Italian seasoning
A dried herb blend, typically basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram, sold pre-mixed as a shortcut for the herb profile common to Italian-American cooking.
Buying guidance
Buy in a quantity you'll use within about a year -- like any dried herb blend, it fades rather than spoils, so a jar that smells dusty and faint instead of sharply herbal is past its useful life even though it's still technically safe. Blends vary by brand in exactly what's included and in what ratio, so if a dish tastes flat, the blend itself may be the issue rather than the amount used.
Substitutions
- Equal parts dried oregano and dried basil -- covers most of the familiar flavor if that's all that's on hand.
- Dried oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram mixed to taste -- build a custom blend, going easy on rosemary since it's the strongest of the five.
- Fresh herbs -- oregano, basil, thyme -- chopped and added near the end of cooking; use about three times the amount of a dried blend, since fresh herbs are milder by volume.
Tips & common mistakes
Crush a pinch between your fingers before adding it -- dried herbs release far more aroma when their surface is broken than when they go in as whole dry flakes straight from the jar.