Ever tried making Biryani or Malpua without those gorgeous deep red orange strands of saffron? Isn’t quite the same, is it?

The most expensive spice in the world is a luxury addition to Indian food and does what vanilla does to “Western” food. Lifts it. Its complex taste is nuanced, sweet, floral and yet earthy. The origins of this highly expensive spice is debatable but most literature points to Iran. Over the centuries the spice made its way around the world and is now part of every major cuisine in the world – Mediterranean, American, European, Asian, Greek and Italian. Even the indomitable Julia Child used it in her famous bouillabaisse.

Why so expensive!
It costs about Rs 25,00,000/kg and about Rs 300-Rs 500 per gram!

The reason that saffron, the queen of spices, is so expensive is because the harvesting is time consuming and laborious. Everything has to be done manually. The autumn crocus flower from which the spice is extracted produces three stigmas that are the saffron strands.


Photo by Benyamin Bohlouli on Unsplash

Today, India, Iran, Greece, Morocco, Italy and Spain are the world’s top saffron producers.

Saffron needs human intervention to grow since the seeds that its flowers produced are sterile. Since pollination becomes impossible, the plant reproduces asexually. Cultivation is done through its bulb-like stems called corms. The plant grows well in dry, warm weather, but can tolerate light snow which makes Jammu and Kashmir a perfect place for it to grow. Pampore, which is 15 kilometres from Srinagar, is famous for its high quality saffron.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the crocus flower is sown from August till the 15th of September and harvested in October and November. The weather needs to be cool while harvesting and so, this process must be completed early in the morning before the sun is too high. After harvesting, the flowers are dried for 5 days. What makes this a tiresome process is the flowers must be harvested by hand and in a certain time frame. The high human effort – 85000 flowers produce just one kilogram of saffron – it takes to produce these flowers and harvest their stigmas justifies the cost of this spice.

Adulteration of saffron, of course, is a big issue and is not a new occurrence. In the 15th century, saffron adulterers were fined, imprisoned or even executed under the Safranschou code. Adulterated saffron contains beetroot or pomegranate to enhance the red hue. To add bulk, silk fibres, oil, or wax may be used, while powdered saffron can be adulterated with turmeric and paprika.
This is not to be confused with American saffron which is nowhere near the quality that comes out of Jammu and Kashmir. American saffron, also called Mexican saffron, is a member of the daisy family and is used to make safflower oil. It imparts a yellow colour but that’s it. No aroma, and definitely no taste.

Get your money’s worth!
So now how would you verify if the very expensive saffron you’ve purchased is genuine and high quality or fake and low grade? Here’s what you do.

  • Look at it. Authentic saffron is deep red with orange tips. Sometimes the tip will be yellow. If the strands are completely red without any orange or yellow, then it has been dyed to conceal the low quality. Light coloured streaks or strands with jagged edges indicate that the saffron is of bad quality or an inferior crop.
  • Put a few strands in warm water and observe how the spice reacts. Fake or low quality saffron will bleed colour immediately and the threads will dissolve. Real, high quality saffron, will emit a lovely floral aroma and bleed the yellow colour very slowly.
  • Taste the water. If it tastes metallic, or lacks taste it’s of bad quality. The water in which high grade saffron has been soaked will taste floral.

Some of the best Indian dishes that just cannot be enjoyed without a tinge of saffron are:
Chicken Biryani
Saffron Rice
Kesar Peda
Shahi Tukda
Malpua Rabdi
Mutton Korma

Some other dishes that call for the addition of saffron are:
Risotto Ala Milanese
Spaghettoni with Jasmine, Saffron, and Chamomile
Arroz con Perdiz (Saffron Rice with Partridges and Amontillado Sherry)
Moroccan Saffron Chicken Tagine
Pasta with Zucchini And Saffron
Saffron risotto
Julia Child’s Bouillabaisse with Rouille
Mrouzia (Honey-Braised Lamb Shanks)
Paella Mixta with Chorizo, Chicken, and Shrimp

Now cooking isn’t all this gorgeous spice is good for. Apart from its unique taste and the nuanced flavour it lends to food, saffron has been used for centuries in beauty treatments.

When mixed with commonly found kitchen ingredients like honey, milk, cream, gram flour, turmeric, saffron can do wonders for your skin.

This expensive spice is a natural antioxidant that helps in reducing inflammation, protects against UV rays, reduces hyperpigmentation and brightens skin. It is also rich in minerals and contains two types of carotenoids – crocin and crocetin.

Saffron can be safely used with other beauty regimens, but it still makes sense to do a patch test first.
Grinding the strands in a mortar and pestle, and then using it in a home-made face mask or pack is better than buying the powdered spice. The chances of adulteration in powdered saffron are much higher.
4-5 strands are sufficient to get the full effect of this wonderfully versatile spice.

Research, read reviews and then pick a good brand. This is a luxury item at the end of the day, but the fact that you need so little to make a powerful impact whether it’s in food or beauty is well worth the cost.