Saffron

Crocus sativus · kesar · zafran

Threads of a flower, weighed like gold.

What it is

Saffron is the dried red stigma of a particular crocus: three threads per flower, picked by hand. It takes many thousands of flowers to make a small weight of spice, which is why it is the most expensive spice in the world. Steeped, it gives a golden colour, a honeyed hay aroma, and a faint bitterness.

Where it comes from

The crocus is grown in a handful of places with the right dry autumn: Iran produces most of the world’s saffron; Kashmir’s Pampore fields and parts of Spain are the other renowned sources. Kashmiri saffron is prized for its deep colour and scent.

What it's called

Saffron · kesar (Hindi) · zafran. Botanically Crocus sativus.

In the kitchen

A pinch is plenty. Bloom the threads in a little warm milk, water or ghee to draw out colour and aroma, then use liquid and threads both, in biryani, in Mughal sweets and milk puddings, in the perfumed rice of a feast. Powdered saffron is easy to adulterate; threads let you see what you bought.

What we know about the claims

Saffron’s compounds (crocin, safranal, picrocrocin) are studied, with some interest in mood; the evidence is early and the quantities in cooking are tiny. Enjoy it as a flavour and a colour, not a treatment. Because it is costly, it is heavily faked: the real caution here is authenticity, not health.

Choosing and buying

Buy whole threads, deep red with little yellow, from a trusted grocer or spice merchant (UK and US); a gram lasts a long time. Kashmiri and Iranian threads are the benchmarks.