Saffron has always been one of the world’s most valuable products. Its price can sometimes be higher than gold. Fortunately, a little saffron goes a long way. You don’t need a lot to give your dishes a nice yellow color.

This valuable product is used as a condiment in the preparation of traditional dishes and as a dye for fabrics. It also has many medicinal properties. In the old time, the Greeks of antiquity used it as a cosmetic, and wealthy Romans drank it in a broth during their orgies.

Saffron is made from the dried yellow-orange stigmas of a species of crocus called Crocus sativus.

Harvesting of saffron

The flowers appear after 4 to 6 weeks of planting. The harvest of saffron flowers is very delicate and requires a large workforce. Flowering is spread over 10 days. The flowers are harvested by hand early in the morning before they open. Saffron harvested when the flowers are fully open is considered 2nd quality due to the loss of quality when exposed to sunlight. In general, the harvest does not exceed 2 to 3 hours per day. The flower is plucked at its base between the thumb and index finger and is cut by the nails. The harvest is gathered in baskets to avoid crowding.

After harvesting, the flowers are sent to the house or the hangar for the separation of the stigma (the real saffron) from the other parts of the flower. This operation is performed the same day of harvesting. Once the stigmas are isolated, they are dried in the shade or on fire. After drying, the saffron stigma loses 4 / 5 of its water. The average weight of 100 flowers stigma is slightly greater than 3g and after drying it is about 600 mg.

Choosing and storing saffron

The saffron shelf life is 2 to 3 year if storage conditions are optimal. It must be kept away from light and air. The use of colored or opaque glass containers, sealed and placed in a dry place is a good method of preserving the quality of saffron.

Saffron is strong and has a unique flavor. If you are using saffron only to color your dish, a cost effective alternative is turmeric. It will give your dish a nice yellow color but the taste does not have anything to do with saffron. If you are looking for the delicate taste of saffron, nothing can replace the delicate aroma of the expensive original.

It is best to use threads of saffron vs. powdered saffron, because saffron reduced in powder will lose some quality and it is sometimes adulterated with turmeric. Also, if your guests find a nice red thread of saffron on their plate, they will appreciate that you used a valuable product.

Coupè is held to be the best quality, followed by mancha selecto, rio and sierra.

Coupé Saffron

Sierra Saffron

Cooking with saffron

Saffron must be heated to release its color and flavor. A few threads are sufficient for four to six portions. If you use too many threads, your dish will turn bitter. The threads must be crushed between the fingers or in a mortar and then soften in a little water or the liquid used in the recipe. Adding the threads directly into a hot dish would destroy the saffron effects.