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Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

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Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#91

Post by [deleted] »

hammock wrote: post #50
c22 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I go to Safeway I can find a handful of saffron threads suspended in a small glass jar for about $23, or I can find a similar thing for $30 at a fancier grocer. Meanwhile, if I go to the nearby independent indian grocery store I can get a cigarette-pack-sized box of the stuff for about ten bucks. While it's definitely not the cheapest spice I don't feel bad about liberally using it in my chai recipe and a box us…

Could it be fake, adulterated or poisonous somehow?

[deleted]

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#92

Post by computershit »

hammock wrote: post #65
hammock wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could it be fake, adulterated or poisonous somehow?

BS to downvote me for this comment. Cheap olive oil is counterfeit. Cheap milk, honey and coffee are adulterated with fillers. Cheap tumeric is colored with lead oxide

Downvotes were for poison hyperbole almost certainly

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#93

Post by mkatx »

Just gotta ask, as I didn't see anyone else mention it, cause saffron gets me jacked!!

I've never had it in food, but the tea hits me like MDMA almost! I know I read that it is a precursor to MDMA, and that's maybe why I used that as an example. But it's a genuine antidote of mine.

I've read that saffron tea can be used like an ssri? Any experiences/antidotes? Just curious if anyone uses it like this or if anyone else has noticed these effects.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#94

Post by sillywalk »

pelagicAustral wrote: post #20
sillywalk wrote: post #11

I used to work in a spice factory. Unlike everything else, they locked the saffron up separately. There were detailed weight logs for when we hand packed (with tweezers) it into jars. We were told it was worth more by weight than cocaine.

I'm taking the cocaine wasn't locked then...

It was just in an unlocked dresser.

"Always separate the drugs."

https://youtu.be/b6pTHW46b8k?t=44

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#95

Post by Eager »

denton-scratch wrote: post #41
abtinf wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think most people have no idea how to use it efficiently either. Cooking shows and recipes often depict simply adding threads directly to a recipe. Growing up, I was taught to grind a small amount into a fine powder and mix with a bit of very hot water, which yields an incredibly potent, fragrant, and inexpensive ingredient that can flavor significant quantities of food.

Does grinding help the extraction? I just steep the threads for ten minutes in freshly-boiled water, then strain them (my mother was not a great cook, and I don't think she ever used saffron).

Grinding with sugar is definitely the way to go. I generally buy a big wheel of Iranian Saffron on eBay or a Persian shop, then grind it all up in a mortar and pestle with some sugar and store it in a spice jar in a dark cupboard. Then when you need it you don't need to be faffing about. If you want to be fancy, save a few whole strands that you can add to rice for decoration, but using whole stamens is really not necessary.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#96

Post by Eager »

poulsbohemian wrote: post #40
IAmGraydon wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saffron ranges from $2 - $10 per gram for retail amounts in different parts of the world and less at wholesale. It’s expensive, but nowhere near the price of cocaine.

So... help me understand why it's on the order of $20-30 (or more) in my grocery store or via well-known spice merchants online?

The grocery store relies on the mystique of the thing. The people making those expensive jars probably also seed articles online about it being extremely expensive. Then when the average person goes to the store they look at it and aren't shocked by the ridiculous price because somewhere at the back of their mind they will have read it is worth more than gold. lol. Meanwhile, anyone in the know is buying it by the wheel for quite reasonable amounts, and likely better purity.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#97

Post by Eager »

mkatx wrote: post #93

Just gotta ask, as I didn't see anyone else mention it, cause saffron gets me jacked!! I've never had it in food, but the tea hits me like MDMA almost! I know I read that it is a precursor to MDMA, and that's maybe why I used that as an example. But it's a genuine antidote of mine. I've read that saffron tea can be used like an ssri? Any experiences/antidotes? Just curious if anyone uses it like this or if anyone els…

I don't know the pharmacology, but it is well known that Saffron makes you happy and a bit giggly.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#98

Post by ggm »

Was given a very large quantity of Saffron by some persian friends. It was delicious. We had so much, our son dyed his Converse Sneakers Golden-Yellow with some. I found it impossible to tell the persian source what we'd done with it.

(they gave us a very small, mouse-scale marble saffron grinding mortar and pestle as well. We never found it necessary to grind it up)

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#99

Post by mlok »

I cannot reach the article : a fullpage popup for a survey is forced upon me (on my phone) with no (visible) option to refuse or close it (They may exist outside of my screen ?). And even when completed I cannot leave the "Thank you" page of the survey. Worst UI ever.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#100

Post by user_7832 »

pazimzadeh wrote: post #80
user_7832 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> https://sadafpack.com/blog/how-can-we-distinguish-original-s... The contents on the website are a bit.. weird? Good 'ol GPT maybe? > 3. Distinguishing fake saffron with gasoline Saffron does not dissolve in gasoline. Therefore, by dissolving saffron in gasoline, you can decide if your saffron is original or fake. This doesn't make sense. > #first stage; Put saffron in water. In some cases it will change the color o…

you want to buy your saffron from people who don't speak english, trust me

Sure, but I wouldn’t expect such a person to know to use a # for headings either.
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