Also Known as: Sweet marjoram, knotted marjoram
Origin: North America
Parts: Leaves
Flavor: Mild, sweet
Form: Cut
Uses: Culinary
Home garden: Indoors/outdoors

A perennial of the mint family native to the Mediterranean, marjoram is frequently confused with oregano (wild marjoram). It is compact, low-growing and shrub-like growing from 12 to 18 inches in height.

Marjoram was also planted on graves, to delight the souls of loved ones.
Once the Romans had carried marjoram as far as England and Germany, it became a charm against witchcraft, for they believed that he who had sold his soul to the devil could not endure the fragrance of this happy herb.

This is a delicate herb that is best added to cooked dishes shortly before serving, or added fresh to salads. Marjoram has a special affinity for dishes containing tomatoes, and is delicious rubbed into lamb before roasting or used in stuffing for boned leg of lamb. It also flavors cooked beans, poultry, liver, and veal. Northern Italian cooks favor marjoram, whereas those in the south prefer the more assertive oregano. It is often added to sausages: in Poland, Kielbasa, in Germany, Liverwurst, in Italy, Bologna. In Morocco, it flavors meatballs, called Kefta, and is brewed in sweetened hot milk as a cold remedy, In Chile, it flavors a fish soup, Caldillo de Pescado.