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 The Saffron of Ancient Persia 

Excerpt from The Secret History of the World's Priciest Spice by April Fulton, National Geographic, May 2017.

"... saffron comes from the dried bright orange-red stigmas of the flower Crocus sativus. This variety is special because it’s a triploid: it can’t grow in the wild or reproduce without human intervention. The gorgeous purple flower is painstakingly propagated and harvested by hand, and only on the morning it blooms. 

 

Iran produces 85 percent of the world’s saffron, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, thanks to its relatively dry, sunny climate and the agricultural knowledge passed down through generations of farmers. It likely was first discovered in Bronze Age Greece, yet it now grows throughout Europe and Asia.

Saffron is as old as time. Cleopatra was said to bathe in saffron-infused mare’s milk before seeing a suitor. “Saffron was used to dye the woolen bolero jackets worn by Minoan women; also in cosmetics, where it was mixed with red ochre, tallow, and beeswax to make lipstick,” says John O’Connell in The Book of Spice: From Anise to Zedoary.

Medieval monks found that mixing a primitive glue of egg whites and saffron created a yellow glaze that could stand in for gold in the production of their manuscripts.

And I dare you to make a Spanish paella or a Persian pilau without the metallic zing and dayglow yellow punch of saffron. Same for dozens of styles of fish stew, yeasted rolls, cakes, and pies found around the world.

Its popularity may have peaked in the Middle Ages as a medicine, but this was also a time when coloring food, particularly food for a feast, was in vogue. A recipe for swan from Le Viandier de Taillevent, a cookbook published in 1300, calls for a rather graphic skinning of the bird, then cooking it on a spit. Once the bird is on the fire, you must “glaze it with saffron; and when it is cooked, it should be redressed in its skin, with the neck either straight or flat. Endorse the feathers and head with a paste made of egg yolks mixed with saffron and honey.”

Saffron still evokes affluence and elegance in any dish. Luckily, a tiny bit goes a long way."

Cueilleuse_de_safran,_fresque,_Akrotiri,

A detail of the "Saffron Gatherers".

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