Oregano (rigani)

This powerful oregano was picked on the island of Crete, the island where the mountain slopes are colored in summer by a carpet of flowering herbs. The taste is so concentrated that it is advisable to use the oregano sparingly. Give your pizza, egg dish or salad a boost with this unique herb.

Oregano is the popular name of the wild marjoram, a plant from the lipaceae family. Famous is the use of oregano on pizza and in salads in Italian and Greek cuisine, especially in combination with tomato and eggplant. Yet oregano is not only used in European cuisine, but also in Latin American cuisine.

Just like the true marjoram (Origanum majorana), oregano is woody. The leaves are larger, have a stem, are slightly hairy and green on both sides. The oregano is often harvested 'by the stem'. That is why stem and leaf are processed together in many oregano.

This is not the case in our oregano, the leaves are zipped off the stems after harvesting. In addition, our oregano is harvested early in the summer, just before flowering, when the leaves are most flavoursome. This wild growing oregano, which is called rígani in Crete, naturally and due to the careful method of harvesting and processing, has a more powerful and broader flavor palette than dried, cultivated oreganos, but is also more powerful than fresh oregano.

Therefore, use it to boost a dish (hot or cold). Use this wild oregano more sparingly than you may be used to. Prevent the powerful taste of this wild oregano from overpowering other flavor components. The more delicate the dish, the more it should be considered to use marjoram instead of oregano. A rule of thumb is:

• rustic Mediterranean and southern French dishes oregano,
  
• refined northern French dishes: marjoram.

Smell and taste

The taste and smell of oregano is determined by carvacrol (spicy and bitter), thymol (thyme), myrcene (peppery) and sabinene. The latter provides the sweet tones.

Use

As strange as that may sound, oregano is not only suitable for savory dishes but also for use in sweet dishes, even in ice cream or yogurt. A favorite application, however, is oregano in combination with garlic and lemon, for example as a seasoning for (fatty) lamb, and on or in egg dishes.

Don't add dried oregano until the last minute. The best time to add dried herbs is no more than ten minutes before the end of a preparation. That is enough to allow the leaves to absorb moisture again and to transfer the flavor to the dish.

Did you know that the taste of these dried herbs comes out best when you let the herbs absorb moisture in oil for a while, so that they can transfer their taste to the oil? Then you cook with this aromatic oil.

Attributes:

• 100% dried leaf (zipped) of the Origanum vulgare - wild
• origin: Greece (Crete)

Assortment

• available in glass and pouch (no test tubes)
  
• glass jar contains 20 grams
• stand-up pouches with a content of up to 20 to 250 grams
• larger quantities on request

Gift Wrap

• the jar is available in a tasteful gift box, consisting of a cube box filled with black tissue paper
• for an overview of our gift packaging, please refer to the gift packaging section
  

General advice

• keep the oregano in a dark, dry and cool place
  
• the best before date is an indication

Save:

• keep your oregano in closed packaging
• preferably store in a dark, dry and cool place
• best before April 2025 (04/25)
• this best before date is an indication