Saffron

[Joyce]

I was investigating a new asian supermarket in Charlotte and came across a package marked "saffron", which looked just like the saffron I pay a fortune for, Except this package was huge and cost $1.99, while mine is tiny and costs about $5.00. I know saffron comes from the crocus flower, but this asian stuff just said "from saffron flowers". Is anyone familiar with oriental saffron??

[Norma]

Excellent question. My sister-in-law brought me a large amount from Bali and I was wondering the same thing.

[Gail]

Here's what The Spice House has to say about saffron:

Genuine Spanish superior grade. The most expensive of all spices, saffron may well also be the oldest of all cultivated spices--as depicted on the ruins of the walls of the palace of Knossos, Crete dating from 1700 BC! Saffron's history is laden with unusual uses. The Greeks considered saffron to be the essence of youth and life, a proper gift for newlyweds. Phoenician newlyweds slept on pillows strewn with saffron. Ancient Chinese attributed saffron with considerable medicinal properties and drank it as a tea for almost any ailment. Modern Chinese still use it in medicinal respects as a catalyst for healing power when mixed with other herbs. Romans used it to perfume public places in need of olfactory improvement. Another example of saffron's perfumey nature is the Asian custom of welcoming guests when they arrive by sprinkling saffron over their clothes. It takes very little saffron to turn water yellow, leading to its use as a natural dye in the past. The traditional caste markings of wealthy people in India were saffron-colored. Because saffron is so expensive it is rarely used as a dye in modern times except in special circumstances Indian women still often dye their wedding gowns and veils this beautiful golden color.
The reason saffron is the highest-priced of spices is because of the intensive hand labor required to cultivate and harvest it. It is the stigma of a small purple crocus flower; it takes about an acre of land and 75,000 flowers to yield one pound of saffron. Each flower blooms for only about one week of the year, during which the stigmas must be hand-picked and dried. Unscrupulous saffron dealers have been known to dilute saffron by adding the similar-looking safflower or marigold petals, or soaking the real threads in oil to add weight. At the height of saffron's popularity in Germany in the 1400's, a rigid saffron inspection became the practice because of the expense of this much-desired spice. The penalty for falsification actually had the guilty party burned alive with their false saffron. Our Indian customers to this day rarely buy powdered saffron because it is so easy to adulterate: usually turmeric is the culprit. This is a sound approach, as it takes only a moment to powder your own.
Although other substitutes can provide a rich golden color, saffron has a distinctive flavor for which there simply is no substitute. Most recipes need only a few threads of saffron, so our small one-gram package consisting of several hundred threads will serve for many dishes. The uses of saffron are varied: chicken soup, rice dishes, and saffron bread are probably the most common. Any good bouillabaisse fish stew will feature saffron. Saffron risotto alla Milanese is a wonderful Italian rice dish made with arborio rice and Italian Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese. Easter is a time of year when saffron sales are especially high, as many Slavic and Scandinavian cultures have traditional bread, roll or Easter cake recipes featuring this spice. These recipes often call for almost a whole packet of saffron, which is why they are reserved for only the very special family occasions.

Cooks Thesaurus has information as to the varying types of saffron and their relative strengths www.foodsubs.com (http://www.foodsubs.com) . There is also a web site www.saffron.com (http://www.saffron.com) which goes into the actual chemical makeup of saffron and claims the higher the coloring strength of the saffron, the higher its value.

[This message has been edited by Gail (edited 10-18-2000).]