June 13, 2008

will the real oregano please stand up?

Filed Under edibles

I WANTED TO PLANT OREGANO some years ago, as I expect many gardeners do, for a fresh supply to cook with. That may sound like a simple desire, though fulfilling it was anything but. The plant marked as “Oregano” at the garden center grew lush with little care, a low, green mound with a pleasant aroma if touched. But come harvest time, the oregano leaves tasted like peppery dirt, if that good, and the plant had spread in every direction I did not intend for it. Not exactly what I had in mind for a seasoning with my homegrown tomatoes, or a good garden subject. Was it poor (or too-rich) soil? The wrong location? Improper care? No: Wrong plant.

Called “the mystery plant of the herb world” by The Rodale Herb Book, “oregano” is the common name for a small multitude of plants that are mostly useless in the kitchen. Among them are many true oreganos, in the genus Origanum, and also many plants that aren’t. Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) is a relative of lemon verbena, not oregano. Cuban oregano (Coleus amboinicus) is a succulent that tastes and smells somewhat like oregano and makes a good houseplant. It is used like oregano in Cuban cuisine. Italian oregano thyme, a member of the genus Thymus, also has the familiar oregano scent.

Among the true oreganos there are choices for great beauty, like O. vulgare ‘Aureum,’ a golden-leaved form. (My sorry plant was probably just plain O. vulgare—not even pretty like the golden kind.) Sweet marjoram, a kind of oregano known as O. majorana, is more the stuff of French cuisine, and an excellent culinary herb. Pot marjoram, O. onites, is also savory-flavored.

But if you want to cook with the classic oregano taste, you want to try Greek oregano, O. heracleoticum, which is a pungent species, and one of the best for strong, true oregano taste, as is seedless oregano, O. viride. For culinary use, the Herb Society of America recommends Origanum x majoricum, a hybrid between Italian oregano and hardy sweet marjoram, and profiles all the cousins and taste-alikes mentioned here.

As with many herbs, the true oreganos will be most flavorful just before the flowers open, when the maximum concentration of oils is in the leaves. Bunch springs together with a rubber band, and hang them in a dark, dry place to dry, or use fresh.

And tell me, which “oregano” do you grow and cook with

UPDATED 7/1/08: The Serious Eats blog picked up this post, and the oregano conversation continues there.

Bookmark and Share This Page | « Close

Save to Browser Favorites

Email This to a Friend

HTML:

If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS feed or Email feed.

Comments

17 Responses to “will the real oregano please stand up?”

Paige on June 13th, 2008 7:31 am

Ack. My first try at this comment just got eaten. Here goes: I just went through this odd oregano odyssey myself. I ended up with Origanum marjoricum, which I bought (not reading carefully, obviously) thinking was sweet marjorum. Second, Origanum syriacum ‘Maru’, also labeled as “Sal’s Choice” (Who the hell is Sal? No idea.) And finally, Origanum vulgare hirtum, which sounds like it might be rude and hairy, but which the label asserts is grown from seed gathered in the mountains in Greece and is both sweet and spicy, “the most preferred for cooking.” This would all be fun, except for the kicker: I don’t know which is which. I’m hoping that once they mature, I’ll be able to differentiate them by size, because despite best efforts to map my so-called herb garden, once I got them in the ground, I instantly forgot which was where. Maybe we’ll have to have a late summer taste-off.
margaret on June 13th, 2008 7:50 am

A NOTE ON COMMENT WONKY-NESS:
Since our server migration this week, all of your comments go straight to spam for a bit till I dig you out. Sorry, but that’s the price to pay temporarily for switching things to a more robust hosting system, which we needed to accommodate all of you, and we will get it fixed.
Your comment won’t appear right away is all. Working on it…trying…
:-(
boodely on June 13th, 2008 8:30 am

I guess it’s good to have some mysteries in life, but not so much so in tomato sauce.
Jane E-P on June 13th, 2008 10:20 am

Before I comment on today’s topic, Margaret, I’d just like to say that your site is FABULOUS and absolutely a daily stop for me. That’s coming from someone who has no soil, much less a garden. I’ve got half-day sun on half a puny balcony, which I fill with planted pots of various sizes and hope it’s enough to get (puny) flowers someday. Sad, ain’t it? In desperation, I’ve adopted the pix of your garden as my virtual one. So far it’s working to relieve my withdrawal symptoms — there was a time when I had and happily worked gardens –, and I thank you!
I wanted to shed some light on ‘Sal’s Favorite” oregano, referenced by commenter Paige above. I’m quite sure that’s Sal Gilbertie, one of my town’s most esteemed citizens and a nice guy to boot. He and his family have a retail nursery/garden shop in Westport, CT, and several years ago he began growing every spice imaginable on his wholesale farm in nearby Easton. I believe that ‘Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens’ is now responsible for a ridiculously high percentage of all the herbs sold in the USA. His books are almost as good as yours ;^)
Thanks again for your glorious pictures and such helpful, beautifully written prose. Even us (or is it ‘we’?)deprived souls love it.
jeff-naturehills on June 13th, 2008 11:13 am

I use Greek Oregeno in my pasta sauces all the time. Thank you for the great read.
Kitt on June 13th, 2008 12:08 pm

I was happy to find a huge Greek oregano plant in the abandoned vegetable garden I recently acquired. (Along with some chives, sage and thyme.) I’ll be sure to harvest some bunches before it blooms.
Jim/ArtofGardening on June 13th, 2008 1:07 pm

Hey, did you ever burn oregano? Catch some on fire and let me know what it smells like!
High Valley Farmgirl on June 13th, 2008 2:49 pm

The stuff I planted years ago made a beautiful ground cover on the hillside by my garden but was always a big loser in the sauce pot. So now I know why. Thanks!
margaret on June 13th, 2008 5:04 pm

@Jim: If I didn’t know better I’d say you were a Grateful Dead fan or something…
Karen T on June 15th, 2008 2:19 pm

I had oregano in my last garden and was missing it the other day (when I had to buy some at the grocery story), which left me thinking I need to plant it again. I had no idea it was a complicated matter! I must have just gotten lukcy at the great Napa nursery I no doubt bought the last one from. Thanks for the tip, Margaret.
Terri Clark on June 18th, 2008 5:20 pm

I grow the Greek oregano in my front southern exposed dry garden where all my Mediterranian and silver foliage plants thrive. That one plant has spread like wild fire despite never receiving a drop of water except what the Rain Gods send. It can be so invasive- and what better revenge than eating it- but has to be kept in check.Seems to so love the nooks and crannies and zero moisture.
Andrea on June 19th, 2008 1:12 pm

I have Greek oregano growing our garden, and it’s threatening to take over. We love the smell and flavor!
margaret on June 19th, 2008 1:43 pm

Welcome, Andrea, to A Way to Garden. I guess there are worse things to be overrun by than Greek oregano. Hope to see you again soon.
CityGarden on June 29th, 2008 1:04 pm

I don’t change my wild Greek origanum, it’s the best origanum in Greece. Next week I will go to my plot and I think that I can harvest my plants.
margaret on June 29th, 2008 1:59 pm

Welcome, CityGarden, and all the way from Greece! Wow! Thank you for visiting, and for the endorsement of the real Greek oregano.
Maggie Keeler on July 11th, 2008 3:48 pm

Hi~ I just bought an oregano, ‘Sal’s Choice’ (Origanum syriacum ‘Maru’) this morning from a local nursery because:
1. I recognized the Gilbertie nursery stick tag and I’ve had good luck with their herb plants for a number of years…
2. I know who Sal Gilbertie is because I have most of his books, so if this oregano is his favorite, I’ll try his recommendation…
3. I need an oregano to go into my new whiskey barrel culinary herb garden that I am planting by my steps so that I WILL USE my cooking herbs. I have a border of herbs in my potager, but it’s a distance from the house, so I don’t go out there for herbs every time that I should…
4. The tag says: that it does not spread [I've had invasive oreganos in my other gardens]; that it is hardy {some oreganos have not survived our WV winters]; and it has great oregano flavor [I've had some tasteless oreganos too].
4. It was on sale @ 50% off !
margaret on July 11th, 2008 4:30 pm

Welcome, Maggie–and I love this thought process. Especially the part about herbs near the door (which I always fail to do, so stupid) and the 50% off. :)

Leave a Reply

Who's Gardening Here?

from martha to just margaret
I was so blessed to visit and document many of the nation’s finest homemade gardens for 15 years for ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ first as its garden editor and then as editorial director for the company. The list of places we were proud to publish included my own upstate New York home a few years back. Take a tour of how it looked then. Want to know more about me? Or read what Anne Raver said in June in The New York Times, calling A Way to Garden “the best (garden blog) I’d ever seen.”
Newsletter Sign-Up

Your Email:

Your Name:
Why Do You Garden?

One of the most popular questions at A Way to Garden: Why do you garden? A bunch of us answered in a stream of comments, but there's great newer stuff on the Forums. Just in case you'd like to tell us why, too (or have a good read about what makes the rest of us tick).
August Garden Chores

All based on my Zone 5B Berkshire/Hudson Valley location; adjust accordingly.

I SOMETIMES THINK THAT AUGUST, not April, is the cruelest month (though T.S. Eliot thought otherwise). Hazy, hot and humid…and plum tuckered out. But give up we must not. Every weed pulled now is a hundred you don’t have to deal with later (well, who knows the precise math of mama weed to baby weed, but you get the idea: prevention!). Don’t let them go to seed.

WATERING IS another major focus; don’t waste water on lawns, which will bounce back from brown in time when cooler, moister days return.

MAKE A PASS through each bed each week, since weeds are not just unsightly but steal moisture, nutrients and light from desired plants. Top up mulch in all garden beds if washed or worn away to help in the plight.

TREES & SHRUBS

STOP FEEDING woody plants. Promoting more soft growth in high summer isn’t good; time for them to start moving toward the hardening-off phase of their cycle. No more eats till earliest spring.

TREES ARE especially vulnerable to drought, particularly the oldest and the youngest (those planted in the last few years). Water deeply, as with a Tree-Gator. Ugly…but better than not watering the kids!

ALWAYS BE on the lookout for dead, damaged, diseased wood in trees and shrubs and prune them out as discovered. Ditto with suckers and water sprouts.

VEGETABLE, FRUIT & HERBS

AS AREAS COME EMPTY from harvest, build vegetable-garden soil by sowing cover crops: medium red clover now, or perhaps winter rye if you don’t do some areas till mid-fall. These “green manures” will be turned under to improve soil tilth and fertility.

SOW ANOTHER CROP OF PEAS right now for fall harvest (and perhaps freezing for offseason use!). Shelled peas from the freezer really make risotto in January taste like summer.

STRAWBERRY BEDS may appreciate rejuvenation now, if you didn’t get it done last month.

KEEP ASPARAGUS well weeded. Let asparagus ferns grow till frost to feed the underlying crowns.

DID YOU HARVEST GARLIC? Save the best heads for replanting this fall, the ones with the biggest cloves (or order more for fall delivery).

ANOTHER SOWING of chard, radishes, arugula, spinach, turnips, beets and lettuce means succulent fall crops. With salad greens, sow small amounts now and again in 10 days. Direct-sow one more row of bush beans if you don’t have pole beans to rely on for harvest now through fall, but do it fast.

DID YOU START MORE BASIL from seed? Young, fresh plants sown immediately will be better than woody old ones for combining with those fall tomatoes. Is there enough fresh dill coming for late pickles? For peak flavor, basil, sage, marjoram and oreganos, mint, tarragon are best harvested just before bloom. Harvest lavender, rosemary and chamomile as they flower, blossoms and all.

FLOWER GARDEN

DAYLILIES can be dug and divided as they complete their bloom cycle, right into fall, if needed.

PEONIES are best divided and transplanted in late August through September, if they need it. Remember with these fussy guys that “eyes” must not be buried more than an inch or two beneath the soil surface. Want more peonies? Now’s the time to order from places like Klehm’s (see Sources list).

MANY POPULAR ANNUALS can be overwintered as young plants if you take and root cuttings now rather than try to nurse along leggy older specimens. Geraniums, coleus, wax begonias, even impatiens (to name just a few common ones), if grown in good light indoors and kept pinched and bushy, will yield another generation of cuttings for next spring’s transplants. Probably best to expend this effort and space on things you really treasure—an unusual form of something, not the garden variety.

MANY PERENNIALS and biennials can still be started from seed if you hurry, then set out in the fall into nursery beds.

DEADHEAD FADED PERENNIALS and summer bulbs unless they have showy seedheads, or you want to collect seed later (non-hybrids only).

ORDER BULBS to get varieties you want (see Sources). Remember our “early, middle, late” mantra when doing so.

PREPARE NEW beds for fall planting by smothering grass or weeds with layers of recycled corrugated cardboard or thick layers of newspaper, then put mulch on top.

RE-EDGE BEDS to make a clean line and define them, and keep edges clean with regular fine-tuning with grass shears. A clean edge makes a big difference.

GENERAL

IF YOU ARE IN JAPANESE BEETLE territory, handpick (as with other obvious pests like tomato hornworms) in early morning and drown in a can of water to reduce infestation. Plan to try to reduce grub population with nematodes.

GARDENS NEED an inch of water a week from you or the heavens. Check your rain gauge to make sure they get it, and remember: soak deeply in the root zone, don’t spritz things with a sprayer now and again like you’re washing the car. That’s a garden no-no. Pots need extra attention, especially smallish ones in sun, and they also need regular feeding. Be alert!

HOUSEPLANTS

IF HOUSEPLANTS NEED repotting, do it now, while’s they’re still outside (less messy than in the house!). Don’t step up more than an inch (on small pots) or a couple (on large ones). Most plants don’t like to swim in their containers.

LAWNS

MID-AUGUST TO MID-SEPTEMBER is prime lawn-renovation and planting time in the North.

DON’T BAG OR RAKE clippings; let them lie on the lawn to return Nitrogen to the soil.

COMPOST HEAP

DON’T LET the heap dry out completely, or it will not “cook.” Turning it to aerate will also hasten decomposition, but things will rot eventually even if not turned.
Brief but Juicy

ultimate garden no-no’s
WHEN SOMEONE ASKED in a comment about my point of view on using landscape fabric, the fuse was quickly lit: NO! I said. NO! I’ve rounded up some no-no’s we’ve posted collectively so far, but I bet by now there are a few more things to bitch about. Grab a lawn chair and a cold drink, and we can fester together. Sure beats weeding (which ought to be a garden no-no).

lose anything lately?
THE SAYING GOES THAT a thing of beauty is a joy forever. I guess “forever” in this case is in the mind’s eye. My darling, oldest bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) went down for the count in July, or at least half of it did, and I had already seen the death knell for a couple of my 10 crabapples. Jeez.

true love, really
LOOK, I HAVE A THING for frogs. Call it my little fetish. An issue. Whatever. My general obsession notwithstanding, I’ve finally met THE ONE FOR ME.

hail the stewartia
I LIKE PLANTS THAT EARN THEIR KEEP. By that I mean they do more than a week or two of showing off; they look good in more than a single moment, or season. The small-ish to medium trees in the genus Stewartia are a good bet if that’s the kind of multi-season interest you are looking for. Sound good?

more, more, more clematis
WHEN I SEE ‘POLISH SPIRIT’ CLAMBERING up and through the golden Chamaecyparis in late spring-into-summer, I realize I have a serious Clematis shortage around here. Not in the Chamaecyparis, specifically, but in lots of other places where things look a little dull. I’ve got a penchant for growing vines up and over otherwise-dull shrubbery, you see.

can-do pruning
REPEAT AFTER ME: I can prune. I can prune. If you follow this simple method for starters, your woody plants will thank you.

the ‘other’ peonies
JUNE WAS PEONY TIME, the big raucous kind of peony time, but just before that another kind of peony you might want to consider adopting did its subtler, wonderful thing.

which lilac to plant?
SO MANY LILACS, so little space. Browse a glossary of some of my favorites before you shop—maybe you’ll like them, too.

non-blooming peonies?
Did your peonies not cooperate—was there not a good crop of flower buds, and you don’t know why? This came up on the Forums, and here’s the dish.

twist-off ticks
I AM COMING IN everyday with at least a tick or two on me; not embedded, thankfully, so far, but it's only a matter of time. But I am prepared. Are you?

anything but forsythia
I guess I have a thing against forsythia…even though I have several specimens of it along the fringes of my property. But there are better choices for spring color among shrubs.

surprise (avian) visitors
If you make a garden for birds, or even plant a crabapple or two (or ten), you never know who’ll show up.

magnolias to love
THEY’RE MEMORIES NOW but I couldn't garden without magnolias. Want to know more about the queen of the spring-blooming trees?

order in the garden
I AM LABELING my plants, I am. As memory fades, out comes the label machine, just in the nick. Saved by the Dymo. You can be, too.
Buried Treasure

I NOTICE THAT BLOGGING results in some rich but buried treasure: great stuff in a comment thread you may not see; interesting topics on the forums that perhaps you haven't visited.

Subjects ranging from feeding and pruning Hydrangeas and pruning clematis, to entertaining (read: ranting) lists and lists of garden no-no’s (not just mine!).

Pick a click, and enjoy. Better yet, CHIME IN yourself. Up in the nav bar…that's right, GO FOR IT: our Q&A FORUMS.