Harvested, Dried, Valued and Fake
The humble crocus blossom is the harbinger of spring. A beautiful reminder of the precious threads of saffron. Good to know a little more about saffron, because saffron is big business.
Fascination saffron
The crocuses in the springtime park are botanically in the same family, but only Crocus Sativus, the saffron crocus that blooms in the fall, provides the fine saffron threads for the kitchen and apothecary.
The oldest evidence of saffron comes from Persia. Today, Iran is still by far the world’s largest producer of saffron, producing 430 tons, or about 91 percent of the world market. This is followed, at a great distance, by India (where saffron is grown mainly in the Kashmir region) and Greece.
The high price that can be obtained for saffron has led to increased micro-production in recent years. Saffron is also grown, for example, in Essex, England, Ochsenfurt, Franconia, Burgenland, Austria, the Netherlands, Morocco and New Zealand.
In Switzerland alone there are about 70 saffron producers, the best known being the saffron fields in the village of Mund in the canton of Valais.
In some places they are new experiments, in others they revive an old tradition of saffron cultivation. Austria, for example, was a center of European saffron production at the beginning of the 20th century.
The luxury of threads
The purple flowers of the saffron crocus form three pistils, the saffron filaments. About three weeks is the harvest time in October, when the saffron threads can be harvested.
Ideally, the saffron flowers, which first appeared the day before, are harvested the following morning. Picking them at dawn, before the flowers have fully opened in the sun or even already withered, you get the best quality.
About 200 saffron flowers must be harvested to obtain 1 gram of saffron. The price of 1 gram of saffron in Europe ranges from about Euro 10 to Euro 100. The average price is considered to be Euro 30,000 for a kilo of saffron.
The harvest is done by hand. From the flowers, the three threads of the pistil are pulled, dried and then packaged and marketed. Only the red part of the flower threads is used. The white and yellow part of the thread is previously separated with a cut.
Saffron needs a hot summer, and in the winter it should be cold to a maximum of -15 and -20 degrees. At the planting stage, the crocus plant needs water, and at harvest time – sun. A dry, continental climate is ideal. Compared to many other spices, the crocus plant does not thrive in tropical climates.
Too much moisture or too much sun can destroy the crop. The immense amount of manual labor and the resulting costs, as well as the effort required for organic quality cultivation that does not use pesticides or herbicides (pheasants, hares and moles see crocuses as a delicacy) explain the high price differences for saffron.
Saffron is used in cooking, but also for medicines and cosmetics. The coloration of saffron, the famous saffron yellow, used to be used for dyeing precious materials such as velvet and silk.
Therefore, the history of the textile trade is often associated with saffron. In the Swiss city of Sankt Gallen, once an important center of the textile industry, the traditions of the E. Zunft zu Safran, whose foundation dates back to the 12th century, are still kept alive today.
The color saffron-yellow once signaled social status and still shows religious function and affiliation. The robes of Buddhist and Hindu Machen were given their characteristic hue by dyeing them with saffron. In Japan, saffron was used for the decoration of kimonos.
Big Business
There is a lot of money to be made from saffron. In Afghanistan, there have been a number of projects aimed at replacing the cultivation of poppies for opium production with saffron cultivation. Some small projects have survived – but on a broad scale, the attempt to replace opium with saffron has failed, experts say. The drug trade is too lucrative.
The largest importers of Iranian saffron are Spain and Dubai. From there, part of the production reaches the United States of America, as direct import is prohibited due to Iran sanctions. Thus, the bitter-tart spice also became a political issue.
In past centuries, falsifying saffron was punishable by death. The raid of a merchant lord of Basel and the robbery of the saffron he was carrying by a baron of Bechburg started the so-called Swiss Saffron War in 1374.
The taste of saffron
Good quality saffron has a slightly bitter, fresh earthy and slightly sweet taste that is excellent with rice dishes, with fish, pasta but also with desserts. French bouillabaisse contains saffron, as does Italian risotto Milanese or Spanish paella.
Saffron is often used for cakes, where it is responsible for both the taste and the characteristic yellow color. Traditionally, at Easter time in Cornwall, England, yeast cakes are baked, the dough of which was dyed yellow with saffron. Saffron is also an ingredient of the famous yellow liqueur Chartreuse.
Crocin is responsible for the reddish-yellow pigmentation in saffron, while picrocrocin brings the bitter-sweet taste. The Safranal is responsible for the earthy character of the saffron. These three characteristic components of saffron are very sensitive to light and air.
Saffron is therefore ideally packaged in small containers that are as airtight as possible and should be stored in a cool, dark place until use. However, not for too long. The expiration date on saffron must be observed for optimal quality.
The anti-inflammatory and mood-lifting properties of saffron are interesting for the production of some drugs.
Saffron in bath water was popular in ancient Rome and Greek mythology has the god Zeus falling asleep in a bed covered with saffron threads.
The scent of saffron is a component in some essences and perfumes such as Penhaligon’s Cairo, a perfume from a series that wants to recall ancient trade routes of London.
How do I recognize real saffron?
The quality of saffron used to be monitored by guilds, today there is ISO/TS standard 3632. In the laboratory, photospectroscopy is used to examine the authenticity and quality of saffron. Depending on the quality, saffron is divided into four quality categories. This is about the aroma, bitterness and color power of saffron.
As a private customer, it is very rare to receive information about the laboratory results of the particular saffron that the spice trader has on offer. Descriptions such as premium saffron or quality saffron are common, but do not allow a definitive classification of quality.
The high price that can be obtained for saffron leads to the fact that many counterfeits are offered on the market.
The most important tips:
Threads instead of powder
Saffron threads are more difficult to counterfeit than saffron powder. In the latter, counterfeits are found in the best case turmeric, in the worst case cheap color powder of organic or chemical provenance.
Drought
The threads should be dry and brittle. Soft and sticky threads indicate inferior quality and a less than optimal drying process.
Color
Saffron is a natural product, so the color is not exactly the same with high quality, but has small nuances of color that can easily go into the red-orange, but admittedly not quite so easy to detect.
An identical red color of all threads may indicate that the threads have been dyed. If the color is lackluster, the saffron has probably been stored for a long time and is old.
Smell
From our experience, the characteristic smell of saffron is the most important clue, which can be trained well with a little experience. Fresh, high quality saffron has a pleasant sweet smell with a bitter undertone and smells slightly earthy.
If there is even a hint of chemical substances in the smell, keep your hands off. There is a good chance that it is fake saffron and the chemical smell intensifies during the cooking process.
Packing
The saffron threads should be packed airtight in a small container and ideally show the harvest date and the expiration date. Saffron should not be stored for too long to enjoy the flavor.
Price
A difficult criterion. Quality saffron has its price. But also every counterfeiter or low quality supplier tries to get as high a price as possible.
Therefore, a high price is not a reliable criterion for quality. Too low a price may indicate that the saffron is not of good quality or contains admixtures.
The GloriousMe Recommendation:
Pay attention to the quality characteristics described in advance and use the delicious saffron in the kitchen more often. Thus, over time, you will develop a fine sense for the so-called gold of the kitchen.
How do I use saffron?
You only need a few saffron threads per person per dish. The saffron threads are dissolved in the liquid with which you will later cook or bake. The liquid should be lukewarm.
The saffron threads can be lightly mortared beforehand. The emphasis is on light.
For example, if you are planning a risotto Milanese, you can dissolve the saffron threads with some lukewarm white wine or broth that you will also use later in the risotto. If it is to be a cake, a little lukewarm milk is suitable.
If the saffron is added to the dish very early during the cooking process, the coloration will be stronger. When added later, the saffron aroma is more pronounced.
Our two favorite recipes with saffron
Risotto Milanese
We do not use the typical bone marrow in risotto Milanese – it is also relatively difficult to obtain these days. Risotto with the traditional saffron is an excellent accompaniment to Saltimbocca alla Romana, Ossobucco Milanese, but also tastes great solo or with mushrooms.
Dissolve saffron threads in a small glass of lukewarm white wine or broth. Best 2-3 hours before preparing the risotto.
Cut onions and garlic into tiny cubes and sauté in a pot in a mixture of olive oil and butter until translucent. To this is added a typical risotto rice variety such as Arborio or Carnaroli.
Once all the rice grains are nice and shiny, having been stirred proficiently and coated with the butter-oil mixture, we add the white wine with the saffron and then follow the usual risotto process: stirring, adding simmering beef broth, stirring, adding simmering beef broth, alternating also a good shot of white wine until the rice reaches the optimal creamy consistency.
Remove risotto from heat and stir in a good portion of freshly grated Parmesan and a good pat of butter until the famous risotto wave appears and serve immediately. Because not the risotto should wait for the guest, but the guest for the risotto.
Rice pudding with fruit and saffron
Another of our favorite recipes uses saffron for an irresistible sweet dessert and is also suitable for vegetarians.
Here we soak the saffron threads beforehand with a little lukewarm whole milk.
Cut 2-3 rings of non-sulfured dried apple rings and about 4 equally non-sulfured dried dates into small pieces and heat them with whole milk, 20 grams of sugar, vanilla sugar, a pinch of sea salt and the soaked saffron threads and simmer the rice in it according to the package instructions.
So that the dessert does not take too much time, we use a minute rice for this and stir it into the milk mixture described in advance. We have already tried this dessert with different kinds of rice, it tastes good with classic light rice pudding as well as with basmati wholemeal rice.
In a small coated pan, toast pine nuts and pistachio nuts.
Once the rice is cooked, place it in a small dessert bowl and sprinkle with the toasted pine and pistachio nuts and a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
Pour the rice with a mixture of cold buttermilk and natural lemon. The combination of the tart cold buttermilk and the warm sweet rice pudding is what makes this dish so appealing.
And when travel becomes possible again
On the Greek island of Santorini, cruise tourists and other visitors will find all global luxury brands. If you like it more exclusive, we recommend a look at the frescoes of the elegant saffron gatherers, which can be seen in the excavations of Akrotiri on the island.
Cover photo: George Tsartsianidis / Alamy Stock Photo | Photographs: Travel & Styles © GloriousMe
