Never have I been so horribly wrong. My first impression of oregano, AKA origanum vulgare was that it is bitter, tea like, bitter, peppery, bitter, bitter, bitter and bitter. When I recently had the chance to try oregano dried from someone's garden, my impression was that it was woodsy, peppery, minty and sweet, with notes of catnip and perhaps a tiny bit of bitterness for depth. Wow. Lesson learned, never ever buy herbs from Cento.
Oregano is wildly popular in the Mediterranean region and is often grown in people's window boxes alongside thyme and basil. While fresh oregano is certainly a desirable thing, it's one of the few herbs that actually benefits from the drying process as it's so strong when fresh that it can make your tongue start tingling and going numb. Little of the flavor is lost if it is dried well and not from Cento.
Using oregano in the United States is essentially a culinary shorthand for Italian food. Stick a spring or two in and nonna will be jumping around saying "bello bello!" That or she'll take her cooking spoon to the back of your head for stereotyping Italians. At any rate, it's most popular use here is for tomato based sauces from marinara to pizza sauce. Here in Philadelphia we like to say "gravy". I don't know why, but if you say "tomato sauce" you get yelled at.
So here, have a gravy recipe.
The importance of herbs being of good quality cannot be understated. Cheap oregano is actually gross. Good oregano is really good. It gives your pizza that distinct tang, your Greek salad its robust dimensions and spikes your marinara with harmonic notes. I'm sorry that it took me so long to see the light, but yea, unto your leafy salvation I have been delivered!
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