Italian Seasoning - A Savory Blend of Herbs

Italian seasoning is a blend of herbs that goes well with pasta, seafood, poultry, fish and vegetable dishes. Some might call it a Mediterranean blend of herbs as most of the ingredients that are typically present are native to that region. Whole herbs of oregano, thyme, rosemary and basil are commonly included in Italian seasonings.
A review of commercially prepared Italian seasonings was undertaken to decipher the common herbs used in this mixture. The ingredients of each brand are listed below in the order that they appeared on the label. This means that the ingredients are listed here in decreasing order of quantity.
Commercial Blends of Italian Seasonings

• Brand 1 - oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil, rosemary.
• Brand 2 - oregano, marjoram, sage, basil.
• Brand 3 - marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, basil.
• Brand 4 - oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, sage.
• Brand 5 - oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, basil, sage.
• Brand 6 - parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme.

Oregano and basil are the only herbs that are common to all the brands listed. Two out of three brands have oregano listed first, so we can conclude that oregano is very important to Italian seasonings. Basil is used sparingly, except in Brand 6 where it's listed as the second ingredient, but it's present in all these blends.
Marjoram and thyme are the next most common ingredients, and each brand has at least one of these. The other herbs are made up of rosemary, basil, sage, savory and parsley.
Brand 6 appears to be a cheap herb blend because parsley is the first ingredient. Dried parsley flakes will provide green color to a dish, but not much in the way of taste. Dried basil is pretty lifeless too, so the other Italian seasoning brands would seem to be more tasty blends.
Brand 3 looks interesting because of its inclusion of savory. Savory has a distinct aroma and taste that reminds one of sausage, as that is a common food that uses savory for flavoring.
No matter which brand you use, or if you use your own dried herb blend, slightly crush the herbs before adding to a dish. This will release the aromas and flavors for a delicious taste.
It is doubtful that Italian cooks would use a blend of herbs called Italian seasoning, unless they prepared their own blend of herbs. In their region of the world all of these herb plants grow well and will survive the mild winters. The Italian cook with a small herb garden will be able to cut fresh herbs all year and enjoy drying them to make their own Italian seasoning.

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