Saffron
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Saffron (disambiguation).
| iSaffron crocus | ||||||||||||||
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| Image:Saffran crocus sativus moist.jpg A saffron crocus flower with red stigmas.
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Crocus sativus L. |
Saffron (IPA: [ˈsæf.ɹən] / [ˈsæf.ɹɔn]) is a spice derived from the flower of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. The flower has three stigmas, which are the distal ends of the plant's carpels. Together with its style, the stalk connecting the stigmas to the rest of the plant, these components are often dried and used in cooking as a seasoning and colouring agent. Saffron, which has for decades been the world's most expensive spice by weight,<ref name="Rau_53">Rau 1969, p. 53.</ref><ref name="Hill_272">Hill 2004, p. 272.</ref> is native to Southwest Asia.<ref name="Hill_272">Hill 2004, p. 272.</ref><ref name="Grigg_287">Grigg 1974, p. 287.</ref> It was first cultivated in the vicinity of Greece.<ref name="McGee_422">McGee 2004, p. 422.</ref>
Saffron is characterised by a bitter taste and an iodoform- or hay-like fragrance; these are caused by the chemicals picrocrocin and safranal.<ref name="McGee_423">McGee 2004, p. 423.</ref><ref name="Katzer_2001">Katzer 2001.</ref> It also contains a carotenoid dye, crocin, that gives food a rich golden-yellow hue. These traits make saffron a much-sought ingredient in many foods worldwide. Saffron also has medicinal applications.
The word saffron originated from the 12th-century Old French term safran, which derives from the Latin word safranum. Safranum is also related to the Italian zafferano and Spanish azafrán.<ref name="Harper_2001">Harper 2001.</ref> Safranum comes from the Arabic word aṣfar (أَصْفَر), which means "yellow," via the paronymous zaʻfarān (زَعْفَرَان), the name of the spice in Arabic.<ref name="Katzer_2001">Katzer 2001.</ref>
Contents |
[edit] Biology
| Saffron crocus morphology | |
| → Stigma (terminus of pistil). | |
| → Stamens (male organs). | |
| → Corolla (whorl of petals). | |
| → Corm (propagation organ). | |
The domesticated saffron crocus C. sativus is a fall-flowering perennial plant unknown in the wild, and is a sterile triploid mutant of the eastern Mediterranean fall-flowering Crocus cartwrightianus.<ref name="Deo_1">Deo 2003, p. 1.</ref> According to botanical research, C. cartwrightianus originated in Crete, not—as was once generally believed—in Central Asia.<ref name="Katzer_2001">Katzer 2001.</ref> The saffron crocus resulted when C. cartwrightianus was subjected to extensive artificial selection by growers who desired elongated stigmas. Being sterile, the saffron crocus's purple flowers fail to produce viable seeds—thus, reproduction is dependent on human assistance: the corms (underground bulb-like starch-storing organs) must be manually dug up, broken apart, and replanted. A corm survives for only one season, reproducing via division into up to ten "cormlets" that eventually give rise to new plants.<ref name="Deo_1">Deo 2003, p. 1.</ref> The corms are small brown globules up to 4.5 cm in diameter and are shrouded in a dense mat of parallel fibers.
After a period of aestivation in summer, five to eleven narrow and nearly vertical green leaves—growing up to 40 cm in length—emerge from the ground. In autumn, purple buds appear. Only in October, after most other flowering plants have released their seeds, does it develop its brilliantly-hued flowers, ranging from a light pastel shade of lilac to a darker and more striated mauve.<ref name="Willard_3">Willard 2001, p. 3.</ref> Upon flowering, it averages less than 30 cm in height.<ref name="DPIWE_2005">DPIWE 2005.</ref> Inside each flower is a three-pronged style; in turn, each prong terminates with a crimson stigma 25–30 mm in length.<ref name="Deo_1">Deo 2003, p. 1.</ref>
[edit] Cultivation
The saffron crocus thrives in climates similar to that of the Mediterranean maquis or the North American chaparral, where hot, dry summer breezes blow across arid and semi-arid lands. Nevertheless, the plant can tolerate cold winters, surviving frosts as cold as −10°C and short periods of snow cover.<ref name="Willard_2-3">Willard 2001, pp. 2-3.</ref><ref name="Deo_1">Deo 2003, p. 1.</ref> However, if not grown in wet environments like Kashmir (where rainfall averages 1000–1500 mm annually), irrigation is needed—this is true in the saffron-growing regions of Greece (500 mm of rainfall annually) and Spain (400 mm). Rainfall timing is also key: generous spring rains followed by relatively dry summers are optimal. In addition, rainfall occurring immediately prior to flowering also boosts saffron yields; nevertheless, rainy or cold weather occurring during flowering promotes disease, thereby reducing yields. Persistently damp and hot conditions also harm yields,<ref name="Deo_2">Deo 2003, p. 2.</ref> as do the digging actions of rabbits, rats, and birds. Parasites such as nematodes, leaf rusts, and corm rot also pose significant threats.<ref name="Deo_3">Deo 2003, p. 3.</ref>
| Saffron crocus flower yields[*] | |
| Country | Yield (kg/ha) |
| Spain | 6–29 |
| Italy | 10–16 |
| Greece | 4–7 |
| India | 2–7 |
| Morocco | 2.0–2.5 |
| Source: Deo 2003, p. 3 | |
| [*]—Yields specify flower weight, not final dry saffron weight. | |
Saffron plants grow best in strong and direct sunlight, and fare poorly in shady conditions. Thus, planting is best done in fields that slope towards the sunlight (i.e. south-sloping in the Northern Hemisphere), maximizing the crocuses' sun exposure. In the Northern Hemisphere, planting is mostly done in June, with corms planted some 7–15 cm deep. Planting depth and corm spacing—along with climate—are both critical factors impacting plant yields. Thus, mother corms planted more deeply yield higher-quality saffron, although they produce fewer flower buds and daughter corms. With such knowledge, Italian growers have found that planting corms 15 cm deep and in rows spaced 2–3 cm apart optimizes threads yields, whereas planting depths of 8–10 cm optimizes flower and corm production. Meanwhile, Greek, Moroccan, and Spanish growers have devised different depths and spacings to suit their own climates.<ref name="Deo_2">Deo 2003, p. 2.</ref>
Saffron crocuses grow best in friable, loose, low-density, well-watered, and well-drained clay-calcareous soils with high organic content. Raised beds are traditionally used to promote good drainage. Historically, soil organic content was boosted via application of some 20–30 tonnes of manure per hectare. Afterwards—and with no further manure application—corms were planted.<ref name="Deo_3">Deo 2003, p. 3.</ref> After a period of dormancy through the summer, the corms send up their narrow leaves and begin to bud in early autumn. Only in mid-autumn do the plants begin to flower. Harvesting of flowers is by necessity a speedy affair: after their flowering at dawn, flowers quickly wilt as the day passes.<ref name="Willard_3-4">Willard 2001, pp. 3-4.</ref> Furthermore, saffron crocuses bloom within a narrow window spanning one or two weeks.<ref name="Willard_4">Willard 2001, p. 4.</ref> Approximately 150 flowers yield 1 g of dry saffron threads; to produce 12 g of dried saffron (72 g freshly harvested), 1 kg of flowers are needed. On average, one freshly-picked flower yields 0.03 g of fresh saffron, or 0.007 g of dried saffron.<ref name="Deo_3">Deo 2003, p. 3.</ref>
[edit] Chemistry
| Crocin formation | |
| Esterification reaction between crocetin and gentiobiose. | |
| — β-D-gentiobiose. | |
| — Crocetin. | |
| Picrocrocin and safranal | |
| Chemical structure of picrocrocin.<ref name="Deo_4">Deo 2003, p. 4.</ref> | |
| — Safranal moiety. | |
| — β-D-glucopyranose derivative. | |
Saffron contains more than 150 volatile and aroma-yielding compounds. It also has many nonvolatile active components,<ref name="Abdullaev_1">Abdullaev 2002, p. 1.</ref> many of which are carotenoids, including zeaxanthin, lycopene, and various α- and β-carotenes. However, saffron's golden yellow-orange colour is primarily the result of α-crocin. This crocin is trans-crocetin di-(β-D-gentiobiosyl) ester (systematic (IUPAC) name: 8,8-diapo-8,8-carotenoic acid). This means that the crocin underlying saffron's aroma is a digentiobiose ester of the carotenoid crocetin.<ref name="Abdullaev_1">Abdullaev 2002, p. 1.</ref> Crocins themselves are a series of hydrophilic carotenoids that are either monoglycosyl or diglycosyl polyene esters of crocetin.<ref name="Abdullaev_1">Abdullaev 2002, p. 1.</ref> Meanwhile, crocetin is a conjugated polyene dicarboxylic acid that is hydrophobic, and thus oil-soluble. When crocetin is esterified with two water-soluble gentiobioses (which are sugars), a product results that is itself water-soluble. The resultant α-crocin is a carotenoid pigment that may comprise more than 10% of dry saffron's mass. The two esterified gentiobioses make α-crocin ideal for colouring water-based (non-fatty) foods such as rice dishes.<ref name="McGee_422">McGee 2004, p. 422.</ref>
| Chemical composition of saffron | |
| Component | Mass % |
| carbohydrates | 12.0–15.0 |
| water | 9.0–14.0 |
| polypeptides | 11.0–13.0 |
| cellulose | 4.0–7.0 |
| lipids | 3.0–8.0 |
| minerals | 1.0–1.5 |
| miscellaneous non-nitrogenous | 40.0 |
| Source: Dharmananda 2005 | |
| Proximate analysis of saffron | |
| Component | Mass % |
| Water-soluble components | 53.0 |
| → Gums | 10.0 |
| → Pentosans | 8.0 |
| → Pectins | 6.0 |
| → Starch | 6.0 |
| → α–Crocin | 2.0 |
| → Other carotenoids | 1.0 |
| Lipids | 12.0 |
| → Non-volatile oils | 6.0 |
| → Volatile oils | 1.0 |
| Protein | 12.0 |
| Inorganic matter ("ash") | 6.0 |
| → HCl-soluble ash | 0.5 |
| Water | 10.0 |
| Fiber (crude) | 5.0 |
| Source: Goyns 1999, p. 46 | |
The bitter glucoside picrocrocin is responsible for saffron's flavour. Picrocrocin (chemical formula: C16H26O7; systematic name: 4-(β-D-glucopyranosyloxy)-2,6,6- trimethylcyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxaldehyde) is a union of an aldehyde sub-element known as safranal (systematic name: 2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexa-1,3-dien-1- carboxaldehyde) and a carbohydrate. It has insecticidal and pesticidal properties, and may comprise up to 4% of dry saffron. Significantly, picrocrocin is a truncated version (produced via oxidative cleavage) of the carotenoid zeaxanthin and is the glycoside of the terpene aldehyde safranal. The reddish-coloured<ref name="Leffingwell_1">Leffingwell 2001, p. 1.</ref> zeaxanthin is, incidentally, one of the carotenoids naturally present within the retina of the human eye.
When saffron is dried after its harvest, the heat, combined with enzymatic action, splits picrocrocin to yield D-glucose and a free safranal molecule.<ref name="Deo_4">Deo 2003, p. 4.</ref> Safranal, a volatile oil, gives saffron much of its distinctive aroma.<ref name="McGee_423">McGee 2004, p. 423.</ref><ref name="Dharmananda">Dharmananda 2005.</ref> Safranal is less bitter than picrocrocin and may comprise up to 70% of dry saffron's volatile fraction in some samples.<ref name="Leffingwell_1">Leffingwell 2001, p. 1.</ref> A second element underlying saffron's aroma is 2-hydroxy-4,4,6-trimethyl-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one, the scent of which has been described as "saffron, dried hay like".<ref name="Leffingwell_2001_3">Leffingwell 2001, p. 3.</ref> Chemists found this to be the most powerful contributor to saffron's fragrance despite its being present in a lesser quantity than safranal.<ref name="Leffingwell_2001_3">Leffingwell 2001, p. 3.</ref> Dry saffron is highly sensitive to fluctuating pH levels, and rapidly breaks down chemically in the presence of light and oxidizing agents. It must therefore be stored away in air-tight containers in order to minimise contact with atmospheric oxygen. Saffron is somewhat more resistant to heat.
[edit] History
The history of saffron cultivation reaches back more than 3,000 years.<ref name="Deo_1">Deo 2003, p. 1.</ref> The wild precursor of domesticated saffron crocus was Crocus cartwrightianus. Human cultivators bred wild specimens by selecting for unusually long stigmas. Thus, a sterile mutant form of C. cartwrightianus, C. sativus, emerged in late Bronze Age Crete.<ref name="Goyns_1">Goyns 1999, p. 1.</ref> Experts believe saffron was first documented in a 7th century BC Assyrian botanical reference compiled under Ashurbanipal. Since then, documentation of saffron's use over the span of 4,000 years in the treatment of some 90 illnesses has been uncovered.<ref name="Honan_2004">Honan 2004.</ref> Saffron has been used as a spice and medicine in the Mediterranean region since then, with usage and cultivation slowly spreading to other parts of Eurasia as well as North Africa and North America. In the last several decades, saffron cultivation has spread to Oceania.
[edit] Mediterranean
Minoans portrayed saffron in their palace frescoes by 1500–1600 BC, showing saffron's use as a therapeutic drug.<ref name="Ferrence">Ferrence 2004, p. 1.</ref><ref name="Honan_2004">Honan 2004.</ref> Later, Greek legends told of sea voyages to Cilicia. There, adventurers hoped to procure what they believed was the world's most valuable saffron.<ref name="Willard_2-3">Willard 2001, pp. 2-3.</ref> Another legend tells of Crocus and Smilax, whereby Crocus is bewitched and transformed into the original saffron crocus.<ref name="Willard_2">Willard 2001, p. 2.</ref> Ancient Mediterranean peoples—including perfumers in Egypt, physicians in Gaza, townspeople in Rhodes,<ref name="Willard_58">Willard 2001, p. 58.</ref> and the Greek hetaerae courtesans—used saffron in their perfumes, ointments,<ref name="Willard_41">Willard 2001, p. 41.</ref> potpourris, mascaras, divine offerings, and medical treatments.<ref name="Willard_41">Willard 2001, p. 41.</ref>
In late Hellenistic Egypt, Cleopatra used saffron in her baths so that lovemaking would be more pleasurable.<ref name="Willard_55">Willard 2001, p. 55.</ref> Egyptian healers used saffron as a treatment for all varieties of gastrointestinal ailments.<ref name="Willard_34-35">Willard 2001, pp. 34-35.</ref> Saffron was also used as a fabric dye in such Levant cities as Sidon and Tyre.<ref name="Willard_59">Willard 2001, p. 59.</ref> Such was the Romans' love of saffron that Roman colonists took their saffron with them when they settled in southern Gaul, where it was extensively cultivated until Rome's fall. Competing theories state that saffron only returned to France with 8th century AD Moors or with the Avignon papacy in the 14th century AD.<ref name="Willard_63">Willard 2001, p. 63.</ref>
[edit] Asia
Saffron-based pigments have been found in 50,000 year-old depictions of prehistoric beasts in what is today Iraq.<ref name="Willard_2">Willard 2001, p. 2.</ref><ref name="Humphries_20">Humphries 1998, p. 20.</ref> Later, the Sumerians used wild-growing saffron in their remedies and magical potions.<ref name="Willard_12">Willard 2001, p. 12.</ref> Saffron was thus an article of long-distance trade before the Minoan palace culture's 2nd millennium BC peak. Saffron was also honored in the Hebrew Song of Solomon.<ref name="Humphries_19">Humphries 1998, p. 19.</ref> Ancient Persians cultivated Persian saffron (Crocus sativus 'Hausknechtii') in Derbena, Isfahan, and Khorasan by the 10th century BC. At such sites, saffron threads were woven into textiles,<ref name="Willard_2">Willard 2001, p. 2.</ref> ritually offered to divinities, and used in dyes, perfumes, medicines, and body washes.<ref name="Willard_17-18">Willard 2001, pp. 17-18.</ref> Thus, saffron threads would be scattered across beds and mixed into hot teas as a curative for bouts of melancholy. Non-Persians also feared the Persians' usage of saffron as a drugging agent and aphrodisiac.<ref name="Willard_41">Willard 2001, p. 41.</ref> During his Asian campaigns, Alexander the Great used Persian saffron in his infusions, rice, and baths as a curative for battle wounds. Alexander's troops mimicked the practice and brought saffron-bathing back to Greece.<ref name="Willard_54-55">Willard 2001, pp. 54-55.</ref>
Theories explaining saffron's arrival in South Asia conflict. Traditional Kashmiri and Chinese accounts date its arrival anywhere between 900–2500 years ago.<ref name="Lak_1998b">Lak 1998b.</ref><ref name="Fotedar_128">Fotedar 1998-1999, p. 128.</ref><ref name="Dalby_2002_95">Dalby 2002, p. 95.</ref> Meanwhile, historians studying ancient Persian records date the arrival to sometime prior to 500 BC,<ref name="McGee_422">McGee 2004, p. 422.</ref> attributing it to either Persian transplantation of saffron corms to stock new gardens and parks<ref name="Dalby_2003_256">Dalby 2003, p. 256.</ref> or to a Persian invasion and colonization of Kashmir. Phoenicians then marketed Kashmiri saffron as a dye and a treatment for melancholy.<ref name="Willard_41">Willard 2001, p. 41.</ref> From there, saffron use in foods and dyes spread throughout South Asia. For example, Buddhist monks in India adopted saffron-coloured robes after the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama's death.<ref name="Tarvand_2005">Tarvand 2005.</ref>
Historians believe that saffron first came to China with Mongol invaders by way of Persia.[citation needed] Yet a 7th-century Armenian author, Anania of Shirak, observed in his description of China that "unlimited amounts of saffron are available there, to the point that if someone went hunting, dressed in white, mounted on a white horse and with a white falcon, on his return he would be completely covered with yellow"[1]. Indeed, saffron is mentioned in ancient Chinese medical texts, including the forty-volume Shennong Bencaojing (神農本草經 — "Shennong's Great Herbal", also known as Pen Ts'ao or Pun Tsao) pharmacopoeia, a tome dating from 200-300 BC. Traditionally attributed to the legendary Yan ("Fire") Emperor (炎帝) Shennong, it documents 252 phytochemical-based medical treatments for various disorders.<ref name="Hayes_6">Hayes 2001, p. 6.</ref><ref name="SNL_2005">Shen-Nong Limited 2005.</ref><ref name="Tarvand_2005">Tarvand 2005.</ref> Yet around the 3rd century AD, the Chinese were referring to saffron as having a Kashmiri provenance. For example, Wan Zhen, a Chinese medical expert, reported that "[t]he habitat of saffron is in Kashmir, where people grow it principally to offer it to the Buddha." Wan also reflected on how saffron was used in his time: "The [saffron crocus] flower withers after a few days, and then the saffron is obtained. It is valued for its uniform yellow colour. It can be used to aromatise wine."<ref name="Dalby_2002_95">Dalby 2002, p. 95.</ref>
[edit] Europe
In Europe, saffron cultivation declined steeply following the Roman Empire's fall. Saffron was reintroduced when Moorish civilization spread to Spain, France, and Italy.<ref name="Willard_70">Willard 2001, p. 70.</ref> During the 14th century Black Death, demand for saffron-based medicine skyrocketed, and much saffron had to be imported via Venetian and Genoan ships from southern and Mediterranean lands<ref name="Willard_99">Willard 2001, p. 99.</ref> such as Rhodes. The theft of one such shipment by noblemen sparked the fourteen-week long "Saffron War".<ref name="Willard_99">Willard 2001, p. 99.</ref> The conflict and resulting fear of rampant saffron piracy spurred significant saffron cultivation in Basel, which grew prosperous.<ref name="Willard_101">Willard 2001, p. 101.</ref> Cultivation and trade then spread to Nuremberg, where epidemic levels of saffron adulteration brought on the Safranschou code, which fined, imprisoned, and executed saffron adulterers.<ref name="Willard_103-104">Willard 2001, pp. 103-104.</ref> Soon after, saffron cultivation spread throughout England, especially Norfolk and Suffolk. The Essex town of Saffron Walden, named for its new specialty crop, emerged as England's prime saffron growing and trading center. However, an influx of more exotic spices—chocolate, coffee, tea, and vanilla—from newly-contacted Eastern and overseas countries caused European cultivation and usage of saffron to decline.<ref name="Willard_117">Willard 2001, p. 117.</ref><ref name="Willard_132-133">Willard 2001, pp. 132-133.</ref> Only in southern France, Italy, and Spain, did significant cultivation endure.<ref name="Willard_133">Willard 2001, p. 133.</ref>
Europeans brought saffron to the Americas when immigrant members of the Schwenkfelder Church left Europe with a trunk containing saffron corms; indeed, many Schwenkfelders had widely grown saffron in Europe.<ref name="Willard_143">Willard 2001, p. 143.</ref> By 1730, the Pennsylvania Dutch were cultivating saffron throughout eastern Pennsylvania. Spanish colonies in the Caribbean bought large amounts of this new American saffron, and high demand ensured that saffron's list price on the Philadelphia commodities exchange was set equal to that of gold.<ref name="Willard_138">Willard 2001, p. 138.</ref> The trade with the Caribbean later collapsed in the aftermath of the War of 1812, when many saffron-transporting merchant vessels were destroyed.<ref name="Willard_138-139">Willard 2001, pp. 138-139.</ref> Yet the Pennsylvania Dutch continued to grow lesser amounts of saffron for local trade and use in their cakes, noodles, and chicken or trout dishes.<ref name="Willard_142-146">Willard 2001, pp. 142-146.</ref> American saffron cultivation survived into modern times mainly in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.<ref name="Willard_143">Willard 2001, p. 143.</ref>
[edit] Trade and usage
Saffron's aroma is often described by connoisseurs as reminiscent of metallic honey with grassy or hay-like notes, while its taste has been noted also as hay-like and somewhat bitter. Saffron also contributes a luminous yellow-orange colouring to foods. Because of the unusual taste and colouring it adds to foods, saffron is widely used in Arab, Central Asian, European, Indian, Iranian, Moroccan and Cornish cuisines. Confectionaries and liquors also often include saffron. Common saffron substitutes include safflower (Carthamus tinctorius, which is often sold as "Portuguese saffron" or "assafroa") and turmeric (Curcuma longa). Medicinally, saffron has a long history as part of traditional healing; modern medicine has also discovered saffron as having anticarcinogenic (cancer-suppressing),<ref name="Abdullaev_1">Abdullaev 2002, p. 1.</ref> anti-mutagenic (mutation-preventing), immunomodulating, and antioxidant-like properties.<ref name="Assimopoulou_2005">Assimopoulou 2005, p. 1.</ref> <ref name="Abdullaev_1">Abdullaev 2002, p. 1.</ref><ref name="Chang">Chang, Kuo & Wang 1964, p. 1.</ref> Saffron has also been used as a fabric dye—particularly in China and India—and in perfumery.<ref name="Dalby_2002_138">Dalby 2002, p. 138.</ref>
| World saffron cultivation patterns | |
| | |
| — Major growing regions. | |
| — Major producing nations. | |
| — Minor growing regions. | |
| — Minor producing nations. | |
| — Major trading centres (current). | |
| — Major trading centres (historical). | |
Most saffron is grown in a belt of land ranging from the Mediterranean in the west to Kashmir in the east. Annually, around 300 tonnes of saffron are produced worldwide.<ref name="Katzer_2001">Katzer 2001.</ref> Iran, Spain, India, Greece, Azerbaijan, Morocco, and Italy (in decreasing order of production) are the major producers of saffron. A pound of dry saffron (0.45 kg) requires 50,000–75,000 flowers, the equivalent of a football field's area of cultivation.<ref name="Hill_273">Hill 2004, p. 273.</ref><ref name="Rau_35">Rau 1969, p. 35.</ref> Some forty hours of frenetic day-and-night labour are needed to pick 150,000 flowers.<ref name="Lak_1998">Lak 1998.</ref> Upon extraction, stigmas are dried quickly and (preferably) sealed in airtight containers.<ref name="Goyns_8">Goyns 1999, p. 8.</ref> Saffron prices at wholesale and retail rates range from US$500/pound to US$5,000/pound (US$1100–US$11,000 per kilogram). In Western countries, the average retail price is $1,000/pound (US$2200 per kilogram).<ref name="Hill_272">Hill 2004, p. 272.</ref> Between 70,000 and 200,000 threads comprise a pound. Vivid crimson colouring, slight moistness, elasticity, recent harvest date, and lack of broken-off thread debris are all traits of fresh saffron.
[edit] Cultivars
Several saffron cultivars are grown worldwide. Spain's varieties, including the tradenames 'Spanish Superior' and 'Creme', are generally mellower in colour, flavour, and aroma; they are graded by government-imposed standards. Italian varieties are more potent, while the most intense varieties tend to be Macedonian Greek, Iranian, and Kashmiri Indian in origin. Westerners may face significant obstacles in obtaining saffron from Iran and India. For example, the United States has banned the import of Iranian saffron; meanwhile, India has banned the export of high-grade saffron abroad. Aside from these, various "boutique" crops are available from New Zealand, France, Switzerland, England, the United States, and other countries. In the U.S., Pennsylvania Dutch saffron — known for its earthy notes — is marketed in small quantities.<ref name="Willard_143">Willard 2001, p. 143.</ref><ref name="Willard_201">Willard 2001, p. 201.</ref>
Consumers regard certain cultivars as "premium" quality. The "Aquila" saffron (zafferano dell'Aquila) — defined by high safranal and crocin content, shape, unusually pungent aroma, and intense colour — is grown exclusively on eight hectares in the Navelli Valley of Italy's Abruzzo region, near L'Aquila. It was first introduced to Italy by a Dominican monk from Inquisition-era Spain. But in Italy the biggest saffron cultivation, for quality and quantity, is in San Gavino Monreale, Sardinia. There, saffron is grown on 40 hectares (60% of Italian production); it also has very high crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal content. Another is the Kashmiri "Mongra" or "Lacha" saffron (Crocus sativus 'Cashmirianus'), which is among the most difficult for consumers to obtain. Repeated droughts, blights, and crop failures in Kashmir, combined with an Indian export ban, contribute to its high prices. Kashmiri saffron is recognisable by its extremely dark maroon-purple hue, among the world's darkest, which suggests the saffron's strong flavour, aroma, and colourative effect.
[edit] Grades
| Minimum saffron colour grading standards (ISO 3632) | |
|---|---|
| ISO Grade (category) | Crocin-specific absorbance (<math>A_\lambda</math>) score (at λ=440 nm) |
| I | > 190 |
| II | 150–190 |
| III | 110–150 |
| IV | 80–110 |
| Source: Tarvand 2005b | |
Saffron types are graded by quality according to laboratory measurements of such characteristics as crocin (colour), picrocrocin (taste), and safranal (fragrance) content. Other metrics include floral waste content (i.e. the saffron spice sample's non-stigma floral content) and measurements of other extraneous matter such as inorganic material ("ash"). A uniform set of international standards in saffron grading was established by the International Organization for Standardization, which is an international federation of national standards bodies. Namely, ISO 3632 deals exclusively with saffron. It establishes four empirical grades of colour intensity: IV (poorest), III, II, and I (finest quality). Saffron samples are then assigned to one of these grades by gauging the spice's crocin content, which is revealed by measurements of crocin-specific spectroscopic absorbance. Absorbance is defined as <math>A_\lambda = -\log(I/I_0)</math>, with <math>A_\lambda</math> as absorbance (Beer-Lambert law). It is a measure of a given substance's transparency (<math>I/I_0</math>, the ratio of light intensity passing through sample to that of the incident light) to a given wavelength of light.
For saffron, absorbance is determined for the crocin-specific photon wavelength of 440 nm in a given dry sample of spice.<ref name="Tarvand_2005b"> Tarvand 2005b.</ref> Higher absorbances at this wavelength imply greater crocin concentration, and thus a greater colourative intensity. These data are measured through spectrophotometry reports at certified testing laboratories worldwide. These colour grades proceed from grades with absorbances lower than 80 (for all category IV saffron) up to 190 or greater (for category I). The world's finest samples (the selected most red-maroon tips of stigmas picked from the finest flowers) receive absorbance scores in excess of 250. Market prices for saffron types follow directly from these ISO scores.<ref name="Tarvand_2005b"> Tarvand 2005b.</ref> However, many growers, traders, and consumers reject such lab test numbers. They prefer a more holistic method of sampling batches of thread for taste, aroma, pliability, and other traits in a fashion similar to that practiced by practised wine tasters.<ref name="Hill_274">Hill 2004, p. 274.</ref>
| Spanish federal saffron grading standards | |
|---|---|
| Grade | ISO score |
| Coupe | > 190 |
| La Mancha | 180–190 |
| Rio | 150–180 |
| Standard | 145–150 |
| Sierra | < 110 |
| Source: Tarvand 2005b | |
Despite such attempts at quality control and standardisation, an extensive history of saffron adulteration—particularly among the cheapest grades—continues into modern times. Adulteration was first documented in Europe's Middle Ages, when those found selling adulterated saffron were executed under the Safranschou code.<ref name="Willard_102-104">Willard 2001, pp. 102-104.</ref> Typical methods include mixing in extraneous substances like beet, pomegranate fibers, red-dyed silk fibers, or the saffron crocus's tasteless and odorless yellow stamens. Other methods included dousing saffron fibers with viscid substances like honey or vegetable oil. However, powdered saffron is more prone to adulteration, with turmeric, paprika, and other powders used as diluting fillers. Adulteration can also consist of selling mislabeled mixes of different saffron grades.<ref name="Tarvand_2005">Tarvand 2005.</ref> Thus, in India, high-grade Kashmiri saffron is often sold mixed with cheaper Iranian imports; these mixes are then marketed as pure Kashmiri saffron, a development that has cost Kashmiri growers much of their income.<ref name="ABC">Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2003.</ref><ref name="Hussain">Hussain 2005.</ref>
[edit] See also
| Image:Iran saffron threads.jpg Topics related to saffron: Saffron | History | Trade and usage |
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ar:زعفران bg:Шафран cs:Šafrán setý da:Safran de:Safran es:Azafrán eo:Safrano fr:Safran (épice) it:Crocus sativus he:זעפרן la:Safranum ms:Koma-koma nl:Saffraan ja:サフラン pl:Szafran pt:Açafrão sl:Žafran fi:Sahrami sv:Saffranskrokus th:หญ้าฝรั่น tr:Safran
