Saffron

[ringo]

I love saffron, but refuse to spend £4 on 8 strands in its own box as it's generally sold in the UK. Are there grades of it or is it all the same? It's just dried strands of stigma from the same genus of crocus isn't it?

A few years back I bought a big tub of it on Ebay from Tunisia for a fiver, tasted fantastic. Ran out a month ago and just bought 10 grams from a seller in Tunisia for £2.60, looks and tastes exactly the same as the last lot I bought.

So how do the shops here still get away with rip off prices?

Anyway, here's a link to cheap saffron:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10gr-Saffron-FREE-P-P-UK-/261667955095?

 

[fractionMan]

I bought cheap saffron from tunisia and it wasn't saffron at all. Something else that looked similar but tasted of nothing.

I'll try your link.

 

[sojourner]

Wow - brilliant! Cheers ringo! Am gonna go and buy some now

 

[nogojones]

At £2.60 for 10g I'll give that a shot, even if it is bunk it's worth a try. I thought I was doing well to get 1g for £3.50 from the market

 

[nogojones]

I'd never considered buying spices from e-bay. I've now just ordered half a key of smoked paprika for a quarter of the price I normally pay. nice one ringo

 

[ringo]

This tastes great, hope you lot agree now
[emoji3]

 

[Tankus]

When making paella I shove in tumeric........ Nobodies noticed as yet !

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I've never used saffron. I've just ordered some. Any tips on using it? Don't want to waste it.

 

[passenger]

Suburban 75`s new crack

 

[gentlegreen]

shredded carrot and tandoori colouring ?

 

[badseed]

I bought cheap saffron from tunisia and it wasn't saffron at all. Something else that looked similar but tasted of nothing.

I'll try your link.

Me too, it was like saffron that had been used.
Shite.

 

[Ms T]

That's probably the same stuff you get in Turkey/Morocco (where they also sell the real stuff at similar prices to here). It looks like saffron but it's most likely safflower.

Lidl have real saffron ATM!

 

[ringo]

That's probably the same stuff you get in Turkey/Morocco (where they also sell the real stuff at similar prices to here). It looks like saffron but it's most likely safflower.

That's what I was wondering, I might have to do a comparison. Apologies if it's so, and I've misled the Urb cooks, but the stuff I've got tastes good.

 

[BoatieBird]

I've always wondered if it would it be possible to grow your own

ETA: apparently it is possible
http://homegrown-revolution.co.uk/spices/growing-saffron/

 

[rutabowa]

what's saffron meant to taste of? i've used it once or twice but i still don't know.

 

[ringo]

I've always wondered if it would it be possible to grow your own

ETA: apparently it is possible
http://homegrown-revolution.co.uk/spices/growing-saffron/

I thought that, and when I Googled it found out that Saffron Walden was so named because it was once a major source of income for that region. Then I remembered that you only got 3 strands per crocus plant so you'd have to plant up your whole garden just for a risotto and gave up on the idea

 

[ringo]

what's saffron meant to taste of? i've used it once or twice but i still don't know.

Saffron

 

[BoatieBird]

If you've got a load of it ringo, perhaps you'll be so kind as to test this out

Add to that the fact that it is packed with mood-boosting, mildly psychoactive chemicals that (at the right dosage) will give you a mild, giggly ‘lift’ for up to half an hour & you will see why I think this is one spice everyone should be growing.

 

[billy_bob]

I've got a sack of the stuff about the size of a pillowcase that someone bought for me in Cyprus for about £1.50 about eight years ago. It's not noticeably gone stale, and as far as I can tell it's actually tastier than the ridiculously-priced UK supermarket equivalent.

 

[rutabowa]

I'm just going to stick with yellow food colouring.

 

[trabuquera]

Noooooo, saffron is stupidly expensive, but it is NOT AT ALL the same thing as turmeric or yellow food colouring. If you're using enough, and of the right stuff, it has a very particular sort of earthy / warm / fragrant taste which isn't really like anything else. It's not a strong taste - or even particularly delicious or savoury - but trust me it's there. about the closest thing I can think of is mace, but mace is much spicier and more pungent. I've never (knowingly) tasted safflower for comparison but real saffron and turmeric have almost nothing in common apart from colour (and even that is different 'cos turmeric yellow is acid/lemon/greenish yellow and saffron yellow is deep orange/red.)

 

[Thimble Queen]

Mum gets hers from Asian shop. Apparently it's cheaper then supermarket.

 

[sojourner]

I've never used saffron. I've just ordered some. Any tips on using it? Don't want to waste it.

littlebabyjesus here's a decent recipe for starters, and ringo posted one yesterday that looked amazing too.

Oven-baked Saffron Risotto with Spring Veg

· about 25 saffron filaments ground
· 1.2 litre vegetable stock
· 25g unsalted butter
· 1 onion peeled and finely chopped
· 350g risotto rice
· black pepper·

TO FINISH

· 6 baby leeks or thick asparagus spears
· or a mixture
· 150g mangetouts
· 40g unsalted butter
· 1/2 tsp caster sugar
· 150g fresh or frozen shelled peas
· 100g freshly grated parmesan

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/375F/gas 5. Combine the saffron with 1 tbsp boiling water and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.

For the risotto, bring the stock to the boil in a small pan. Melt the 25g butter in a medium ovenproof casserole over a medium heat and fry the onion for a few minutes until translucent. Pour in the rice and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the saffron liquid, the stock and plenty of seasoning. Bring to the boil, cover,transfer to the preheated oven and cook for 25 minutes.

For the vegetables, trim the leeks and/or asparagus and slice diagonally into 1cm pieces. Trim the tops of the mangetouts. About 10 minutes before the risotto is ready, bring 150ml water to the boil in a small pan over a medium heat, with 15g butter, the sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Add the leeks and/or asparagus, cover and cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the mangetouts and peas, cover and cook foranother 2-4 minutes until the vegetables are just tender, then drain into a sieve.

Stir the parmesan into the risotto. Serve the risotto with the vegetables spooned on top, and a little extra parmesan scattered over.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Ta. I may well try that. Think I'll leave out the sugar, though. Aren't veg sweet enough already, especially mange tout and peas?

 

[Ms T]

This is a decent price:

http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/6938.htm?action=showDetail&id=17863

 

[nogojones]

This is a decent price:

http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/6938.htm?action=showDetail&id=17863

Is it? the pricing seems odd 0.1g for 59p should be £5.90 a g, which is 90p more than my local shop. In smaller print it then says £5.90 for 100g which is a right bargain. can I print it out and demand my 100g at that price?

 

[Ms T]

Is it? the pricing seems odd 0.1g for 59p should be £5.90 a g, which is 90p more than my local shop. In smaller print it then says £5.90 for 100g which is a right bargain. can I print it out and demand my 100g at that price?

You're right, my maths is rubbish.

 

[oryx]

I'm never convinced that saffron makes that much difference in a recipe. I might try one I usually use it in, leave it out and report back.

 

[Mogden]

Saffron doesn't agree with my tastebuds. It makes everything taste far too earthy. Or maybe I've been using the crap stuff.

 

[Cid]

I certainly don't think I'd describe it as earthy... I mean it tastes like saffron, so that doesn't get you far, but I'd say it's a more light/floral thing tending towards soapy/metallic in excess. It does taste different to different people though. Soj's recipe looks pretty good - it works well with ricey, buttery things without too many additional flavours. Parmesan might obscure it a bit though. Risotto Milanese is nice too.

You can very simply just add it to the water you're cooking rice in (absortion cooking only). With a little butter stirred in an excellent accompaniment to many dishes. It helps to soak it in water for a few minutes beforehand, disperses the flavours (as you're using very little of the stuff).