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Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

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Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#41

Post by denton-scratch »

abtinf wrote: post #27
denton-scratch wrote: post #3

Saffron's expensive by weight; but not per recipe. A teaspoon of the stuff could float away on the breeze, but few recipes call for as much as a teaspoon. A £5.00 box of saffron lasts me about 3 months, and I use the stuff weekly.

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).

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#42

Post by an_aparallel »

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).

Yes, I grind with raw sugar granules something like 20 threads. And then mix it with a bit of rose water, then add to meat marinade or stew. For other cultures mix it with warmed up butter (fat will transfer flavour even better than rose water) or wine

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#43

Post by yifanl »

poulsbohemian wrote: post #39

Here's what I don't get... so here in the US, saffron is generally speaking, extremely expensive and rationed carefully by cooks. Meanwhile, I watch these cooking videos on YouTube and people in villages in places like Azerbaijan are casually throwing the equivalent of $10,000 worth of saffron into their tea. Granted, I understand places like Iran (spoiler alert: not the best relationship with the US) are major produ…

I'm not saying I don't believe you, but how credible are these cooking videos? $10000 of saffron could provide enough flavour for easily 6 months worth of tea.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#44

Post by an_aparallel »

giantg2 wrote: post #8
logro wrote: post #6

Had anyone tried to grow their own saffron? How did it go?

No, but I had thought about planting safflower which is supposed to be a budget alternative. Never went through with it.

Safflower is a much different flavour, is used in Georgian spice mixes and is what bulks up a lot of herbal tea mixes. The first time I bought it, I laughed and said "ha smells like tea bags".

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#45

Post by an_aparallel »

Aloisius wrote: post #2

Years ago, I was convinced that saffron's "taste" was more mental than anything else, so I ran a little matched pairs experiment to see if anyone could taste the difference between a rice dish with saffron or one without. No one could. Admittedly, it was too small of an experiment to be sure, but it just seems like a very expensive food dye to me. I'll just stick to turmeric.

Sorry this is ridiculous. Not all saffron is equal. Iranian saffron is so pungent that just opening a container of it will have folks be able to smell it across the room.

This stuff is usually locked up in Indian/middle eastern supermarkets.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#48

Post by c22 »

poulsbohemian wrote: post #39

Here's what I don't get... so here in the US, saffron is generally speaking, extremely expensive and rationed carefully by cooks. Meanwhile, I watch these cooking videos on YouTube and people in villages in places like Azerbaijan are casually throwing the equivalent of $10,000 worth of saffron into their tea. Granted, I understand places like Iran (spoiler alert: not the best relationship with the US) are major produ…

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 usually lasts me a couple months.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#49

Post by JohnFen »

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?

Just guessing that the price varies hugely depending on where in the world you're buying it. I'd expect it to be cheaper the closer you are to a saffron-producing nation.

A bit like how, if you're used to how cheap avocados are on the US west coast, you can suffer from sticker shock when buying them on the east side.

Re: Saffron: The Most Expensive Spice

#50

Post by hammock »

c22 wrote: post #48
poulsbohemian wrote: post #39

Here's what I don't get... so here in the US, saffron is generally speaking, extremely expensive and rationed carefully by cooks. Meanwhile, I watch these cooking videos on YouTube and people in villages in places like Azerbaijan are casually throwing the equivalent of $10,000 worth of saffron into their tea. Granted, I understand places like Iran (spoiler alert: not the best relationship with the US) are major produ…

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?
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