A Tale of Two Oregano

While browsing in a local nursery, a familiar scent caught my attention.  One of my favorite herbs with an unmistakeable scent is oregano.  When I turned to look at the hanging basket of oregano, I was somewhat surprised.  I grow oregano in my hydroponic herb garden and have kept it for years, but this plant did not look like the oregano in my herb garden.  This must be a different variety than my oregano at home.  It was labeled:  Greek Oregano.  As a fan of oregano I found this idea intriguing and purchased the little basket to bring home to my balcony garden.

When I got home I cut a sprig of my oregano and a sprig of the new oregano to compare.

Through research I found that the lighter colored Oregano on the left, also called Wild Sweet Marjoram was a milder oregano used in chicken dishes and in a medley of seasonings.  The Greek Oregano on the right has a sharper taste and is more commonly used in pizza and marinara dishes.  The Greek Oregano smells stronger, has a white fuzz on the leaves and a purple tint, in contrast the Wild Sweet Marjoram is lighter in color has no purple tint and is milder in scent.  Below is close up of an individual leaf of each variety.

 

As you can see the leaf shapes and definition are very similar.  This is the same plant, simply two slightly different varieties.  The biggest visual indicators are the white fuzz on the leaves, the darker color and the purple tint of the Greek Oregano.  I'll experiment cooking with both varieties.