Ingredient: Saffron
Category: Herbs, Spices & Seasoning
Season: All
Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae.
The flower has three stigmas , which are the distal ends of the plant's carpels.
Together with its style, the stalk connecting the stigmas to the rest of the plant , these components are often dried and used in cooking as a seasoning and colouring agent.
Saffron, which has for decades been the world's most expensive spice by weight , is native to Southwest Asia. It was first cultivated in the vicinity of Greece.
Saffron is characterised by a bitter taste and an iodoform or hay-like fragrance; these are caused by the chemicals picrocrocin and safranal.
It also contains a carotenoid dye, crocin, that gives food a rich golden-yellow hue.
The above traits make saffron a much-sought ingredient in many foods worldwide.
Saffron's aroma is often described by connoisseurs as reminiscent of metallic honey with grassy or hay-like notes, while its taste has also been noted as hay-like and somewhat bitter.
Saffron also contributes a luminous yellow-orange colouring to foods.
Saffron is widely used in: Iranian (Persian), Arab, Central Asian, European, Indian, Turkish, Moroccan and Cornish cuisines.
Saffron is one of the three essential ingredients in the Spanish paella valenciana , and is responsible for its characteristic brilliant yellow colouring.
Confectionaries and liquors also often include saffron.
It is expensive to buy, but you need only very little, the flavour is powerful and so is the colour.
You can buy it ready ground or buy the stamens whole, then pound them to a powder with a pestle and mortar.
It can then be mixed with a little water before adding to a recipe, or the powder can be added directly
Saffron has also been used as a fabric dye, particularly in China and India, and in perfumery
Common saffron substitutes include:
Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), often sold as "Portuguese saffron" or "assafroa") and turmeric (Curcuma longa).
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