5 Things to Know About Saffron
Saffron is a spice made from the dried red stigmas of the Crocus sativus flower, and it has been valued as both a cooking ingredient and a traditional remedy since ancient times. The purple flowers are hand-picked in autumn, in the early morning before dawn, and the red stigmas are then removed and dried. Today Iran is the world’s largest producer of saffron, most of it grown in the Khorasan region. Below are five things to know about saffron — how to use it, how to store it, and how to identify real saffron and avoid imitations.
In traditional Persian medicine, saffron is considered to have a warm, dry nature and was used as a tonic and to support digestion and appetite. Some traditional accounts also describe saffron combined with honey being used for kidney stones, or saffron being inhaled to ease headaches and sleeplessness. These are historical, traditional uses and are not supported by modern clinical evidence, so they should not be treated as medical advice.
Saffron consumption and safety
Saffron is used in very small amounts in cooking — usually a small fraction of a gram per dish — and at these everyday culinary levels it is generally regarded as safe. Using much larger amounts, such as concentrated supplements, is a different matter and is not advisable without medical guidance. Some reports in the medical literature associate high doses of saffron with side effects such as bleeding and, during pregnancy, an increased risk of miscarriage, and very high doses have been linked to serious poisoning (Schmidt et al., 2007, Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift; Bostan et al., 2017, Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences, PMC5339650). Anyone considering saffron beyond normal cooking amounts — especially during pregnancy — should talk to a doctor first.
Common saffron substitutes
In Iranian cooking, saffron is a main spice in many dishes and sweets, valued for its fragrance, flavor, and color. Because it is very expensive, cheaper ingredients are sometimes used in its place, mainly for color. Safflower and turmeric are the closest matches to saffron’s golden-yellow color, and one of the most common forms of fraud is selling safflower as saffron.
In some cases a mixture of safflower and saffron is sold. In many countries, safflower is available to consumers under the name “American saffron”. In composition and effect the plant is completely different from saffron, even though it looks similar, with threads that resemble saffron (about 3-4 centimeters, and shorter ones around 2 centimeters).
In many parts of the world, safflower is used in place of saffron. Although it has somewhat sedative properties, it does not have saffron’s aroma and, if consumed in excess, can damage liver tissue.
How to store saffron
Keep saffron in a dark, dry, cool place away from light and moisture. The best containers are metal, followed by tinted glass jars. Plastic containers are not suitable for storage because they reduce saffron’s essential oil and quality within a short time. It is best to grind saffron into powder just before use.
Saffron gives more color when used as a powder. For a finer powder, it is best to grind it with a marble mortar and pestle. Proper storage matters because, if saffron is kept improperly, its essential oil evaporates over time and its medicinal properties, taste, and quality are gradually lost.
How to identify real saffron
Examining the stigma is the simplest way to identify genuine saffron. Each saffron thread divides into three branches, flared and wider at the top and thinner toward the bottom; however, if the saffron has been tampered with, it can only be detected with laboratory equipment.
If the saffron threads look unusually shiny, treat them with suspicion and have them tested in a laboratory.
Corn silk is straight, whereas real saffron threads are curved.
Hold a few threads over a butane flame: real saffron gives off a violet or orange color, which is linked to its potassium content, while fake saffron turns yellow.
If you press saffron threads between two sheets of paper, they should not leave any greasy stains; if they do, the saffron is likely counterfeit.
Saffron’s color does not dissolve in gasoline, so if you place saffron threads in gasoline, they should not color it.
If you place saffron in a glass of boiling water, the threads themselves should not turn white after about five minutes; if they do, the saffron is counterfeit.
For those who know it well, saffron’s color, smell, and taste are a decisive test: real saffron tastes slightly bitter and has a strong, distinctive aroma.
Saffron fraud
The high price of saffron has led to widespread fraud. The main methods of saffron fraud are as follows:
Dyeing, adding weight, mixing with corn silk, and adding oil are among the most commonly used ways of counterfeiting saffron. One method is to coat the threads with some kind of fat, sugar, salt, or honey in order to increase their weight.
The most dangerous form of fraud is the use of artificial dyes; when artificial dyes are used, they can be identified in a laboratory. These artificial colors are very dangerous to human health, and much of the powder sold as saffron is colored with them.
The hardest form of fraud to detect uses saffron’s own natural color to dye the white parts of the saffron plant, which are then blended into the product; unfortunately, this method is very common. Sellers can even swear to the purity of their saffron, since they have not added anything other than saffron itself.
