Oregano Seasoning

The Greek name oregano translates to "joy of the mountain," and it has been used for thousands of years, well before it was dubbed "the pizza herb" by American soldiers who brought some back from Italy. We wanted that same fragrance on Indian dishes, in our own style. The main ingredients of this mix are garlic and salt, then oregano for its flavour and aroma, and black pepper, chilli and paprika for the heat and colour that a plain oregano jar lacks.

Add it to pasta and enjoy the herby, garlicky aroma before you eat it. Add it on top of hot pizza as it comes out of the oven, and it adds a freshness to the cheese rather than merely sitting on top of it. Place on garlic bread before it's baked and it will coat the garlic bread before it even browns.

What is Oregano Seasoning?

Cold ground and packaged in 45g tin, a dry blend of dehydrated garlic, refined salt, oregano, basil, black pepper, yellow chilli and paprika powder. Designed to be used for cooking pasta, pizza and salad without any additional preparation.

What makes it special?

Oregano gives the blend its name and its main aroma but garlic and salt are listed first for a reason, and chilli and paprika add the warmth and colour oregano alone doesn't. It's a full seasoning, not a single dried herb, so you skip reaching for four other jars.

Why choose Shaman?

This blend lists every ingredient, rather than lumping them into one word i.e seasoning. It's cold-ground just so it doesn't ruin the one thing that makes oregano worth using: the aroma. Heat-processed oregano is cheaper and faster to produce at scale, but by the time it reaches your kitchen it's often no more fragrant than green dust. This one still packs a punch when the tin opens, because cold-grinding is designed to preserve that aroma, not rush it through the factory.

How do you use it?

Add it towards the end of cooking oregano and basil lose their aroma quickly under direct heat, so adding early wastes much of the valu. Works well on garlic bread brushed with butter or oil before baking, where residual heat won't burn the herbs. Also works cold in a dressing, yoghurt dip, or marinade base or no heat needed to release the flavour.

What foods go well with it?

Pasta and pizza are the obvious pairing, but it works just as well on garlic bread, roasted vegetables, soups, and salads. It's also a sensible alternative when a recipe requires a few individual Mediterranean pantry items such as garlic powder, oregano, chilli and paprika, but you'd prefer to have one tin rather than four.

What's in it?

No added colours with the red and orange in the mix comes from the paprika and chilli themselves. No added colours with the red and orange in the mix comes from the paprika and chilli themselves.

Garlic and salt lead the blend by proportion, oregano and basil follow, and black pepper, chilli, and paprika round it out.

How is it made?

Unlike most commercial spice blends, which are heat-processed for speed and cost, this one is cold-ground. Oregano and basil lose their aroma rapidly under normal heat-grinding much of the oil carrying their aroma and flavour is gone before the product leaves the factory. Cold-grinding keeps that aroma intact; you'll smell it the moment the tin opens, no cooking required.

How can you identify good-quality oregano seasoning?

Some things to look out for in any pack before purchasing it. First, the ingredients must be listed individually, such as garlic, oregano, basil, chilli, paprika, instead of a generic "herb blend," or worse, a single ingredient claim that is not representative of what is actually in the product. Secondly, a good blend will exhibit natural variation, greens and oranges and browns will not be perfectly even, but rather will have some variation, which suggests a natural blend and not over-processing or added colourant. Third, if there are preservatives, they must be clearly listed on the label, not contradicted by a separate "preservative-free" claim elsewhere on the same label, which is a sign of how conscientious a brand is about its own labelling.

How should you store it?

Store the tin in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight, before using any light and heat are two of the biggest enemies of dried herbs, and in most kitchens, they are more likely to fade the colour and aroma of the herbs than anything else. Once opened, refrigerate and keep the lid tightly closed between uses of aroma is the first thing to escape with repeated air exposure.

Is it suitable for everyday cooking?

Yes, but it's meant to be used as a finishing seasoning, not as a base spice around which a dish is built. Sodium content is the highest in the range at 12.86g per 100g, with salt above 5%  a pinch to half a teaspoon per plate is plenty.