What Is Saffron?
Saffron is obtained from the bright purple flowers of the Crocus sativus plant which, while small, only bloom briefly each year. Inside each one of its flowers reside just three bright red stigmas that must be carefully plucked by hand before being left to dry in order to become saffron threads.
Why Is It so Valuable?
What distinguishes saffron among most of its counterparts is the extraordinary amount of labour required in order to obtain it. Each flower yields mere a handful of stigmas and therefore, hundreds and thousands of flowers must be carefully collected at precisely the right moment (usually in the early hours of the morning) to yield small quantities of spice. Each flower’s stigma is manually separated from the flower, which is why saffron has historically become considered one of the most manually intensive spices available. Drying the stigmas following harvesting helps remove water, bringing together the subtle honey like and floral nuances of the aroma and the warm, unique spice flavour and colour that are its signature features.
Tiny and fragile however, very little of saffron needs to be added for it to impart a vibrant yellow tone to a dish.
Culinary Uses In virtually every corner of the globe, from the Middle East to Southern Asia, and theMediterranean to North Africa, the distinctive spice finds favour. It is used extensively in a large array of dishes, particularly in rice-based food preparation, but is more universally incorporated in cakes, desserts, soups and sweet confections, as well as being frequently added to breads and fish dishes. It has an extremely complex flavour to describe: complex, unique and aromatic and with just a hint of the earthy.
Color The vibrant golden color which saffron imparts as a colouring agent also makes it extremely popular in cooking worldwide, and any kind of food can be brought alive and given new flavour and brilliance by simply a sprinkle of this wonderfully vibrant and fragrant spice.
What Cultural Values Are Shared By Saffron?
Throughout history this exotic spice has not only been treasured by the kitchen, but by civilization itself – used as a symbol of luxury and the celebrated craftsmen of the Ancient world; to indicate an occasion of grandeur or simply to celebrate as a luxurious marker of worth.
Because of the vast and meticulous effort and considerable number of flowers necessary to produce the smallest measure of saffron, the price of this most popular of all spices reflects not only rarity but the sheer weight of labour involved.
Read More About it From this Page About.com And Another Page From Spice Pages About Saffron, As Another Page From Italo And I, And What About saffron. From Iran International! About Itallo. The Iranain of London for all Iranian and non Iranians
Food Fact
One kilogram of dried saffron can come from tens of thousands of flowers.
This is one reason why even a tiny amount of real saffron is so expensive!
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