295642 Wed Jan 07 23:02:16 -0800 2004 19 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1625438 Okay bought this Spice Hunter brand of saffron for $7.99 / 0.5g from my local supermarket. http://www.kitchenetc.com/Products.cfm?sku=000889329&trackingid=cmjctn&AID=10274067&PID=673632 and then today bought a Maya brand saffron (spanish based co.) for $2.99 / 2g from a local indian grocery store. Visually they both look and smell the same, but what a HUGE price difference. What gives!???????!!! Wed Jan 07 23:02:16 -0800 2004 0 SG 1 1625446 Price difference is generally due to a difference in quality. There are several different levels/grades of quality in saffron, which is actually the stigma of a particular crocus. (It takes something like 200,000 crocus flowers to produce a kilo of saffron.) Spanish-grown saffron is generally considered the best, but it grows in a number of countries around the world including Iran, Morocco, Greece and India. Non-Spanish saffron (even if the company is based in Spain) and lesser grades of the spice often contain other parts of the plant. Sometimes spices labeled powdered saffron include turmeric or other colorants. Good saffron is expensive, but you can find good values at online sources like The Spice House and Penzey's. The difference between top grade saffon and cheap saffron is definitely noticeable in dishes in which saffron is the "star," such as paella or risotto alla milanesa. Thu Jan 08 00:11:02 -0800 2004 1625438 0 Kirk 2 1625448 I'm tempted to buy another 1/2 g of the one from Spice hunter and compare vs the cheaper one I got today. For now they sure look the same (ie nothing other than the stigma) and intensity of the aroma seem the same too and both are from spain. Honestly can't tell the difference. Thu Jan 08 00:16:10 -0800 2004 1625446 0 SG 1 1625447 I buy saffron at ethnic stores all the time for a fraction of the spice store price. Also, have bought saffron in Spain even cheaper than that. As far as I know it's all the same---works the same in rice, anyway. Thu Jan 08 00:13:31 -0800 2004 1625438 0 N Tocus 2 1625449 I've concluded that the markups on spices bottled by the likes of McCormick, Spice Hunter etc are just outrageous. Highway robbery! For all you people looking to buy spices definitely check out your local ethnic grocers first and save yourself a bundle. Thu Jan 08 00:21:02 -0800 2004 1625447 0 SG 1 1625455 I thought the word "select" was one of the keys to the better quality saffron? I recently purchased some "selected" saffron, cheap. It was decent, I used it in a boulabaise, it was tasty - and a beautiful color. M Thu Jan 08 01:50:54 -0800 2004 1625438 0 mic9ael 2 1625466 I saw the beginning of this thread last night and woke up thinking about it this morning so got up and looked things up in books, never a bad idea. My Indian spice book gives the following definitions: "Saffron (Kesar) is the dried, threadlike stigmas of the saffron crocus...available in its thread and ground forms...Turmeric (Haldi) is the rhizome of the tropical turmeric plant..shaped like fresh ginger....". In Indian markets I have seen fresh turmeric so know it is a sort of root, while saffron does indeed look like dark red threads (which you crush into the rice water). I do not see how, if saffron is purchased in its natural form, it could possibly contain turmeric, and am kind of distressed to think that readers will go away from this thread thinking they have to go to a specialty shop and pay an astronomical price for saffron to get the real thing. Saffron is an expensive spice, but perhaps it is cheaper in ethnic stores for the same reason that (here in Chicago at least) basmati rice is sold @ 10 pounds for $6 at the Indian markets and l lb. for $6 at downtown specialty stores. I can say that my Persian grocery here currently sells a single-use plastic capsule of whole saffron for a bit over $2 (and sometimes such a saffron capsule is attached as a freebie to a large bag of dried dill). Also, if you travel to Spain or have friend going there, any grocery store or the grocery department of a Corte Ingles store will be a source of decent saffron (azafran) which will come in a several-use packet for less than US$2. I do not recall ever seeing ground saffron for sale--have always ended up with the little red threads (which, if somebody can identify as other-than-saffron, I would be appreciate hearing about since basically I prefer to know what I am eating and assume these countries of origin may have less than strict laws about product identification). Thu Jan 08 08:25:18 -0800 2004 1625455 0 N Tocus 3 1625503 When I said "ground" I meant "powdered" saffron, which is quite widely available. Some cooks prefer it because the color is released quickly. Turmeric is, indeed, a rhizome, but it is also dried and powdered. It has flavor, but it is often used (in Moroccan cooking, for example) to provide a bright yellow color to a food. When you buy a "Spanish Rice" mix in the States, it probably has turmeric in it to give it that distinctive yellow color, instead of saffron. And cheap saffron may have added turmeric in it so that it looks more yellow. If it does, you can usually tell by the scent (which I can only describe as "turmeric-ish." Link: http://www.babysaffron.com/saffronFacts.htm#factsPowder Thu Jan 08 12:07:59 -0800 2004 1625466 0 Kirk 4 1625624 errr guilty, I used to use tumeric to colour my paella when I did not have any saffron handy... Fri Jan 09 00:17:58 -0800 2004 1625503 0 SG 1 1625457 If you go to a good ethnic grocer (Indian, perhaps) or shop around online, you should be able to find best quality, fresh and moist saffron by the ounce in the $50 range. While this is a lifetime supply, this is a great thing to always have in the freezer, and to give out clumps to friends. The real, wholesale price for an ounce of bulk saffron is $25-30 -- this is what restaurants pay. If you have a friend who works in a restaurant and can buy some for you, all the better. Packaging it into tiny quantities and selling it for big prices is one of those scammish things I hate about spice companies. Also, saffron bought this way tends to be stale. Look for Mancha grade from Spain -- this is clearly the best that is most readily available. And buy from someone reputable. Lesser grades may have other vegetal matter which is then soaked in water with the saffron to create a saffron appearance and bulk it up. Thu Jan 08 06:02:28 -0800 2004 1625438 0 Pat P 1 1625462 I agree completely with the previous posters who noted that the price differential is most likely attributable to quality differences. I also doubt that the difference would be apparent to you (or anyone else, for that matter) simply by sniffing it. As one poster said, the quality will be noticeable when you use it in a dish where saffron is a (the) key ingredient, such as a paella. One note of disagreement. I have never heard nor considered Spanish saffron the best and while it may be of high quality, historically the cream of the crop has come from Kashmir. Now, however, with the continuing war between Pakistan and India, the crop is suffering. I am not sure how the quality has been maintained lately and am sure that the war has affected supply and price. Gypsy Boy Thu Jan 08 07:59:04 -0800 2004 1625438 0 Gypsy Boy 1 1625483 Linked below is a good batch of information about saffron. I bought a 1-ounce tin from these folks 2 years ago and can attest to its excellent quality (also bought vanilla beans – equally excellent). We use a lot of saffron, making both paella and risotto ala milanaise quite often. Link: http://saffron.com/what.html Thu Jan 08 10:47:15 -0800 2004 1625438 0 GG Mora 2 1625490 Thanks for the site SG, very useful info. The prices are pretty good too. I'm going to go home tonight and examine the threads in the saffron I bought at Trader Joe's. Now I'll know what to look for. Thu Jan 08 11:04:07 -0800 2004 1625483 0 Liz K 2 1625625 Very informative site, prices are quite good too. Fri Jan 09 00:18:30 -0800 2004 1625483 0 SG 1 1625500 Be careful - the cheaper saffron that some of you refer to might be "bastard saffron," which is dried safflower. My guess is that if it's "Maya" brand, it relates to mexico rather than the Indian store that you bought it from (I know, Mayans are also Indians, but you are probably talking about the other variety). I had the same question a while back and looked it up. It's a worldwide scam now. Basically, all that "mexican saffron" does to food is impart a saffron-like color, and I've found that it does absolutely nothing for taste. I use it as a coloring only. The very best saffron is from the female portion of the stigma, which is red. The male portion is yellow and also doesn't impart flavor. The flower originated in Crete or Greece and was traded and cultivated from there, according to the source that I found back then. So, if you are buying for color, buy the mexican. If for flavor, the real stuff is worth more than a bushel of the other. Thu Jan 08 11:55:23 -0800 2004 1625438 0 rudeboy 2 1625502 I found the source. Here's some text and a link. On that linked page, is a link to Mex saffron. Check the package that you have and report back. If it is "Spanish Saffron," and not just traded through a spanish company, I'll buy some for that price! "Speaking of other yellow plants: Saffron cheating is as old as saffron trade, and will persist as long as saffron is traded. There is a multitude of possibilities how to cheat: Crude methods include selling something that is not saffron at all – artificially coloured grass flowers, safflower and calendula flowers being obvious candidates. The common mislabeling of turmeric as Indian saffron also borders fraud (after all, there is saffron production in India!). People unaware of the taste of good saffron may be persuaded to buy an old or overdried product. Even large spice companies sometimes sell products that, although deriving from the right plant, have no or even a false aroma. Increasing the weight of saffron by coating the stigmata with a non-volatile liquid (fatty oil or glycerole, which gives a sweet taste an untrained customer might even regard as a sign of quality) is also very common. To ensure a reasonable quality, saffron should always be bought whole; no self-respecting vendor sells ground saffron, so if ever saffron powder is sold, it is probably not worth trying it." Link: http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/generic_frame.html?Cart_tin.html Thu Jan 08 12:05:38 -0800 2004 1625500 0 rudeboy 3 1625504 oops, I posted the link for Safflower. Here is Saffron. By the way, this is a great general resource for spices. Link: http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/generic_frame.html?Cart_tin.html Thu Jan 08 12:08:29 -0800 2004 1625502 0 rudeboy 2 1625626 It's may have been Moyo, couldn't tell if the it was an 'A' or 'O' but definitely from Spain. Fri Jan 09 00:20:02 -0800 2004 1625500 0 SG 1 1625619 Consider Lancaster County (PA) saffron. As good as any I've had, and it can be obtained for $2.99/0.5g. One source: Pennsylvania General Store at Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market. Link below. Link: http://www.pageneralstore.com/lancastersaffron.htm Fri Jan 09 00:00:35 -0800 2004 1625438 0 Bob Libkind 2 1625627 Thanks Bob, will have to check it out next time I'm down at the RTM. Who would have thought that they're harvesting saffron right in our own backyard. Fri Jan 09 00:21:53 -0800 2004 1625619 0 SG