Saffron
This most highly prized of spices drove the ancient Spice Route between the Middle East and Europe. More costly than gold, the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativa) remain the only edible luxury of medieval times not to have tumbled into the commonplace realm of the cheap and easily affordable, like pepper, salt and sugar. Saffron continues to be sold in little sachets of just a few stigmas, for a relatively large price that’s worth every cent. Bear in mind that if it’s inexpensive, then it can’t be saffron. The reddish-yellow bagfuls sold cheaply in Tunisian markets are the dried flowers of the North African thistle, or safflower. They have none of the flavour of saffron and little of the colour. Try Matty Cremona's recipes.
About saffron
The saffron crocus is native to the south-west of the Asian continent, and grows wild in the region of Iran and Armenia. Saffron was traded heavily between what was then Persia and Europe in centuries past, through the old Spice Route. The frequent occurrence in that part of the world of family names that are variations of the Arabic word for yellow, ‘isfar’, is linked to the cultivation and trade of the saffron crocus, the spice in turn taking its name from the Arabic ‘safrani’, which as in Maltese means ‘yellow in colour’.
The saffron crocus grows easily, but the huge expense is due to the arduous hand-harvesting of the flowers, from which the stigmas must then be painstakingly removed. Around 70,000 flowers will yield no more than 500g of saffron stigmas.
Saffron’s use as a dye has been known for thousands of years. It was used in textiles and cosmetics, and as an aphrodisiac – not eaten, but scattered on the pillows. Its use in cooking is largely the result of Arabic influence; in Middle Eastern and Moroccan cuisine, it is an indispensable ingredient. In medieval times, the saffron crocus was cultivated in the south of England, and trade in it boomed – hence the village name Saffron-on-Walden. It remains the defining ingredient in the saffron cakes of Cornwall. It is important in Spanish paella, Provençal bouillabaisse, Moroccan tagine dishes, and Indian pilaf and biriani cooking.