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Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

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Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#171

Post by user_7832 »

throwup238 wrote: post #104
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…

First archived version on the wayback machine is from November, 2020: https://web.archive.org/web/20201127234815/https://sadafpack...

Thank you!

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#172

Post by user_7832 »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #125
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…

When have you seen ChatGPT write English like that?

I think earlier versions (GPT2? 3?) were a bit wonky in the sense that they'd make sentences which appeared grammatically correct but not actually make sense. But I didn't play around with them too much. Anyway, the article was nearly the same in 2020 so it's unlikely to be that.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#173

Post by user_7832 »

user_7832 wrote: post #72
aagha wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a near certainty that what you're buying at the Indian store is fake. Check out these two sources and maybe run a test? https://sadafpack.com/blog/how-can-we-distinguish-original-s... https://motherwouldknow.com/how-to-identify-real-saffron-avo...

> 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…

I'm a bit surprised why being cautious and pointing out suspicious parts warrants downvotes. I'm happy to chat with anyone who thinks so to understand their perspective.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#174

Post by user_7832 »

krageon wrote: post #157
curiousObject wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good comment, but you don’t need to say #2

I think it's reasonable to invite people to reinvestigate their preconceived notions of what folks who don't speak english do and do not know. The original comment was essentially "well how would they know to use a # for a heading? I don't expect that from a non-english speaker", which is definitely a statement that should result in some introspection.

To clarify, the stereotypical person who'd be likely to be selling saffron is likely a trader/merchant who's been at it for decades. Such people are excellent at business but often struggle with technology (no offense meant, you don't need to be good at tech to be a good/nice person). I wouldn't except this kind of person to know what a # does for headings.

(It's possible they asked some younger kid/nephew for help - again speaking from experience as I've seen this trend a lot as an Asian myself - and younger gens would likely know how to use a hashtag/pound, but younger gens are generally quite decent with English too. Again, this is in general - of course there are exceptions which this article appears to be.)

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#175

Post by pradn »

The expense of saffron is overblown. You really don't need much for entire dishes. A few strands of saffron can flavor and color a whole pot of rice, enough for six people. A gram of saffron might have dozens of strands!

You have to use it properly - grind it in a mortar/pestle with some hot water, and then use the aromatic water in your cooking. This method gets much more of the flavor out.

Many cultures that grow saffron, they themselves use safflower and lower grades of saffron to add just color, if not flavor - without breaking the bank.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#176

Post by xandrius »

OJFord wrote: post #17
PreInternet01 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason given on the show was that the celebrity-chef judge did not appreciate the taste. That didn't (and doesn't) make an awful lot of sense though, since they used the same spice in very similar quantities in another dish the week before, and were praised for that by the same judge. So, everyone's best guess is that the "reality show" script writers decided it was time for them to go, to give more screen time t…

It couldn't possibly have been something else about that dish that was different, or simply that they didn't think saffron went well with that one..?

We'll never know but I guess the friend finds more comfort in blaming the "system" than using it as introspection tool. But maybe they're right, as I said, we'll never know.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#177

Post by falaki »

thisislife2 wrote: post #134
falaki wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for digging it up. I can shed more light on the meaning of the original word for Saffron. The article mentions Saffron comes from Arabic az-za’faran. That word is the Arabicized version of an older Persian word: Za-paran (Zayesh-paran), which means "causes abortion" (zaa/zayesh --> birth). The most common source of Saffron in Iran is area in southern Khorasan called Ghohistan (from Kohistan) meaning mountainou…

Does that mean Saffron is dangerous for pregnant women?

In Iran, pregnant women are advised to significantly reduce Saffron consumption. Note that the base level consumption is much higher in that country.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#178

Post by poulsbohemian »

cess11 wrote: post #149
djoo wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m curious ! Can you share the link ? Thanks in advance

Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/@WILDERNESSCOOKING/videos It's not really very wildernessy since most of the time he's just outside his house, but still quite interesting and a good inspirational resource.

That’s actually a different guy that the videos I was thinking, but still represents the same idea.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#179

Post by BobaFloutist »

faizan-ali wrote: post #131
gnicholas wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Olive oil should be used within a reasonably short time of opening, which makes Costco-sized bottles less practical. We buy honey and vanilla extract from Costco, but we don't use olive oil anywhere near fast enough to justify buying Costco-sized jugs.

Olive oil somm here (yeah that's a thing!) Olive oil (and all cooking oils in general) are the opposite of wine - once bottled they start degrading and any additional exposure to air, light, heat degrades them further. What degrades specifically? Usually it's the nuanced flavors and health benefits of good extra virgin, it'll usually be fine for cooking but you're losing out on the purposeful decision of using olive…

I can easily taste the difference between food cooked with olive oil and natural oils as long as it's a relatively mild dish with a limited number of flavors (which is the appropriate use case).

It's so weird to me when people act like neutral oil has no applications. Olive oil can be good without neutral oils having to be bad. They're just good for different things.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#180

Post by huytersd »

aagha wrote: post #55
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…

It's a near certainty that what you're buying at the Indian store is fake. Check out these two sources and maybe run a test? https://sadafpack.com/blog/how-can-we-distinguish-original-s... https://motherwouldknow.com/how-to-identify-real-saffron-avo...

I know the taste of saffron and have never not gotten real saffron at an Indian grocery store, atleast in the eastern United States.
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