I ordered a handful of crocus sativus (saffron crocus) that are
supposed to be fall blooming, and now I'm not sure I want to put them
into my "purple garden" because the front row is already quite full in
the fall. I'm planning to plant them in a pot for now.
Anyone have experience with these? I'm curious whether I'll get bloom
this season if I plant them right away, or if I shouldn't expect them
until next fall? Also, anyone pick their own saffron? I know you don't
get much from each flower, but then... most recipes only call for a
tiny pinch, right?
Peg in RI
Peg asked:
> I know you don't get much from each flower, but then... most recipes
> only call for a tiny pinch, right?
Most _AMERICAN_ recipes only call for a tiny pinch because they're only
using it for color and because too many recipe editors think that Americans
are more concerned with "saving money" than they are with a quality product.
I have a Lamb in Honey Sauce recipe that calls for one teaspoonful of
saffron to make four servings. It is SOOOOOOOO good. I drool every time I
think of it. I have seen many paella recipes that call for a similarly
"heavy hand" of saffron. I have a saffron risotto recipe around here that
also calls for quite a bit.
No, any time you see a recipe that calls for a "pinch" of saffron, you are
using it only for color. This is a darn shame. The flavors of saffron are
something every palate should learn to appreciate.
- T.
Watch out for the directions. IIRC they're not supposed to be watered
between June and September. That sort of limits where you plant them,
doesn't it? I've grown them and picked the stigmata, thought I at least
had enough for one paella. Then they dried. Sigh. That's why saffron is
so expensive. I usually use dried safflower flowers as a
substitute. Margaret L
> For those that can afford it and do pay for it, that
> sounds very good. However, I've known people, some
> residents of Beverly Hills, who think saffron is too
> costly ("pricey" is their word), so they steal it.
Margaret:
Can you ever NOT be contrary? For God's sake, woman it seems no matter WHAT
I type you have to argue against it.
This post in particular is especially galling. Using immoral rich people to
back up your pseudo argument does nothing to validate your point.
Saffron is an expensive herb, there is no way around that, but as the saying
goes "you get what you pay for". If you've only ever heard one person speak
of the flavor of saffron you've either not been listening or you've lead a
very sheltered life.
Let us take paella as a good example as to why one should NOT skimp. How
much are you going to spend on the seafood portion of the paella? Now add
$5 for the cost of the saffron. Is that REALLY too much to ask?
There are some places where saffron is ridiculously priced and there are
some places where it is affordable. Just as with any other ingredient worth
having you need to look around and see what your options are.
Some of the best stores to look for saffron are the markets which cater to
Indian, Middle Eastern or Italian populations. There are many foods of
Arabic origin which simply can not be made without saffron. To deny
yourself this flavor is to deny yourself an entire world of food.
If you look around you can find saffron, REAL saffron grown & cured in
Spain, at reasonable prices. I'm not suggesting that everyone should go out
and ruin their budgets and include this marvelous ingredient in every meal.
Of course not! But if you're just using the saffron for color, save your
pennies and buy the "Mexican safflower" as previously mentioned. Saffron
should be used for its flavor as well as its color. A "pinch" isn't going to
do it.
- T.
For those that can afford it and do pay for it, that sounds very
good. However, I've known people, some residents of Beverly Hills, who
think saffron is too costly ("pricey" is their word), so they steal
it. I'd rather rest with the color rather than go for a flavor that I've
only seen one person ever mention. Margaret L
I presumed it was when the flowers were open. Rosemarie Nichols McGee says
you harvest them when the stigmas are fully ripe and bright colored. Hold
one with tweezers while you snip it off at the base with small
scissors. She should know. She owns Nichols Garden Nursery, from whom I
bought my bulbs. They received too much water in my yard so I moved them
in back of my fence and a "helpful" @#$% neighbor sprayed them with
Roundup. Margaret L
I would like to know more about when to harvest the saffron. Anybody
know?
Thanks,
Sheri
http://www.exoticgardening.com
> Margaret:
> Can you ever NOT be contrary? For God's sake, woman it seems no matter WHAT
> I type you have to argue against it.
Sorry you feel that way.
> This post in particular is especially galling. Using immoral rich people to
> back up your pseudo argument does nothing to validate your point.
I don't know what my pseudo argument is, sorry.
When I make paella, I usually do use $5 worth of saffron. That's a quarter
of a teaspoon, the amount called for in "Foods of the World"
cookbooks. I've not frankly noticed any difference when I use safflower
saffron.
> There are some places where saffron is ridiculously priced and there are
> some places where it is affordable. Just as with any other ingredient worth
> having you need to look around and see what your options are.
Some friends brought me some Azafran from Mexico, and paid a great deal for
it. They wouldn't tell me how much they paid, but it was a lot. Mexicans
call both real saffron and safflower Azafran, but I think that tin was the
real thing. You do have to use a lot more safflower to get color than you
do saffron.
> Some of the best stores to look for saffron are the markets which cater to
> Indian, Middle Eastern or Italian populations. There are many foods of
> Arabic origin which simply can not be made without saffron. To deny
> yourself this flavor is to deny yourself an entire world of food.
I haven't had much access to Indian or Middle Eastern groceries. Exotic
foods in this part of the US tend to be SE Asian. Margaret L
Margaret,
Thank you!
Sheri
http://www.exoticgardening.com
Thanks to Margaret and - T. for the input, and ...uh... stimulating
.... conversation about saffron.
cowboy neighbor who couldn't resist the roundup!
I've only got 12 bulbs, which I planted into a shallow clay pot. ...
Then my 3 year old stuck her hands in the nice mud and made a big
mess, so I'm thinking I should dig them up and start over, just to
make sure they're still appropriately spaced.
With only 12 bulbs, I'm probably going to be limited to "a pinch"
anyway, eh? Hey... maybe I'll get 1/2 teaspoon? Whatever. The tips
will be very helpful, especially the no-watering June to September.
Nothing about that in the planting instructions. Think I'll leave them
in the pot and see how they go. When I find out how much saffron I can
collect, I'll check back for an appropriate recipe, okay?
Thanks again,
Peg in RI
Margaret Lauterbach said:
- T. said:
> With only 12 bulbs, I'm probably going to be limited to "a pinch"
> anyway, eh? Hey... maybe I'll get 1/2 teaspoon? Whatever.
Peg, it takes about 70,000 flowers to produce a pound of saffron. So lets see
12/70,000 * 16 (oz/lb) = 0.0027 oz of saffron
Since bulk saffron cost about $65/oz, you have harvested about 18 cents of
saffron!
(Fess, up Peg, how much did you pay for those 12 bulbs. I'm guessing about
10 dollars, which means your saffron cost you about 50 times more than you
can buy it at Stop and Shop. But I won't tell you DH how much that saffron
dish cost.)
Assuming that saffron is about 1/4 the weight of water, we have
1/6 oz = 1 tbs of water
1/24 oz = 1 tbs of saffron
you will produce
0.069 tbs of saffron
Or about 243 saffron flowers to produce an tbs of saffron!
(I'm making some assumptions here, but I'm too lazy to look it up on the
web. I'm sure someone will).
Saffron thread contain the compound Zeaxanthin, this compound when heated,
breaks apart into three different compounds, crocin (color),picrocrocin
(flavor), safranal (aroma) . That is why you should soak saffron threads
for up to four hours in warm water to "activate" the saffron. Another
method is crushing and toasting in a pan. This doesn't require much
time. Alcohol will breaks down Zeaxanthin automatically so you can seep
the threads in wine without heating.
Also, food spiced with saffron become stronger the next day. Don't know why.
Anyway, a major saffron producer is Iran. So I fully expect, after Prez
Bush invades Iraq to make the world safe for oil producing Texans, that he
will invade Iran to protect our saffron supply and make sure that Americans
can make paella anytime they want.
-jam
"Bother," said Pooh, and called in an airstrike"
that translates into about
Hey, John... thanks for the cost/benefit analysis! Heh heh... ya, I
spent about 10 bucks for the flowers... but on the bright side, they
should come back year after year. And since I've never actually used
saffron BEFORE..., I can honestly say I just thought some
fall-blooming crocus would be fun to have. Unfortunately, I
underestimated the "lushness factor" of the new garden I made this
year. Between the Lamb's Ears, Vera Jameson sedum, pinks and ageratum
I stuffed into the front row... well... I guess I got carried away
As for saffron dishes tasting stronger the next day... isn't that true
for pepper dishes, too? Like chili? I read somewhere that freezing
peppers makes them stronger, while freezing onions degrades the
flavor. Ah... home-maker's chemistry! Glad you were willing to do the
math for me... Ya know, in my former life as a torpedo engineer, I
used to regularly tackle some fairly complex mathematical
calculations. These days, I'm more than happy to let you fine folks
crunch those numbers for me!
I'll avoid starting a big debate about attacking Iraq, other than to
say that wars are ultimately good for my bottom line, as dh works for
the Navy (civilian engineer), and I may want to go back to it someday,
too. If peace broke out all around the world, a huge chunk of Rhode
Island's economy would go down the tubes... Ouch. Let's just say my
feelings are mixed on the whole war thing.
Peg in RI
