Saffron is a spice derived from the dried stigma of the flower of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae.

The history of saffron cultivation reaches back more than 3,000 years. The wild precursor of domesticated saffron crocus was Crocus cartwrightianus. Human cultivators bred wild specimens by selecting for unusually long stigmas. Thus, a sterile mutant form of C. cartwrightianus, C. sativus, emerged in late Bronze Age Crete.

Experts believe saffron was first documented in a 7th century BC Assyrian botanical reference compiled under Ashurbanipal. Since then, documentation of saffrons use over the span of 4,000 years in the treatment of some 90 illnesses has been uncovered.

Saffron is the worlds most expensive spice for one good reason. In order to extract 1kg of saffron from crocuses, the stigmas of almost a quarter of a million flowers must be hand-picked, dried and bottled which is incredibly labour-intensive.

Description

Saffron, Crocus Sativus Linnaeus, is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Pronounced “SAF-ruhn”, saffron has been used for thousands of years as a seasoning, fragrance, dye, and medicine. The stigmas of the flower are harvested and processed by hand which is very labor intensive and the reason why Saffron is considered the world’s most expensive spice.

True saffron is considered a domesticated plant that has only a few related species growing in the wild. This makes it difficult to pinpoint its exact origins, some food historians believe it to be native to the area known as Asia Minor (the westernmost protrusion of Asia, which makes up the majority of what today is the Republic of Turkey) while others are of the opinion that it originated in ancient Persia (modern day Iran).

Saffron has .5% to 1% essential oil, primarily monoterpene aldehydes, terpenes and isophorone-relatedf compounds. Its color comes from carotenoid pigments, mostly the bright orange yellow, water soluble crocin.

Saffron is called za-faran (Arabic), fan huang hua (Mandarin), safran (French and German), zaaffran/kesar (Hindi), safuran (Japanese), acafrao (Portuguese), shafran (Russian) and azafran (Spanish). Saffron is also known as rose of saffron, crocus, and hay saffron.

History of Saffron

Saffron pigments have been found in prehistoric paints used to depict beasts on cave art that dates back 50,000 years in the area that is modern day Iraq. Saffron threads have been found interwoven into ancient Persian royal carpets and funeral shrouds that date back to the 10th century BC. Analysis of these saffron threads pints to them being harvested in Derbena, Isfahan and Khorasan, Iran.

Saffron was first documented in an Assyrian botanical reference compiled under Ashurbanipal, an Assyrian king (who reigned from 668-627 BC). Ashurbanipal was a strong warrior king who was also known for accumulating a substantial collection of cuneiform documents (one of the earliest systems of writing which was done on clay tablets) for his royal palace at Nineveh (located on the outskirts of Mosul in modern-day northern Iraq).

The earliest recordings of saffron in Greek culture dates back to Bronze Age (3200-600 BC). A saffron harvest is shown in the Knossos palace frescoes of Minoan Crete, which depict the flowers being picked by young girls and monkeys. Frescoes are the source of some of the most striking imagery and are a type of mural painting done upon freshly-laid, or wet lime plaster. This gives some of the first evidence that saffron was involved in long-distance trade.

Saffron’s appearance in South and East Asia has various accounts of how and exactly where it first arrived but the earliest Persian records suggest that after ancient Persia conquered Kashmir they had saffron and various spices sent to them to stock their newly built gardens. The first Persian saffron crocus corms were transplanted to Kashmiri soil and where harvested prior to 500 BC.

Saffron was also favored by Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BC) and his forces during their Asian campaigns. Saffron was added to teas and used to make saffron rice. Alexander also had saffron added to his bath water as he came to believe that it help heal his many wounds suffered in battle.

One of the earliest references to the use of saffron in Ancient Egypt had it used by Cleopatra (69 BC – 30 BC) and other Pharaohs as an aromatic and seductive essence. Because Egypt does not have the correct climate to grow the flower this also suggests that it must have been brought to the area from further north or the Persian Empire.

Saffron was introduced into Spain by the Moors who are credited with planting it throughout the southern provinces of Andalucia, Castile, La Mancha, and Valencia.

Saffron Cultivation

How much top quality saffron can be obtained from the flowers? The numbers are a little staggering. With only 3 stigmas per saffron flower it takes over 4,600 flowers (or 14,000 stigmas) to produce just one ounce of top grade saffron.

The saffron crocus blooms in the fall, producing fragrant, purple flowers 1” to 2” long. The flower produces three stigmas of saffron (sometimes called filaments), the three stigmas are attached to a white slender style, which, when dried, turns a pale yellow. If the style remains attached to the red stigmas, it will add 30%-50% dead weight to the saffron, which you end up paying for. Why exactly is that bad? The style provides no aroma, color or culinary value – it’s basically just filler.

The harvesting of saffron takes place from the end of October to the beginning of November. The rose of saffron blooms at dawn and once opened, should be picked the same day because once the flower opens it withers quickly and the stigmas lose their optimum aroma and color. This is why experienced saffron farms typically harvest the flowers between dawn and 10 a.m.

Once the flowers are picked, the stigmas or threads are carefully separated from the rest of the flower. The stigmas are then dried over heat to remove moisture and lock in the highest quality saffron (aroma, color and flavor) possible.

Saffron must be grown in an extreme climate where it is dry and hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Where your saffron comes from and who packs it is where the real quality of the saffron comes into play. Saffron is grown primarily in Iran, France, Greece, Kashmir (the region between India, Pakistan and China), Spain, Turkey and the US.

The best quality saffron is cultivated in Iran, Kashmir and Spain.

What’s More important — Farmers or Packers?

Because saffron is the most expensive spice in the world it has naturally been prone to unscrupulous handlers who for hundreds of years have mixed lesser quality saffron or other spices with top quality saffron and then tried to pass it off as higher grade saffron. This makes the packers of saffron and not the farmers the key players in the quest for the best quality saffron.

So How Can You Tell Top Quality Saffron?
Well first you should learn how to recognize a lesser quality saffron. In addition to the red stigmas you should also look for lots of white or yellow strands and even a mushy texture (this is due to a higher water moisture content used to add weight to the product). As mentioned earlier the yellow is from the style which provides no flavor or aroma – too much yellow or moistness are both sure signs of a lower grade saffron.

Top grade saffron possesses a deep red color, is dry to the touch and the stigmas will be 3/8” to 1/2” in length.

Saffron is graded by the International Standard Organization (I.S.O.). Saffron is graded via laboratory measurement for color (crocin), flavor (picrocrocin) and aroma (safranal) content. Samples are assigned grades by gauging the saffron’s color content. The higher color content (also known as coloring strength) signifies a greater color concentration and intensity.

The I.S.O. classifies saffron into four grades of Coloring Strength with Category IV being the lowest quality followed by Category III, Category II and then Category I (highest quality). These coloring strength grades range from lower than <99 (applies to all Category IV saffron), 100-149 (for Category III), 150-189 (for Category II) and 190 or greater (for Category I). The market prices for saffron are determined by these ISO scores.

While this grading is now the standard many sophisticated home cooks and top quality chefs reject such lab test results. They look at saffron more like wine connoisseur and prefer to sample saffron threads for taste, aroma, pliability and color.

Now while we also prefer to let our noses and taste buds make the final determination for us we also recognize the importance of uniform testing that the I.S.O. grades provide as they’re less arbitrary (easier to do side-by-side comparisons). Our Saffron is the highest rated Category I and grades at 260 on Coloring Strength and has as an unmistakable aroma that is sharp and floral. The taste is light, cutting, warm, bitter and it then slowly dissipates from your palette.

Helpful hint: You should protect your Saffron from light and moisture to maintain its superior quality and so we highly recommended that you store your saffron threads in an air-tight jar out of direct light and away from heat.

How Much Saffron to Use

So how much saffron should you use? Most great chefs believe saffron is more about the aroma than the taste and if you can taste the saffron in a dish, you’ve added too much. A good rule of thumb is to use about three strands a person. There are approximately 463 threads (3/8” to ½” in length) per gram of saffron so 1 gram would yield approximately 150 servings.

Cooking with Saffron

Saffron should be used sparingly and when used in larger amounts tends to make dishes bitter. It’s frequently made into a tea using milk or water before adding to a dish (see below on how to make saffron tea).

The English add saffron to breads, cakes and scones. It’s also used in fish based dishes in France (bouillabaisse) and Spain (zarzuela de pescado). Saffron stars in rice dishes in India (biryani and pillaos), Iran (zafran pollous) and Italy (rissotto Milanese).

Saffron works exceptionally well in both savory and sweet dishes including chicken, cream sauces, curries, flans, garlic, ice cream, milkshakes, polenta, puddings, rice, sauces, seafood, shellfish and soups.

Saffron pairs well with almonds, anise, brown sugar, cardamom, carrots, cashews, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, eggs, fennel, ginger, milk, mint, nutmeg, paprika, pepper, raisins and spinach.

Some of our favorite recipes using Saffron are Spanish Saffron Chicken, Black Beans with Saffron & Peppers and Roasted Peppers with Saffron.

Making Saffron Tea

In order to get your money’s worth with saffron you should understand how to make “saffron tea” instead of just adding saffron threads to your recipe. A saffron tea is also known as “steeping” saffron. Think of it exactly as you would when making any tea — the longer your saffron steeps, the stronger its aroma, color and flavor will be. Saffron’s full flavor can be released effectively in hot liquid such as broth, milk, water or at room temperature with citrus juice, orange blossom water, rosewater, vodka, white wine or white vinegar.

The amount of liquid used is not critical and if your recipe doesn’t call for one of the aforementioned liquids then as little as one or two teaspoons of hot water will be fine. Add the saffron threads either whole or break them up by rubbing them together with your fingers and add to the liquid for at least 20 minutes before you add this “saffron tea” to your recipe. Don’t remove the saffron threads from the liquid as they will continue to release saffron’s signature aroma, color and flavor for up to 24 hours.

We’ve found that leftovers with saffron are even more flavorful because of this continued infusing process. You’ll also find that by making your own “saffron tea” and by using our highest quality Category I saffron that just a little goes a long way.

What Does Saffron Taste Like

The deep red or orange types are the best quality saffron and these have a warm, floral aroma with a delicate, honey-like, earthy taste with bitter back notes.