The word
oregano comes from the Greek "oro"meaning mountain and "ganos"meaning joy. Greeks felt that the sweet
smell was created by Aphrodite as a symbol of
happiness. Bridal couples were crowned with it and
it was placed on tombs to give peace to the
departed. True Greek oregano is highly aromatic
and it is often described as "the oregano with bite".
Apart from flavour, oregano has unique properties
which were well known from the ancient times.
Under the
name "oregano" there are perhaps as many as 40
different species, most of which are notrich in essential oil, aroma and flavour.
It is well
known world-wide that the best quality of oregano
is the one originally grown in the Greek mountains
and offcourse now in Australia.
Origanum vulgaris is the
true Greek Oregano with flavour so intense it
numbs the end of your tongue when fresh, and like
all culinary oreganos, the flower of Greek Oregano
is white.
Authentic Greek oregano is
hard to find, but preferred by many for culinary
purposes because it is stronger flavoured than
other oreganos. This is the most prized medicinal
and culinary oregano cultivar, which makes an
invariably spicy and aromatic herb due to the high
percentage of thymol.
The dried leaf and flower
bract are employed medicinally for their
disinfectant, antioxidant, preservative,
anthelmintic and antifungal effects. Oregano is
often known as "the pizza herb" because it is the
main flavouring ingredient in many commercial
pasta and pizza sauces.
Oregano once grew on the hills and mountainsides
of Greece. Familiar with the
healing properties of this herb, the ancient
Greeks frequently used oregano as a medicine, a
favourite prescription of ancient Grecian
physicians.
However, what became of this
ancient remedy that we now rarely hear of outside
of your average recipe book? Certainly such a
potent medicine cannot be forever doomed to the
kitchen spice rack. Ongoing research into this
formerly trusted cure brings hope to the
possibility that it might soon find its way into
the medicine cabinets of the world once again.
Researchers at the U.S.
Department of Agriculture have determined that
herbs are higher in antioxidant levels than
fruits, vegetables and even spices such as garlic.
Shiow Y. Wang, a biochemist at the USDA's
Beltsville Agricultural Centre in Beltsville,
Maryland stated in the November issue of the
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
that the herb "oregano had 3 to 30 times higher
antioxidant activity than other herbs studied."
Additionally, oregano has 42 times more
antioxidant activity than apples, 30 times more
than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges and 4
times more than blueberries.
The proven abilities of
oregano's antimicrobial properties have been
extensively published and supported by significant
research at the Georgetown University Medical
Centre in Washington, D.C., Cornell University,
and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
To clarify, most of the
"oregano" commonly used in Greek favourites
such as Greek meatballs - "keftethes",
siskebab - "souvlakia", lamb chops - "paithakia",
Greek salads, and pizza, is the type purchased
at spice counters and is not in fact oregano.
Rather it is marjoram that is
used most often in these familiar Greek meals.
All species of true oregano
belong to the mint family, easily recognisable
by the characteristic square stem and
alternating pairings of leaves.
Of
the 40 plus species of oregano, or
oregano-like plants, relatively few actually
possess significant medicinal powers. To be
medicinal it must be authentic Greek oregano.
Which Culinary Oregano is right for you?
Use the
flavour and intensity chart to see why ‘Australian
Dried Oregano’
is the Superior one.
Flavour is
measured with 1 being close to Sweet Marjoram and
10 being close to Greek Oregano. Intensity is how
it numbs your tongue, with 1 being mild and 10
being the spiciest.
