Conference turris::cooks

    Special, I think.  I've seen 2 varieties of commercial saffron. 
    Mexican, which runs a few dollars per pound, and is great for making
    things yellow.  And Spanish, which runs a few dollars per gram, and is
    the only Saffron you should use in recipes calling for saffron.  As I
    understand it, Spanish saffron comes from a variety of crocus that
    grows on some particular hillsides in Spain.

    Not sure about the crocus it comes from but apparently saffron is the 
    most expensive commodity there is.  Therefore it may be worth drying
    those stamens out and setting up business.....
    
    julia  

    	Just out of curiousity, is the Spanish saffron what is used in
    Indian cooking (for saffron rice, etc.) or is there yet another variety
    of saffron out there?

    The saffron crocus flowers in the fall, usually early October where I
    live.  It otherwise looks like a spring crocus (which I sure hope I see
    some of pretty soon - getting real sick of winter!), sort of light
    blue, with of course the orange-red stamens.  Each blub makes a few
    flowers, and each flower has five stamens.  They are harvested by hand
    and dried.  That's why the stuff is so expensive - really
    labor-intensive.  I think the plant is native to the Himalayas anyhow,
    and Spanish saffron looks like it is the same stuff as Indian saffron. 
    I don't know what Mexican saffron is, but it is probably not the same
    stuff (maybe just turmeric).  I've never tried picking and drying my
    own saffron - I only have a dozen of the crocuses anyhow.  But they are
    pretty, and not much else is flowering at that season (fall crocuses
    and colchicums are about it).
    
    /Charlotte

    Oh, well. After a bit of research, I've come up with the answer.
    
    Saffron is obtained from the Saffron Crocus - Crocus Sativus. Its
    actually the Stigmas, not the Stamens as I thought.
    
    Angus

Mexican Saffron is saffron from Mexico.  Turmeric is a seed (or root?) that gives
a yellow color.  

Turmeric is a root, which, before being plucked and dried looks very similar to
Ginger. It is as soft as ginger. After plucking, it is dried and sold as rock 
solid turmeric. Turmeric powder which we find in the spice stores is obtained by
grinding the turmeric.

Easwaran Iyer

    A lot of "saffron rice" mixes have no saffron at all in them, only
    turmeric - which is sort of the same color, but a completely different
    flavor.  That's why I wondered if "Mexican saffron" was really
    turmeric, since I didn't think the crocus would grow that far south
    (seems to need a cool winter in order to sprout properly, like a
    tulip).
    
    /Charlotte

RE: .8

Mexican saffron is really saffron.  Same plant as Spanish saffron.  Any 
differences in flavor are due to soil and climate, not the species of plant.
The difference in price is due to the snob appeal of the Spanish stuff.

--PSW

Is there a place in the Leominster, Mass area that sells Mexican Saffron?
I love the stuff, and tumeric just won't do...I want the taste, not the color!

Thanks,

Laura

    I'm not sute if its mexican saffron or not but saffron is sold at
    Monty's pasta shop just below the restaurant in leominster center. 
    
    

    I've also bought some at Julios Gormet shop/liquor store in Westboro. 

Thanks!  I live right near Monty's...I'll give them a try.  Somehow, my saffron
got lost when I moved (I should have moved it with my jewels!!), and I haven't
gotten more yet.  I can't wait to try the recipe for saffron rice that was 
entered at my request!

Laura

    
    re: .8, .9  Mexican "saffron"
    
    True saffron is produced primarily in Spain, Greece, France, Turkey,
    Iran, Morocco, and Kashmir.  The best saffron is said to come from La
    Mancha in Spain.  The sigmas are vibrant red-orange, or sometimes
    yellow, and wiry, about 1 inch long.
    
    Safflower, also known as bastard saffron, is grown in China, India, the
    Middle East and Mexico.  Its cost is a fraction of true saffron, its
    color less vibrant. Safflower threads are shorter and thicker than true
    saffron.  Unscrupulous merchants often try to sell it as true saffron.
    
    Although true saffron may be produced in Mexico, what is usually sold
    inexpensively as Mexican Saffron is, in fact safflower. 
    
                                                            

re .9
>> The difference in price is due to the snob appeal of the Spanish stuff.

Not always true.  Being a lover of Risotto ala Milanese, I bought a good sized
bag of Mexican Saffron from a spice shop when I saw how cheap it was.  For my
next batch of risotto, I added the usual pinch, and the rice stayed white.  To
get the color right, I ended up adding about a tablespoon, instead of the usual
1 vial (a pinch) of Spanish Saffron.  The flavor was mediocre, too.  Even with 
the huga amount that was added.  

    Could anyone describe the flavour that Saffron imparts to dishes?
    
    My wife bought a jar of the stuff on Friday, �1.99 for 0.4g from
    Schwartz a big herb/spice merchant in the UK. I added it to a Roux
    brothers' recipe for Lamb Stew. I was somewhat taken aback by the harsh
    plastic flavour it imparted.
    
    Angus

    Flavors are pretty subjective... I was rather disappointed in my first
    good taste of saffron-flavored food; it seemed harsher than I'd
    expected, and vaguely medicinal. (This was in a "medieval feast", where
    lots of the stuff was used; most "mundane" saffron dishes I've tasted
    didn't have enough of the stuff in it to add much flavor.)
    
    -b

    Re .17 That's it, that's it. I too was surprised at the apparent
    harshness. I was expecting something smoother and not at all medicinal;
    especially as the Roux brothers' recipes tend to go for subtlty of
    flavour. I think I'll leave Saffron out of the next batch of Lamb Stew
    I make.
    
    The nearest analogy I can think of is someone waxing lyrical about
    how wonderful whiskies are, all the while describing mild Spey and
    Highland whiskies such as Edradour, Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, etc. Then
    ones first encounter is with a powerful and complex Islay whisky such
    as Laguvulin or Laphraig.
    
    Angus
    
    PS the Roux bros Lamb stew is not like any Lamb stew I've come across.
    You have to effectively start the day before by boning a leg of Lamb
    and making a stock out of the bones, with white wine and carrots,
    celery and onions. The veges in the stew consist of finely sliced
    carrots, broccoli, turnips and Jerusalem Artichokes, all blanched for
    about 4 minutes each. The lamb is cubed and flash fried until browned,
    but very pink on the inside. At the last moment, stock, lamb and veges
    are all combined and heated. Astonishing flavours.

    
    
    Rep: harshness and strong medicinal saffron tastes
    
    What I've found is that the longer you cook saffron the more you
    have these "off" tastes. Any dish that I use saffron in I add the
    saffron after I've taken the dish off the heat and it's ready to
    serve. Give it a try, I think you'll like the difference.
    
    -mike
    

    I bought some Saffron crocus bulbs from a local nursery. They were
    fairly expensive, 10 bulbs for about �1.50, say, $2.25. Because they
    are delicate, i.e. not as hardy as the ordinary crocus, I've planted
    them in a large pot and put them on our window sill. Little shoots have
    already started to appear.
    
    I hope to be able to harvest my own saffron, increase the number of
    bulbs via bulblets, and have some nice plants to look at.
    Angus

Angus,

Do you know how many hundreds of crocuses you have to harvest to get a few
recipes worth of saffron?  I've heard the figure before, and it's quite 
staggering!

Good luck!
Laura

    Laura,
    
    Ahhh, well you see, my usage of Saffron for the past year has been a
    staggering 4 or 5 strands, actually its my usage for all time :-) At
    this rate the (hopefully) 10 strands I will get from my 10 crocus
    flowers coupled with the jar I bought from the local supermarket will
    last me into the next century.
    
    Actually, I've started experimenting with a few Indian dishes, and I've
    noticed quite a few call for saffron. Thus, my saffron usage might go
    up a little.
    
    Still, it ought to be an interesting experiment and the bulbs may be
    kind to me and multiply a couple of fold.
    
    Angus

    Actually, you get five strands from each flower - not that I have ever
    actually gotten around to trying to extract usable saffron from the few
    saffron crocuses I have (I like them because they bloom in October when
    almost nothing else does!).  I am not sure how you dry them, for
    example.
    
    /Charlotte

    I put a dozen bulbs in the ground sometime in October. Not knowing
    alot about them, I buried them in about 6" of dirt and walked away.
    
    Two sprouted! In weeks!
    
    Edd