Spices, oregano, dried

Dried oregano is a staple of Italian, Greek, and Mexican cooking, with a concentrated, slightly bitter and peppery flavor that survives long simmering in tomato sauce, chili, and braises far better than the fresh leaf. It is the herb behind a good pizza and a classic Greek salad, and it turns up in roasted potatoes, grilled lamb and chicken, marinades for feta or olives, and the oil-and-vinegar dressings that go with them. Because drying concentrates the leaf's flavor, a little goes a long way, most recipes use two to three times more fresh oregano than dried to get the same effect, and the dried leaves also crumble more easily between the fingers directly into a simmering pot.

A teaspoon of dried leaves weighs about a gram, so the nutrient figures for this spice are best read as a per-100-gram reference rather than a single serving's worth. Store it in a sealed jar away from light and heat, whole dried leaves keep their aroma longer than the pre-crushed kind sold in large tubs, and it is worth replacing a jar that has lost its color or smell faint. By weight, oregano supplies 204% of the daily value for iron, 152% for fiber, and 123% for calcium, figures that add up across a week of cooking when a pinch is stirred into sauces, marinades, and dressings almost daily.