Saffron

Saffron is one of the highly prized spices known since antiquity for its color, flavor and medicinal properties. It is the dried "stigma" or threads of the flower of the Crocus sativus plant. It is a bulbous perennial plant that belongs to the family of Iridaceae, in the genus, Crocus, and known botanically as Crocus sativus. This exotic spice is a native of Southern Europe and today cultivated worldwide in many countries, particularly in Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, Iran, and in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Crocus sativus plant grows to about 15-20cm in height and bears lavender colored flowers during each season which lasts from October until November. Each flower features perianth consisting of a stalk, known as “style,” connecting to three “stigmas” or threads to the rest of the plant. These orange-yellow colored stigmas along with the "style" constitutes "saffron" which is used as condiment spice.
Good saffron crop production demands cool dry climate with well-drained rich fertile soil and irrigation facilities or sufficient amount of rain fall. The flowers are generally harvested during the early-morning hours and soon their stigma separated, allowed to dry, and packed for marketing. Saffron has a distinct flavor that comes from chemical compounds in it such as picrocrocin, and safranal. It also contains a natural carotenoid chemical compound, crocin, which gives saffron its golden-yellow hue. These traits along with its medicinal properties make it a valuable ingredient in many cuisines worldwide.
Health benefits of Saffron :

• Saffron contains several plant-derived chemical compounds that are known to have been anti-oxidant, disease preventing, and health promoting properties.
• Their flower pistils compose several essential volatile oils, but the most important of them all is safranal which gives saffron its pleasant flavor. Other volatile oils in saffron are cineole, phenethenol, pinene, borneol, geraniol, limonene, p-cymene, linalool, terpinen-4-oil, etc.
• This colorful spice has many non-volatile active components; the most important of them is a-crocin, a carotenoid compound, which gives pistils their characteristic golden-yellow color. It also contains other carotenoids, including zea-xanthin, lycopene, a- and ß-carotenes. These are important antioxidants that help protect the human body from oxidant-induced stress, cancers, infections and acts as immune modulators.
• The active components in saffron have many therapeutic applications in many traditional medicines as antiseptic, antidepressant, anti-oxidant, digestive, anti-convulsant.
• This novel spice is a good source of minerals like copper, potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, selenium, zinc and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese and copper are used by the human body as co-factors for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Iron is essential for red blood cell production and as a co-factor for cytochrome oxidasesenzymes.
• Additionally, it is also rich in many vital vitamins, including vitamin A, folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin-C that is essential for optimum health.
• Medicinal uses
• The active components present in saffron have many therapeutic applications in many traditional medicines since long time as anti-spasmodic, carminative, diaphoretic.
• Research studies have shown that, safranal, a volatile oil found in the spice, has antioxidant, cytotoxic effect on cancer cells, anticonvulsant and antidepressant properties.
• Alfa-crocin, a carotenoid compound, which gives the spice its characteristic golden-yellow hue, has been found to have anti-oxidant, anti-depressant, and anti-cancer properties. (Medical disclaimer).

Selection and storage :

• Fresh saffron is available in the special spice markets. Try to buy dried whole stigma (pistils) instead of powdered saffron since oftentimes it may be adulterated. Choose well-sealed container from the authentic selling company label displaying date of package and expiry.
• Fresh spice should feature bright crimson-red color, and when rubbed between fingers, should release a very pleasant aroma and stain golden-yellow. Look for long stamens, each measuring 2 to 4 cm in length. Avoid inferior quality product featuring grey color streaks or light spots on the stigma. This spice has a characteristic pungent bitter-honey taste with pleasant aroma.
• Store in closed box and keep it in cool dark place (preferably inside the refrigerator) away from the light since light rays oxidizes the pigments in saffron and offsets its flavor.

Culinary uses :

• Just a pinch of fresh saffron is enough to enhance the flavor and color of the entire recipe.
• There are several methods to use it in the kitchen. Whole stigma can be added directly to the preparations, or oftentimes, the threads are ground to paste using traditional mortar and pestle, and added to the recipes. In the third method, a pinch of saffron is added to a cup of hot water, steep; add this water to the recipes.

Here are some serving tips :

• Saffron stigmas have been used as a flavoring base and coloring base in both food and drinks in Mediterranean, and Asian cuisines.
• Popularly known as "kesar" in Indian subcontinent, it has been in use in the preparation rice-pulov, rice-pudding, "halwa" and other sweet dishes in many Indian, Pakistani, and Cental Asian countries. It is also used as a color and flavoring base in the preparation of kulfi, ice-creams, cakes and drinks.