Culinary Herb

Oregano is an important culinary herb, used for the flavour of its leaves, which can be more flavourful when dried than fresh.

Oregano's most prominent modern use is as the staple herb of Italian-American cuisine, known as the 'pizza herb'. In Italy it is most frequently used with roasted, fried or grilled vegetables, meat and fish. Unlike most Italian herbs, oregano combines well with spicy foods, which are popular in southern Italy.

In Turkish cuisine, oregano is mostly used for flavouring meat, especially for mutton and lamb. In barbecue and kebab restaurants, it can be usually found on the table, together with paprika, salt and pepper.

The dried and ground leaves are most often used in Greece to add flavour to Greek salad, and is usually added to the lemon-olive oil sauce that accompanies many fish or meat barbecues and some casseroles.

Oregano is also used by chefs in the southern Philippines to eliminate the odour of water buffalo when boiling it, while simultaneously imparting flavour.

Prior to blip days, it was the fragrance I was more aware of rather than the tiny clusters of pink flowers from my garden.

Lovely sunny summer's day, north easterly breeze with just a few white clouds drifting through the sky, a warm 23C.

Tonight's tea perhaps a home made Italian pizza sprinkled with some oregano washed down with a glass of red - sounds good to me.

Enjoy the weekend everyone :)