Saffron is The King of Spices and You Should Love it (2024)

FAQs

Saffron is The King of Spices and You Should Love it? ›

Saffron possesses a water soluble carotene known as crocin. It is responsible for saffron's iconic golden color.

Since such a small part of the flower is used, it takes 75,000 saffron flowers to make one pound of saffron spice. The small amount of saffron spice per plant, along with the fact that harvesting must be done manually, leads to saffron's being majorly expensive.

It's an especially popular addition to grains like rice or flavorful curries. Its earthy and slightly sweet flavor adds a unique zest that makes you crave more and more. Adding it to your cooking results in a beautiful golden color that makes for an eye-popping presentation.

Saffron is often referred to as "red gold," for good reason—it's the world's most expensive spice, retailing for anywhere from $10 to $20 for a gram of the real stuff. It has a subtly sweet, hard-to-pin-down flavor and is a natural food dye.

Saffron can only be harvested and processed by hand as its petals must be peeled away gently to collect the delicate saffron threads. Consequently, an ounce of saffron is valued at more than an ounce of gold. It is unknown exactly where this precious spice originated, but many believe it came from Greece.

With a wholesale price tag as high as $10,000 per pound, saffron is the single most expensive food on earth. Which is why it's always been treated as a delicacy: a fabric dye for royalty, a perfume compound for the wealthy, an ingredient reserved for special meals that immediately signify luxury.

Taking large amounts of saffron by mouth is possibly unsafe. High doses of 5 grams or more can cause poisoning. Doses of 12-20 grams can cause death. When applied to the skin: There isn't enough reliable information to know if saffron is safe or what the side effects might be.

The culinary benefits of this hard-to-harvest spice, however, are worth every penny. A little saffron goes a long way—just a few crushed threads can completely elevate a dish. Bloom the threads in warm water or broth, or lightly crush and sprinkle them into soups, sauces, batters, etc.

Saffron does not expire, but it does have a shelf life. Like other spices, it loses its strong aroma and flavour as it ages and doesn't get preserved. This priceless spice gets harmed by direct light, oxygen, dampness, and heat. With only a little exposure, your Saffron will quickly lose its optimum freshness.

Saffron crocus is hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9. Plant it in full sun and well-drained or sandy soil. If those conditions are not easy to come by in your garden, fill a container with potting soil, add the crocus corms, and put it in your sunniest spot.

Is grocery store saffron real? ›

The item labelled saffron can be entirely fake, or it can be real saffron but adulterated with other substances. Fake saffron can be corn silk threads, safflower (an unrelated thistle), coconut filaments or even dyed horse hair, or shredded paper.

Super Negin saffron stands as the epitome of saffron excellence, renowned for its unparalleled potency and exquisite appearance. As the most expensive and rare trim of saffron, Super Negin boasts longer threads free from any yellow or orange strands.

Growers in Spain, considered the lowest quality of the spice in the world and naturally cheaper. Is saffron cheap in Turkey?

Iran (biggest saffron producer)

Iran produces around 90% of the world's saffron, and it is known for its high quality. The majority of the saffron produced in Iran is exported to other countries, and it is used in a variety of culinary dishes and medicinal products.

Once you've purchased saffron, there is a simple experiment you can perform to test your saffron's quality: Take a few saffron threads and soak them in hot (not boiling) water for 5 to 20 minutes. Fake saffron will quickly bleed out its artificial red dye and the threads will disintegrate.

What Does Saffron Taste Like? Saffron has a subtle earthy-sweet flavor profile with a tinge of bitterness on the tongue that gives way to delicate floral and honey notes. Fresh saffron smells a little like sweet hay mixed with freshly mown grass, with a whiff of pepper.

There are only three saffron threads per flower and no mechanized way of separating them from the plant. It takes 14,000 saffron threads to produce one ounce. These two attributes are the primary reasons saffron is the most expensive spice on planet Earth.

What Does Saffron Taste Like? Saffron has a subtle earthy-sweet flavor profile with a tinge of bitterness on the tongue that gives way to delicate floral and honey notes. Fresh saffron smells a little like sweet hay mixed with freshly mown grass, with a whiff of pepper.

Iran is the largest producer of Saffron in the world and has over 90% Saffron production worldwide.

Saffron strands are the stigmas of the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus. While they're easy to grow you'll need to buy a lot of saffron bulbs – around 150 flowers will produce one gram of saffron.