I have posted about our RV trip to the Peace + Plenty Farm where we bought some of their California grown, organic saffron. The picture above was taken once we got back home. But what I have not done so far is discuss saffron in detail, how to use it and what it does for your cooking. So let us explore it together.
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History of Saffron
Saffron has been cultivated for 4,000+ years and its use has reached many cultures, and differing continents and civilizations (1). This spice is a thread like item derived from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus). Way back when, there was a wild species that humans cultivated, and over time became a flower that produces very long stigmas we just do not know when this occurred (2).
The history of saffron is long, but contains a hidden mystery. That is, what is the plant that modern day saffron comes from? As ScienceDigest notes: the saffron crocus is a triploid hybrid species, is sterile and cannot be bred. Although it has been cultivated for more than 3,500 years, all plants cultivated worldwide originate only from daughter bulbs.
According to experts, saffron was first documented in an Assyrian botanical reference the 600’s BCE. From there, its use spread out across the world. Today, although the spice is grown in many places, including Japan and California, it is primarily grown in Iran, Greece, Morocco, and India.
A side note: I just found out, from EpicGardening,that there is no known example of Crocus sativus in the wild. That means it must have been an unusual mutation from some predecessor but we do not know where, that is now entirely propagated through human cultivation. This is just amazing to me.
Uses
Through out time, Saffron has been used as a fragrance, cosmetics, spice, and thread (woven into tapestry, 3).
We know saffron is used for dyes, to make a unique red-orange-yellow color. Ancient humans used it for cave paintings (4), and Christian Monks used it as a form of glaze to approximate gold in their hand written manuscripts (5).
In many parts of the world saffron is used as medicine, for treating 90+ illnesses. During the European Plague many believed it helped and bought lots of saffron with the hopes of health and survival. NationalGeographic states: Modern studies have shown the high levels of antioxidants found in saffron may help ward off inflammation in the body and that it may be helpful in treating sexual dysfunction and depression, but the jury’s still out on its reported effects on cardiovascular disease and cancer.
- WebMD agrees, writing: People use saffron most commonly for depression, anxiety, Alzheimer disease, menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhea), and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Saffron is also used for many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support many of these uses.
Expense
I noted in my previous post, that saffron is expensive. The reason is that each of these small flowers:
- These flower re not wild plants, and must have human intervention to grow (6)
- Each produce only 3 stigmas
- So takes 1k flowers to produce 1oz of saffron
- Typically blooms for only one week per year
- Though one bulb can keep producing flowers up to 15 days (7)
- Harvest is only by hand, done mid-morning while the flowers are closed
While expensive, when used for cooking I generally only need ~3-5 threads per dish. So it can last for quit a while.
Aroma
Experts on the web write that the best saffron should smell a bit like sweet hay. But SpiceJungle writes: Some will note its sweet, honey-like flavor, while others find it earthy and musky. Yet others are able to detect a balance of the two.
So be sure to give it a sniff, if you can, before you buy. This stuff is just too expensive not to get the good stuff.
Visual
Looking at the detail of the spice you can often still see the yellow tipped crown of each stigma. The red “strings” are actually called threads, and they clearly show their rich red color.
But when buying this for spice, it should also have all red stigmas, no yellow stamens. The very top picture shows the best visual of all red stigmas, the flower pictures shows the red and yellow stamens.
Taste
Following Chef Tammy (from her Facebook post), I put a thread on my tongue and left it there so I could taste its basic flavor. As it slowly dissolved, it left a bitterness in my mouth, but also gave off a type of hay aroma. Once done, I also thought it had something metallic about it too.
Store
Keep threads in a cool, dry, dark place (you can put it in the freezer for up to a year).
BonAppetit suggests making an infused water and storing that.
- Grind 2 tsp. saffron threads, along with a sugar cube or a pinch of coarse salt, to a powder with a mortar and pestle or a spice mill to draw out the most flavor and color. Then add ¼ cup warm water and let cool. This is the vibrant elixir to use in your paella, buttery saffron rice, and special occasion desserts like saffron-rose water brittle.
If you make this saffron-infused water it can be stored in the fridge if placed in an air-tight container, for up to 3 weeks.
Types of Saffron
Saffron can be defined by what parts of the thread is used
The graphic above provides the name and parts of the plant used in creating the spice with the name. The main guide is the less all red thread, the cheaper, and lower quality the thread.
Some of the ways saffron is defined is by where it is grown.
SpiceJungle offers saffron from three areas, and they note they are each slightly different.
- Iranian Saffron: Generally no synthetic pesticides, preservatives, food additives or colorings. They sell only the red parts, none of the yellow. They consider this the highest quality saffron.
- Greek Saffron: These plants produce saffron that have a musky, sweet, floral, bitter, and bolder taste and aroma than other saffron. The flavor is strikingly earthy, with notes of honey and violet. Greek saffron is generally earthier and a touch more bitter than other types of saffron, but the honey notes are much more intense.
- Spanish Saffron: This variety of saffron is mellow, sweet, and floral. The aroma is musky, honeyed, floral, bitter, and fierce.
But there are other locations as well.
- India (Kashmir): Saffron from here has been described as sweet, with the thickest and most fragrant strands (8). But there are problems, due to ongoing regional violence, droughts, and climate change, reports are that Kashmiri saffron has slowly begun to disappear.
Avoid Fakes
With great cost comes concerns about buying faked spice (9). Fresh, dried Saffron should be both glossy and greasy to touch. If the spice looks dull and brittle then it is old. Also it can get bleached with age and inappropriate storage so look for that as well. with age. You want the threads to look like the picture at the top, clear threads, uniform in color and shape.
- Taste it: it should be a bit bitter (altho it can smell sweet), if actually tastes sweet it is most likely a fake
- Put a few strands in cold water, fakes will release color right away, real spice will take 10-15min
- Rub between your fingers and the threads will retain their shape
Warning
SpruceEats writes: A warning about meadow saffron (Colchicum autumnale)—this unrelated plant is poisonous and should not be confused with saffron.
Cooking
Dishes
Saffron is a great add to rice, custards, pasta, eggs, seafood and chicken. Here are sites with some pictures showing a wonderful selection of dishes inspired by saffron.
Follow Recipes and Other Tips
It is important to follow recipes exactly, for used correctly it adds tremendous perfume and complexity to a dish, but if overdone, it is unbalanced.
- FrontierCoop: Saffron perfumes any dish it graces with a hard-to-describe aroma that’s a bit like a bouquet of honey, almonds and clover.
- When cooking with saffron, a little goes a long way. Use too much and the flavor becomes unbalanced and overpowering, resembling a metallic perfume.
From long time users, It is recommended that you add the saffron liquid to the dish when it is almost finished and not cook the spice for long.
For a more intense color, freshly grind the whole spice and mix with water or directly put the powder into the dish. Like most spice, I prefer using whole spice and grind my own to assure freshness.
How to Prepare
Everywhere that has used saffron as part of their cuisine, speak of grinding it into a powder to maximize its distribution in cooking (10). But I have seen recipes that say, “use 4-8 strands”, with no mention of turning the threads into a powder. So what’s up?
The main way I use saffron is either I grind it and add to water, or put the threads directly into water to allow the spice to bloom its color and fragrance. Then after sitting for ~15min or so, I use in my recipe. But also, you can just throw a few strands into your dish early on so there is time to mix with the juices (11).
What I do not do, however, is use any wooden cookware. Many sites I have visited warn that the color and flavor can be infused into wood and ruin your utensils and dilute your infused water.
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Hope this crash course on saffron is helpful. This is a spice you should taste yourself, play with recipes and try the cuisines that use saffron: Indian, Moroccan, Spanish, Iranian, Greek, French, and Italian.
—Patty
