Saffron (Zah'Fa'ron)

Exotic, aesthetic, expensive ... saffron is a spice to be reckoned with.

SaffronSaffron, botanical name crocus sativus, is the most expensive spice in the world. Derived from the
dried stigmas of the purple saffron crocus, it takes anything from 70,000 to 250,000 flowers to make one
pound of saffron. Moreover, the flowers have to be individually hand-picked in the autumn when fully
open. Fortunately, only a little needs to be added to a dish to lend it colour and aroma; too much makes
the food bitter and as the quotation from Culpeper (below) suggests, large quantities of it can be toxic.

'The use of it ought to be moderate and reasonable, for when the dose is too large, it produces a
heaviness of the head and sleepiness. Some have fallen into an immoderate convulsive laughter which
ended in death.'
Culpeper's The Complete Herbal, 1649

Saffron Records detailing the use of saffron go back to ancient Egypt and Rome where it was used as a
dye, in perfumes, and as a drug, as well as for culinary purposes. It reached China in the 7th century and
spread through Europe in the Middle Ages. The town of Saffron Walden, where it was once grown
commercially, takes its name from the plant. Now, however, most saffron is imported from Iran (southern
Khorason) and Spain which are recognised as producing the best quality, but it can also be found in
Egypt, Kashmir, Morocco and Turkey.
Saffron Threads vs. Powdered Saffron
Saffron has an aroma and flavor which cannot be duplicated, and a chemical make-up which, when
understood, helps the chef or home cook to know how to best release that flavor and aroma in cooking
and baking. Saffron is sold in two forms, powder and threads, and each behave very differently in the
kitchen.

In order to understand commercial saffron, it is important to understand the make-up of the saffron plant.
More importantly, it is the easiest way for you, as a consumer, to be sure you are buying good saffron.
Commercial saffron comes from the bright red stigmas of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) which
flowers in the Fall in many different countries, including Greece, India, Iran and Spain. The Crocus sativus
stigmas are the female part of the flower. In a good year, each saffron crocus plant might produce several
flowers. Each flower contains three stigmas, which are the only part of the saffron crocus that when dried
(cured) properly, become commercial saffron. Each red stigma is like a little capsule that encloses the
complex chemicals that make up saffron's aroma, flavor, and yellow dye. In order to release these
chemicals, you must steep the threads. Powdered saffron is more efficient because it does not need to be
steeped.

What is Saffron?

I have been selling saffron for 20 years and in that time period have never ceased to be amazed by its
uniqueness in the spice world. Saffron has an aroma and flavor which cannot be duplicated, and a
chemical make-up which, when understood, helps the chef or home cook to know how to best release
that flavor and aroma in cooking and baking. Saffron is sold in two forms, powder and threads, and each
behave very differently in the kitchen.

In order to understand commercial saffron, it is important to understand the make-up of the saffron plant.
More importantly, it is the easiest way for you, as a consumer, to be sure you are buying good saffron.
Commercial saffron comes from the bright red stigmas of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) which
flowers in the Fall in many different countries, including Greece, India, Iran and Spain. The Crocus sativus
stigmas are the female part of the flower. In a good year, each saffron crocus plant might produce several
flowers. Each flower contains three stigmas, which are the only part of the saffron crocus that when dried
(cured) properly, become commercial saffron. Each red stigma is like a little capsule that encloses the
complex chemicals that make up saffron's aroma, flavor, and yellow dye. In order to release these
chemicals, you must steep the threads. Powdered saffron is more efficient because it does not need to be
steeped (see more on this later in this text).
The male part of the saffron flower, the stamens, are half the size of the stigmas (See sketch below), they
are deep yellow and have NO culinary value. Unfortunately, they are sometimes added to the red stigmas
to increase the weight of commercial saffron. I have also seen ground yellow stamens sold as powdered
saffron. Legitimate powdered saffron is red-orange and is made by grinding saffron stigmas. Under no
circumstances would pure powdered saffron be any shade of yellow.

Soil and weather conditions naturally vary in the saffron cultivating countries and so do the methods of
drying the fresh saffron stigmas. As a saffron consumer you don't have to be an agricultural specialist
because there is an international measuring stick for determining the quality of any brand of saffron for
sale on the international market. This measuring stick is called a photospectometry report, the result of a
laboratory analysis of the three chemicals in the saffron stigma which relate to aroma, flavor and color.
Even though saffron stigmas are red, their dye is the color of egg yolks which gives the appealing yellow
to such dishes as Risotto Milanesa, Paella Valenciana, St. Lucia Buns and Bouillabaisse. In order to be
able to read a photospectometry report, you need to know the names of the chemicals being analyzed.
They are crocin (color), picrocrocin(flavor) and safranal (aroma).

An easy way to relate to the powerful effect of the chemicals contained in each saffron stigma is to
experience the difference between working with saffron threads and saffron powder in your kitchen.
Unfortunately, saffron powder has been characterized, unjustly, as inferior to saffron threads. The
consumer has never received honest information about this form of the spice. In fact, saffron powder, with
a high coloring strength, offers many advantages over the threads. When saffron threads are ground into
powder, the chemicals corresponding to aroma, flavor and color are immediately released. The powder is
then stored carefully, away from moisture and light, just as the threads need to be in order to maintain
their potency. When the saffron powder reaches the chef, it is ready to be added directly to any recipe.
When the chef adds the saffron powder to a recipe, immediately the deep yellow dye, delicate aroma and
unique flavor are released.
In order to release the potent chemicals in saffron threads, they must be inmersed , in an alcoholic, acidic
or hot liquid for longer than just a few minutes. This allows aroma, flavor and color to be generously
extracted. Notice I am not saying "fully" extracted. Saffron threads can release aroma, flavor and color for
24 hours or more, depending on their quality! This is an inconvenient time frame for busy professional
chefs and most home cooks, so I tell my clients to shoot for an extraction time of no less than 20 minutes
and more if they can manage (See additional information under Working with Saffron).

The professionals who define Category I saffron as needing a minimum of 190, are called the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO). They have set minimum, not maximum standards for
saffron. I sell the best quality saffron available anywhere in the world, backed by scientific evidence.
When you buy my saffron, I can show you a photospectromety report which verifies its high coloring
strength. This is the only method used internationally to measure saffron's worth.

The higher its coloring strength, the higher its value. Saffron's coloring strength determines its flavor and
aroma. You will read and hear all kinds of other things about measuring saffron like you should look for a
particular color and size in saffron threads and that you should probably avoid saffron powder altogether.
This is misinformation. If saffron has the right coloring strength, it will have the right color and general
appearance, whether it is in thread or powder form.

As you can see from these charts, it is important to understand how coloring strength applies to
commercial saffron. Buying inferior saffron means you are actually doubling your per serving cost. The
head chef of a major culinary academy was complaining to me about how wasteful his students were with
saffron. He explained that he bought cheap saffron because of this. I told him his students were probably
not being wasteful but instead kept adding more saffron to their recipes because it was the only way they
could get the color they were looking for. Really there is no such thing as "cheap" saffron. There is only
quality saffron and inferior saffron. If you use quality saffron, it is easy to be consistent about the amount
to use in every recipe.