UTOTD #2

I told you it wouldn’t be long before the next UTOTD popped up. I am borrowing this one from Rachel Ray…its one of her favorite useless facts to share during her show, “30 Minute Meals;” which, incidentally, Vic says I have an unhealthy obsession with, yet I don’t hear him complaining when he’s enjoying these meals.

Today’s topic:

Oregano

Oregano is a very popular herb used in both Greek and Italian cooking. Being of Italian decent, I happen to be very familiar with it. I put it in nearly everything from soups and sauces to morning eggs. Now, whenever Rachel Ray uses oregano on her show, she always mentions the Greek/Italian culinary significance as well as the fact that “oregano” means, “joy of the mountains.” This fun fact piqued my interest, so I did a little research.

Oregano does, in fact, mean “joy of the mountains” (not that I doubted you, Rachel!), however, Wikipedia (my favorite new past time) doesn’t say from what language that originated from. Being the thorough (and bored) researcher that I am, I investigate further and found this definition from Online Etymology Dictionary:
oregano
1771, from Sp./Sp. Amer. oregano, from L. origanus, origanum, from Gk. oreiganon, from oros "mountain" (see oread) + ganos "brightness, ornament." The older form of the word in Eng. was the L.-derived origanum (c.1265), also origan (c.1420). In Europe, the dried leaves of wild marjoram; in America, a different, and more pungent, shrub.
Mystery solved, it is, in fact, of Greek origin.

And something else I didn’t know about oregano, it is related to marjoram and there is a Mexican oregano.

Oregano is considered an condito sine qua non in Italian cuisine, which means, “without which it could not be ("but for").” Here is the direct quote from Wikipedia:

“Sine qua non or conditio sine qua non was originally a Latin legal term for "without which it could not be" ("but for"). It refers to an indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient. In recent times it has passed from a merely legal usage to a more general usage in many languages, including English, German, French, Italian, etc. In Classical Latin the form conditio would be condicio. The phrase is also used in economics.”

There, two useless facts for the price of one! Enjoy your oregano…it’s good for you too:

“Health benefits
Oregano is high in antioxidant activity, particularly due to a high content of phenolic acids and flavonoids (PMID 16218659, PMID 12730411). Additionally, oregano has demonstrated antimicrobial activity against food-borne pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes (PMID 16218659). Both of these characteristics may be useful in both health and food preservation.” (Wikipedia, “oregano”)