is the best, Cuban friends telling us Cuban oregano is the best...you get the picture.

As it turned out, this was great oregano, and as stated above, this Italian oregano will have a permanent place in our garden. But then she told us of the extraordinary history of this particular Italian oregano plant. Her great aunt, when she emigrated to America from Italy in the early part of this century, had dug up her oregano plant and brought it over with her on the boat. When she arrived in America, she planted it and used it daily in her kitchen. And as her family in America grew, she divided up a clump of her cherished oregano and gave it to all the succeeding members of her family. The plant became a treasured heirloom in the family, and our Italian friend wanted to share it with us, and our Lingle’s Herbs customers. So now we proudly offer this very authentic Italian oregano to our customers.

Cuban oregano, also known as Spanish Thyme, (Plectranthus amboinicus) is yet another plant with a high presence of phenol carvacrol, and to look at it you would never guess that it was an oregano. The plant is related to the common Southern California ground cover ‘Creeping Charley’, or Swedish Ivy–a plant which will always have a special place in my heart, as it was the first plant my father ever taught me to take cuttings from when I was 8 years old. Cuban oregano is a large and thick-leafed plant that resembles a succulent. It is a Caribbean native, and has a very exotic scent. We know of only a few recipes for the plant, but the one below makes the best black beans we have ever tasted!

Cuban oregano came to us in a similar way to the Italian oregano, from a Cuban friend whose mother brought it to America when she emigrated from Cuba. She gave us the following Black Been recipe, which everyone we know who has tried has loved it.

Black Beans with Cuban OreganoMakes 2-3 servings

1 15 oz. can black beans2 T. olive oil1 T. Cuban oregano, diced4 cloves garlic, chopped1 bay leafSalt and pepper to taste2 T. cilantro, chopped2 T. cilantro, chopped

Add the black beans to a medium saucepan, place over medium heat.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat.

Add the Cuban oregano and garlic, sauté until garlic is lightly golden.

Add the Cuban oregano and garlic to the black beans, add bay leaf, salt and pepper.

Cover beans and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve black beans, and garnish with cilantro and green onion.

Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) is the most popular oregano of the Southwestern U.S., and of course Mexico. If fact, when we in California buy dried oregano in the market, we invariably receive Mexican oregano. It is usually used in its dry form as it does retain much of its flavor when dried, unlike many other oreganos. Its oregano flavor, from the phenol carvacrol, is mixed with the slightest scent of camphor, which makes for an unusual, exotic taste.

Mexican oregano grows to be a tall shrub, with rather small oval leaves on erect, woody branches. It is very tender and can not take any freezing temperatures. In climates with colder winters it is grown as a annual, but near the Mexican border we have seen them over six feet tall, and obviously several years old. Even with our mild winters here in Southern California, we have lost our mother plants several seasons–including this one. The heavy rains we have received have ‘done it in’ again this year.

If you can find the plant, Mexican oregano is worthy growing as an annual. The scent of the leaves is the essence of Mexican cooking, and there are several recipes we could not cook without it, including enchiladas, chile rellenos, and posole. We’re sad to report that our back-up mother plant of Mexican oregano will supply few of the orders we receive for this plant this year.

In addition to the few, basic oreganos we have covered here, there are cultivars too numerous to mention in this newsletter–owing again to the notorious promiscuity and relative ease of hybridization of origanum species.

So now you know that oregano is not a specific plant, nor even a certain genus or family of plants, but any plant containing a high level of the compound phenol carvacrol.

Suzi

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

http://suziesgoats.wholefoodfarmacy.com/__________________________________________________