Saffron

**Saffron** () is a spice made from the stigma of the flower of the saffron plant. The spice is used in cooking as a seasoning and as a food colouring. It is native to Southwest Asia. It is the world's most expensive spice, and has been for a long time.

Saffron has a bitter taste and smells like hay. This smell is caused by the chemicals picrocrocin and safranal. *Safranum* comes from the Arabic word ''*  which means "yellow".

## Biology 
The cultivated saffron (saffron crocus *C. sativus*) flowers in the autumn and comes up every year. It is a perennial plant. It does not grow wild, and is  a triploid form of the eastern Mediterranean plant called *Crocus cartwrightianus*. At the time of flowering, the plant is usually less than  in height. Inside each flower are three prongs, called the "style". Each prong has a crimson "stigma" of between 25 and 30 mm in length Saffron needs no extra water if it grows in a wet place like Kashmir, where there is usually 1000–1500&nbsp;mm of rain each year. It is also important for the rain to fall at the right time of year. There should be a lot of rain in the spring and little in the summer. Rainfall just before flowering also makes the plant give more saffron. Rainy or cold weather during flowering can cause disease, so the plant gives less saffron. Other things that can make the plant give less saffron are: the weather being damp or hot for a long time; rabbits, rats, and birds, digging in the ground near the plant; parasites such as the roundworm; fungus and corm rot. Saffron crocuses grow best in crumbly, moist and well-drained clay soils with high organic content. They are often planted in raised beds, to help with drainage. Farmers often use 20–30&nbsp;tonnes of manure per hectare on the plants before plating the corms The flowers of the saffron crocuses only last for one or two weeks. From 150 flowers, the farmer can get about 1&nbsp;g of dry saffron threads. To produce 12&nbsp;g of dried saffron (72&nbsp;g freshly harvested) would take about 1&nbsp;kg of flowers (1&nbsp;lb for 0.2&nbsp;oz of dried saffron). It can be worked out from this that one freshly picked flower makes 0.03&nbsp;g of fresh saffron, or 0.007&nbsp;g of dried saffron.

## History 
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The history of saffron growing reaches back more than 3,000 years. The wild plant from which the saffron crocus came was called *Crocus cartwrightianus*. Humans began choosing wild plants that had long "stigmas". Gradually, a form of *C. cartwrightianus*, *C. sativus'', came into being in the late Bronze Age Crete. The first document to mention saffron is a 7th century BC Assyrian book about botany which was written in the time of Ashurbanipal. There is evidence for the use of saffron in the treatment of about 90 illnesses during the past 4,000 years.
### Mediterranean 
The Minoans had pictures of saffron in their palaces as long ago as 1500–1600&nbsp;BC, showing how it could be used as a medicine. Later, Greek legends told of sea voyages to Cilicia, where adventurers hoped to find the world's most valuable saffron. Another legend tells how someone named Crocus was bewitched and transformed into the original saffron crocus. Ancient Mediterranean peoples–including perfumers in Egypt, physicians in Gaza, townspeople in Rhodes, and the Greek *hetaerae* courtesans–used saffron in their perfumes, ointments, potpourris, mascaras, divine offerings, and medical treatments. Egyptian healers used saffron as a treatment for all types of gastrointestinal ailments. Saffron was also used as a fabric dye in Levant cities. Aulus Cornelius Celsus prescribes saffron in medicines for wounds, cough, colic, and scabies, and in the mithridatium.  Roman colonists took their saffron with them when they settled in southern Gaul, where it was extensively cultivated until Rome's fall. Competing theories say that saffron only returned to France with 8th century AD Moors or with the Avignon papacy in the 14th century AD.

### Asia 
 monolith of Jain Tirthankara Bhagavan Gomateshwara Bahubali, which was carved between 978–993&nbsp;AD and is in Shravanabelagola, India. Every 12 years it is smeared with saffron by thousands of believers as part of the Mahamastakabhisheka festival.]]

Paints made from saffron were being used for drawing 50,000 years ago. These have been found in the country that is today called Iraq. Later, the Sumerians used wild-growing saffron in their medicines and magical potions. Traders carried saffron for long distances before the 2nd millennium BC. Ancient Persians were growing their own type of saffron (*Crocus sativus* 'Hausknechtii') in Derbena, Isfahan, and Khorasan by the 10th century BC. Sometimes saffron threads were woven into textiles,. They were given as offerings to the gods and used in dyes, perfumes, medicines, and body washes. Saffron threads were also scattered across beds and mixed into hot tea as a way of curing sad feelings. Other people were afraid that the Persians would use saffron as a drug and aphrodisiac. During his Asian campaigns, Alexander the Great used Persian saffron in his tea, rice, and baths to help heal his battle wounds. Alexander's troops copied their leader's actions and brought the habit of saffron-bathing back to Greece.

No one knows how saffron arrived in South Asia. Traditional Kashmiri and Chinese accounts date its arrival anywhere between 900–2500 years ago. Historians studying ancient Persian records date the arrival to sometime before 500&nbsp;BC, saying it was either Persian transplantation of saffron corms to stock new gardens and parks or a Persian invasion and colonization of Kashmir. Phoenicians sold Kashmiri saffron as a dye and a treatment for melancholy.

Some historians believe that saffron first came to China with Mongol invaders by way of Persia. Saffron is mentioned in ancient Chinese medical texts, including the forty-volume *Shennong Bencaojing* pharmacopoeia, dating from 200–300&nbsp;BC. Traditionally attributed to the legendary *Yan* ("Fire") Emperor Shennong, it documents 252 medical treatments for various disorders. Yet around the 3rd century AD  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."

### Europe 
s, such as this 13th century picture of Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket's murder, often used saffron dyes to provide colors of yellow and orange.]]

In Europe, saffron cultivation declined steeply following the Roman Empire's fall. Saffron was reintroduced when the Islamic civilization "Al-Andalus" spread to Spain, France, and Italy. During the 14th century Black Death, there was a huge increase in demand for saffron-based medicine. Much saffron had to be imported by Venetian and Genoan ships from southern and Mediterranean lands The conflict and resulting fear of rampant saffron piracy spurred significant saffron cultivation in Basel, which grew prosperous. Cultivation and trade then spread to Nuremberg, where epidemic levels of saffron adulteration brought on the *Safranschou* code. Under this law saffron adulterators were fined, imprisoned, and executed. Saffron cultivation spread throughout England, especially Norfolk and Suffolk. The Essex town of Saffron Walden, named for its new specialty crop, became England's main saffron growing and trading center. More exotic spices such as chocolate, coffee, tea, and vanilla from newly contacted Eastern and overseas countries caused European cultivation and usage of saffron to decline. Only in southern France, Italy, and Spain, did significant cultivation continue.

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. The trade with the Caribbean later collapsed in the aftermath of the War of 1812, when many saffron-transporting merchant vessels were destroyed. Yet the Pennsylvania Dutch continued to grow saffron for local trade and use in their cakes, noodles, and chicken or trout dishes. American saffron cultivation survived into modern times mainly in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Saffron has also been used as a fabric dye, particularly in China and India, and in perfumery.

Most saffron is grown in a belt of land ranging from the Mediterranean in the west to Kashmir in the east. Around 300&nbsp;tonnes of saffron are produced worldwide each year. Iran ranks first in the world production of saffron, with more than 94 percent of the world yield. Iran's annual saffron production is expected to hit 300 tons by the end of the nation's Fourth Five-Year Socioeconomic Development Plan in 2009. Other minor producers of saffron are Spain, India, Greece, Azerbaijan, Morocco, and Italy. A pound of dry saffron (0.45&nbsp;kg) requires 50,000–75,000 flowers. These flowers would need about a football field's area of cultivation. Some forty hours of labour are needed to pick 150,000 flowers. Upon extraction, stigmas are dried quickly and (preferably) sealed in airtight containers. Saffron prices 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/£500/€700 per pound (US$2200/£1100/€1550 per kilogram). A pound is between 70,000 and 200,000 threads. Vivid crimson colouring, slight moistness, elasticity, recent harvest date, and lack of broken-off thread debris are all traits of fresh saffron.

## 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. Italian varieties are slightly more potent than Spanish, while the most intense varieties tend to be Iranian in origin. 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, some organically grown. In the U.S., Pennsylvania Dutch saffron—known for its earthy notes—is marketed in small quantities.

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. In Italy the biggest saffron cultivation, for quality and quantity, is in San Gavino Monreale, Sardinia. There, saffron is grown on 40&nbsp;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.

## Grade 
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. 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 A_\lambda = -\log(I/I_0), with A_\lambda as absorbance (Beer-Lambert law). It is a measure of a given substance's transparency (I/I_0, 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. 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 other 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. Powdered saffron is more prone to adulteration with turmeric, paprika, and other powders. 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  marketed as pure Kashmiri saffron, a development that has cost Kashmiri growers much of their income.

## Gallery 

|Natural Saffron of Afghanistan
File:Crocus sativus1.jpg|Saffron crocuses flowering in a garden in Osaka Prefecture (大阪府), Kansai, Honshū, Japan
File:Crocus sativus sahuran.jpg|A saffron crocus flower

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## Other websites 
* *Crocus sativus* List of Chemicals (Dr. Duke's)