Marjoram has always sounded vaguely Biblical to me - along with those phrases referring to Mustard-seeds, Marthas and Miriams, for some reason. Apparently its country of origin is Egypt, although it now features heavily in cuisines from as far off as Mexico and Romania, France and Poland. There's something very pleasing to me about this list of countries, because we have representatives of all of them in our production of Dialogues des Carmelites - whose opera likewise features a reference to this obscure spice!
Apparently it's closely related to oregano, and must likewise be added rather late in the cooking process for best flavour bouquet. (...) It features often in the spice mixes Herbes de Provence, and indeed Za'ataar - a middle-Eastern blend of various spices, sesame and salt. Delicious.
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