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saffron-art - 8/11/97

How to buy and select saffron.

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Date: Wed, 6 Aug 1997 21:41:05 -0700 (PDT)

From: rousseau at scn.org (Anne-Marie Rousseau)

Subject: SC - [hill at worldspice.com: Saffron 101 (pretty dang long, even for me, so watch out)]

Hi all from Anne-Marie.

I asked my favorite spice guy about saffron and this is what he sent me.

Very detailed, but that's what I've come to expect from Tony. He can do

similar dissertations on chiles and cinnamon and cassia and carob and...

For the record, he runs a great spice shop here in Seattle (which does

mail order! Hooray! Cubeb and grains of paradise and real cocoa beans

and...) and has been a fount of information whenever we asked.

Hope this

helps!

- --AM

================= Begin forwarded message =================

From: hill at worldspice.com (Tony Hill)

To: rousseau at scn.org ("'rousseau at scn.org'")

Subject: Saffron 101 (pretty dang long, even for me, so watch out)

Date: Wed, 06 Aug

Spiceboy here....

I leave you folks alone for a few weeks and you whip up a spice

controversy. Sheesh. Here's the scoop on saffron that I learned from

Paxci Contero (my GROWER in Spain, notice I said GROWER not DISTRIBUTOR)

and the esteemed Nimal Fernando (my GROWER in India). The most important

thing to remember with saffron is that it IS affordable, even the top

grades, when you cut through all the marketing hype, extra packaging,

and national pride that is often a block to getting the true story.

The stamen of the Saffron Crocus is what makes the spice we call

Saffron. It takes some 70,000 flowers (about an acre under cultivation)

to make one pound and it must be picked (de-stamen-ified) by hand. They

have large rooms of mostly women (men's hands are too big and we're not

so gentle...no mail please, it's a few hundred years of tradition

talking) who sit around plucking the stamen of huge baskets of flowers.

In fact, most of the saffron production is small family operations who

in turn sell their harvest to large co-ops and brokers.

The harvest comes in late October (after one heck of a festival, oh the

wine!) and that crop is sold as the "current year crop" for the next

twelve months i.e. today in August '97 the "current year crop" is Fall

'96. This is the first major grading point of saffron...time. The

current year crop is always going to command a higher price that

previous years. Saffron loses about 40% of its potency and richness of

flavor in the first year. Oddly, after that first year it levels off and

drops about 5-10% per year until it's totally "spent" at about 7 years

age. In fact, the Spanish trust saffron as much as they trust banks so

everyone has a stash in the basement...just in case. These reserves are

often willed to heirs. Personally, I rather take the castle just outside

Barcelona.

I'm talking of Spanish sources but in fact Saffron is grown in over 30

distinct regions, most of which are for local consumption but a few of

which (Spanish Mancha & Rio, Kasmir Moogra, Iraqi, Central Mexican) make

enough for export markets. We try to sample as many as possible at the

start of the season in a BLIND taste test (we did 12 this year, 5 of

which were Spanish, each cooked with plain rice for a set time, it's a

fun experiment) and pick the best of the lot. This is the second major

point and the one that is clouded by national pride most often, Spain

makes the best...period. I've tried lots from Africa, Mexico, all over

Persia and even went to Canada to try some "illegal" Iraqi product.

Bottom line year after year is buy Spanish. The other countries, while

nice for a slightly reduced price, lack the depth of flavor and

complexity on the palate. Why skimp when the prices are in line from

Spain. I noticed the real upswing in popularity of non-Spanish product

only comes when Spain has a bad year and the price shoots up. From a

FLAVOR perspective, Spain takes the paella.

That said, which Spanish should you buy? The marketing terms run amuck.

"Top", "Special", "Premier", and even "Imperial" have all been used on

me at one time or another but the only terms endorsed by the Spanish

government (who take saffron VERY seriously) are "First Quality",

"Second Quality", and "(no grade)". These terms truly are grades of the

size, flavor, and coloring ability of the product. The other important

terms you'll hear are actually the areas of production but can often be

bent into a pseudo-grade. For Spain they are "Mancha" (generally the

best) and "Rio" (still very good but one step down from the other). Do

the math and you come up with "Mancha First Quality" as the cream of the

crop.

It should also be mentioned to look for the "PURE SPANISH" label and the

"SEAL OF QUALITY" on the container. There are lots of places that will

blend non-Spanish with Spanish. This stuff usually happens much higher

in the food-chain that your domestic US retailer so even he may be in

the dark. "PURE" is the key word. A good merchant will buy in bulk with

the seal intact and repack it down to smaller sizes for retail sale. In

this case, he should still be able to produce the original seal showing

the quality grade. (It's usually a red sticker with the grade and the

word "Azafran" wrapped around a cute flowery symbol). Above all, let the

taste guide you.

I will mention that some dishes, especially those cooked for long

periods of time, may not get the full delicate flavor that the top

grades yield. I don't, however, buy into the argument that "this low

grade will do for this dish" because there isn't a linear degradation

(look at me using those college words) in flavor between grades. The

cheap, older grades go south much faster than the better ones. Don't be

cheap, your food can tell.

Next on the smart saffron shopper list is an easy one, buy the product

whole. There is absolutely NO good reason to grind it before you use it

(let it soak in a few tablespoons of water for 10 minutes, BTW) and in

fact most ground product has been cut with something like turmeric.

Long wiry threads of a rich, bright red color are what you look for. A

few threads per 100 will be a true yellow color and that's OK, in fact

it's a sign of freshness. As dark as maroon and you've got yourself old

saffron. Look in the bottom of the tin for broken pieces of threads

(also a sign of old age) and try to "squeeze" the bag of saffron. It

should still be pliable and "bounce back" when it's fresh, not crumbly

and brittle. (don't try this at Safeway, those managers can be mean when

you go pokin' around in their spices).

If you see short, angular threads of a yellow-red color, you've got

yourself Safflower, also called "Bastard Saffron" or "Osfor". It's a

good coloring agent but has little or no taste and is nothing like the

real deal. This is the stuff you get in Istanbul for $5 the pound.

Plenty of folks come into the shop trying to sell me this "great stuff I

got from a "farmer" in the market stalls...he said it was good saffron".

I hate to break the news to them because I KNOW they sold the same guy

their good pants to make room in the suitcase.

The last point is to clear up the price myth. Yes, it's big bucks per

pound but you only need about 20 cents worth (about 10 threads) for most

dishes. This year, we sell it retail for $3/half gram, Spanish Mancha

First Quality. It's the only "version" I sell because the price is in

line with the rest of the world supply for me when I buy large

quantities (About 25 Kilos per year) from one source. I've seen the fair

market values in major metro areas of $5-$10 per gram for the same

quality and current crop. Other qualities and origins make it to market

for slightly less, but remember that the lure of "exotic saffron" will

get just about anyone to pop for three bucks for any grade they can get

their hands on. Retailers know this and will always sell "some" (the

masses don't know the going rates) of a "good" quality (see the

marketing fluff earlier) for any price that buyers won't flinch and run

screaming from the store. Most sales in the US are "curiosity" sales and

people just don't care/know about the value. (But you folks are

different, right?)

You can expect discounts for larger quantities, say ounces, but make

sure you store such amounts properly(Air tight, out of the light, vacuum

sealed if possible). Remember what you're not paying for is packaging

but you also don't get the convenience of drawing from a retailers

"current", fresh crop. It's a trade off that only you can decide on. The

going retail price for the top grade out of Spain right now by the ounce

bulk package should be around $75 and for the pound about $800 (US

dollars of course). Keep in mind that these numbers fluctuate from year

to year and generally drop by 30% over the course of the year.

Hope this clears up some mystery. Remember, I'm just one little spice

trader in a big spice world (or is that World Spice (tm)) and you'll

hear plenty of opinions on this stuff. Let your OWN PALATE decide and do

what you think is best (don't run with scissors, either) Let me know if

I can be of help. I'll answer Email as fast as I can. Above all, get

some saffron, cook something new with it, open a bottle of wine and

invite friends over. It's worth the effort.

Eat Well, Drink Tea, & Enjoy Life!

- Tony Hill, Owner

>World Spice Merchants & Pekoe - A Global Teahouse

>Downtown Seattle below Historic Pike Place Market

>1509 Western Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101 USA

>Voice: 206.682.7274 FAX:206.622.7564

>Email:hill at worldspice.com

>http://www.worldspice.com

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Anne-Marie Rousseau

rousseau at scn.org

Seattle, Washington