White Button Mushroom
White button mushrooms are small with a white, edible stem that is dense, thick, and smooth. When raw, they have a mild, crisp texture, and once cooked, they develop an earthy flavor with a tender, chewy consistency.
1. Portobello Mushrooms
Portobello mushrooms are large, with dark brown, fleshy gills and a small ring beneath the cap. The stems are fibrous, white, and dense. When cooked, they have a chewy, meaty texture and a smoky, earthy flavor.
2 Shiitake Mushrooms
Shiitake mushrooms are small to medium-sized with thin stems and wide, umbrella-shaped caps ranging in color from light to dark brown. They are known for their curled rim, and their firm, chewy, and spongy cream-colored flesh.
3. Oyster Mushrooms
Oyster mushrooms feature a funnel-shaped cap that can be white to light brown or dark brown, with whitish-yellow gills. The stem is off-center, and the cap grows in overlapping clusters, giving them a shelf-like appearance. The flesh is white and tender.
4. Enoki Mushrooms
Enoki mushrooms grow in long clusters with string-like stems and small white caps. They offer a mild flavor with a crunchy texture, making them ideal for salads, soups, meat dishes, and garnishing. The spongy base of the mushrooms should be removed before use.
5. Shimeji Mushrooms
Shimeji mushrooms are best enjoyed cooked, as they develop a pleasant, firm, slightly crunchy texture and a mildly nutty flavor. If eaten raw, they have a bitter taste that disappears once cooked.
6. Porcini Mushrooms
Porcini mushrooms are known for their nutty, earthy flavor and meaty texture. They have a deeper, richer flavor compared to other mushrooms. Dried porcini mushrooms add depth to broths and sauces, and they become slightly chewy when rehydrated.
7. Paddy Straw Mushrooms
Also known as Volvariella volvacea, Paddy Straw mushrooms are widely cultivated in East and Southeast Asia. Popular in Asian cuisines, they are the third most consumed mushroom globally. While available fresh in Asia, they are typically found in canned or dried forms in other regions.
Sweet marjoram: Origanum (O) hortensis (orMajoranahortensis).
Potmarjoram: O.onites
Wildmajoram: O.vulgare.
Syrian majoram is called zatar
Family: Labiatae or Lamiaceae (mint family).
In Europe, marjoram was a traditional symbol of youth and romantic love. Used by Romans as an aphrodisiac, it was used to cast love spells and was worn at weddings as a sign of happiness during the middle Ages. Greeks who wore marjoram wreaths at weddings called it “joy of the mountains.” It was used to brew beer before hops was discovered, and flavored a wine called hippocras. A cousin of the oregano family, marjoram originated in Mediterranean regions and is now a commonly used spice in many parts of Europe. Called zatar in the Middle east and often mistaken for oregano, it is also a popular spicing in Eastern Europe.
Origin and Varieties
Marjoram is indigenous to northern Africa and southwest Asia. It is cultivated around the Mediterranean, in England, Central and Eastern Europe, South America, the United States, and India.
Description
Marjoram leaf is used fresh, as whole or chopped, and dried whole or broken, and ground. The flowering tops and seeds, which are not as strong as the leaves, are also used as flavorings. Sweet marjoram is a small and oval-shaped leaf. It is light green with a greyish tint. Marjoram is fresh, spicy, bitter, and slightly pungent with camphor like notes. It has the fragrant herbaceous and delicate, sweet aroma of thyme and sweet basil. Pot marjoram is bitter and less sweet.
Chemical Components
Sweet marjoram has 0.3% to 1% essential oil, mostly monoterpenes. It is yellowish to dark greenish brown in color. It mainly consists of cis-sabinene hydrate (8% to 40%), -terpinene (10%), a-terpinene (7.6%), linalyl acetate (2.2%), terpinen 4-ol (18% to 48%), myrcene (1.0%), linalool (9% to 39%), -cymene (3.2%), caryophyllene (2.6%), and a-terpineol (7.6%). Its flavor varies widely depending on its origins. The Indian and Turkish sweet marjorams have more d-linalool, caryophyllene, carvacrol, and eugenol. Its oleoresin is dark green, and 2.5 lb. are equivalent to 100 lb. of freshly ground marjoram. Marjoram contains calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and niacin.
Culinary uses of Marjoram
Marjoram is typically used in European cooking and is added to fish sauces, clam chowder, butter-based sauces, salads, tomato-based sauces, vinegar, mushroom sauces, and eggplant. In Germany, marjoram is called the “sausage herb” and is used with thyme and other spices in different types of sausages. It is usually added at the end of cooking to retain its delicate flavor or as a garnish. It goes well with vegetables including cabbages, potatoes, and beans. The seeds are used to flavor confectionary and meat products.
