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.
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 formula_1, with formula_2 as absorbance (Beer-Lambert law). It is a measure of a given substance's transparency (formula_3, 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
TobyMac
Kevin Michael "Toby" McKeehan (born October 22, 1964 in Fairfax, Virginia), better known as TobyMac, is a well known Christian singer from the band dc Talk. The band separated in 2000 to pursue solo careers. Some of his most notable songs are "Made to Love", "Burn for You", "Boomin", "City on Our Knees", "Me Without You", and "Feel It". He has also released a live album, "Alive and Transported".
DC Talk
DC Talk (also written as dc Talk) is a well-known Christian rock/rap band, most famous for its song "Jesus Freak". The band started in 1988, and was part of the rise in popularity of the contemporary Christian music genre during the 1990s. The band split up in 2000 to have solo careers.
Argenteuil
Argenteuil is a town northwest of Paris, France. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department.
Argenteuil is the second most populated town in the suburbs of Paris (after Boulogne-Billancourt) and the most populated commune in the Val-d'Oise department; however it is not the prefecture. Its population is about 94,000 (1999).
Claude Monet painted things in Argenteuil many times.
Colombes
Colombes is a town in the northwest suburbs of Paris, France. Its in the region Île-de-France and the department Hauts-de-Seine. Its population is about 77,000.
Virgin birth of Jesus
The virgin birth of Jesus is a belief held by Christians and Muslims. It says that Mary, Jesus' mother, was a virgin even after she became pregnant with Jesus. By the 2nd century, most people in the Christian church believed this. The idea of the virgin birth was included in the two most common Christian creeds, the Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed. The Nicene Creed says that Jesus "was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary" (meaning that Jesus was God in human form, and was born to the Virgin Mary). The Apostles' Creed also says that Jesus was "born of the Virgin Mary." The belief was not challenged, except by some sects which were not very important, before the Enlightenment theology of the eighteenth century.
The Gospels of Matthew and Luke say that Mary was a virgin and that Jesus was created by the Holy Spirit. These Gospels started the belief that Jesus' creation was a miracle. This belief, which is now common in Christianity, says that Jesus had no natural father; no sexual intercourse and no male seed was involved in creating him. The Gospel of Matthew also says that the virgin birth of Jesus fulfills a prophecy from the Book of Isaiah.
Since the second century, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have taught that Mary gave birth as a virgin (meaning she stayed a "virgo intacta" - an "intact virgin" - even after giving birth).
The virgin birth of Jesus is also part of Islam. The Qur'an often describes Jesus as "Jesus, son of Mary" ("Isa bin Maryam").
According to Uta Ranke-Heinemann, the idea that Jesus was born to a virgin was not meant to be taken literally (as if it really happened). Instead, it is an allegory about something special that God did. It is like the story about how God made Adam. Both Adam and Jesus were God's creations.
Raymond Brown argues that Jesus may have been an illegitimate child. This idea first appeared around 177-180 AD. Around this time, Celsus wrote that Jesus himself had made up the story about being born to a virgin. In fact, Celsus wrote, Jesus' mother was a poor country woman who earned her money by spinning (making thread). She had been married to a carpenter, but he kicked her out. He did this because she was convicted of adultery with a soldier named Panthera. After this, she wandered around and secretly gave birth to Jesus. Later, because he was poor, Jesus found work in Egypt. There, he learned magical powers. These made him confident, and he started calling himself God.