Saffron - possibly my favourite of all spices

Saffron is the most expensive spice we can readily get hold of.  The little lot pictured on the left is just 0.4g and cost £2.  To my mind, it is also one of the most exciting of spices. 

Saffron is crucial to much Spanish food (could you imagine a holiday paella without it?) and to the cuisine of much of the middle east.
The tiny strands are in fact the the stigma of a pretty crocus (Crocus sativus) - each flower has just three stigma and has to be harvested by hand before the heat of the day.  The bulbs also have to be planted by hand.  1kg of saffron can require anything from 100,000 to 200,000 flowers to be harvested.  Still think it's expensive?  It actually makes it sound pretty cheap when you think of the price of your intensively grown and mechanically harvested supermarket veg!

Most of the world's saffron production takes place in Spain, Greece, Iran, India and Pakistan - but we used to grow it in the UK too.  Back in the 18th Century, Saffron was grown extensively in Cambridgeshire (hence place names such as Saffron Walden) - one keen grower was the Bishop of Ely - there is surely a connection here with the Old Mitre pub on Ely Place (just off Saffron Hill) in Farringdon.

Perhaps when I move house this year and get a bigger garden, I shall take-up saffron production!


While for me, saffron is always linked with Spanish dishes of rice and fish (showing its Moorish heritage), it is also important to the history of English cookery.  Many dishes of the middle ages were finished with saffron (meaning the cook could use less than if the spice was introduced at the start of cooking), and think of saffron bread, saffron buns and the like. 

When buying saffron, try to ensure you are paying enough.  If you pay much less than £3-4 per gram, you are probably buying second-rate spice.  The strands should look long, complete and dark orange.  Saffron is very sensitive to light and moisture so should be kept sealed somewhere in the dark away from water.

Later this week, I'll post about my recent Saffron Rice with Monkfish meal...

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