Saffron is made from an orchid species with the scientific name Crocus sativus obtained only two days a year. From the middle of her flower tube a yellow handle, whose upper end branches into three scar branches, the saffron threads.
Saffron is considered very noble and is the most expensive spice in the world. For this reason it came and repeatedly comes to forgeries. Ground saffron is then stretched, for example, with turmeric and the alleged saffron threads prove to be tube blossoms of the dyer distle. Of course you will only find genuine saffron of first-class quality.
Saffron was cultivated and used more than 1500 years before Christ. In antiquity, he was considered as a cure as well as a spice. Even then, the saffron threads were very expensive and forgery were under high penalties. Both in the Orient and in ancient Greece, rulers were yellow coloured with saffron.
In the Middle Ages, saffron cost three times as much as pepper. At the wedding, the bridal cord was yellow with saffron. And rich Romans even marveled their wedding beds with the expensive saffron threads. In addition to the yellow coloration and its spicy property, saffrons were given various properties:
Saffron is also called red gold for nothing. Read five reasons why the spice is so valuable.
Unfortunately, many recipes speak only of some threads when adding saffron. It is not so easy to dose saffron properly. Use too little, leave the shade to wish and the spice can also not fully unfold its aroma. If you get too many saffron threads, the food will be spiced.
The Spanish cuisine gives 7 saffron threads per serving rice. That means if you want to cook rice for four people, you need 28 saffron threads. 8 saffron threads per serving are recommended for vegetables, meat, fish, sauces, marinades or egg dishes. And with sweets, such as ice cream, chocolates, pastries, glazes, etc... you should use 12 saffron threads per ration.
In German recipes, 0.1 to 0.2 grams of saffron is expected for a four-person meal. Here, 0.2 grams correspond approximately to a coated teaspoon full of saffron threads.
There are three different methods to fully exploit the colour and spice of the saffron threads:
Rub the saffron threads in the mortar. Pour hot, no boiling water onto the “Saffron” and let the mixture take at least 10 minutes. Enter the “Saffronte” including the crushed threads just before the end of the preparation into the dish.
Rub the saffron threads in the mortar. If there are only very few threads, cut a small piece of baking paper right, fold it in the middle and put the threads in between. Slid the rubbed saffron threads onto the almost finished dish.
Put the saffron threads in a small zipper bag. Fill with water up to top (possibly without air inclusion) and close the bag. Place the bag for 5 hours in the 65 degree warm water bath. If the whole saffron water is not required, it will stay in the refrigerator for 10 days. Or you freeze it in the ice cube tank.
Saffron has two properties that make it so valuable as a spice in the kitchen. First, it gives the dish a beautiful, golden yellow, bright color. And secondly, it refines the dishes with its herb-aromatic, delicate taste.
The most well-known European court in which saffron should not be missed is the spanish paella. But the French Bouillabaisse also does not come out without the noble spice threads. The saffron threads are baked in the Persian fladen bread and the pumpkin soup also receives a more beautiful shade with saffron.
Cake, pastries and desserts get through the aromatic Saffron an interesting touch and at the same time an appealing yellow color. In the following overview you will find other dishes that you can season with saffron: