ကုံကမာန်

thumb|ပကဴကုံကမာန် မနွံကဵု ဍောင်ပေင်င်
alt=|thumb|ကုံကမာန်S ဆဇုက်ကသဝ်ဍေဟ်ဟေင် မစဲပကှ်လဝ်။
ကုံကမာန် (Saffron)  ဂှ် ဒှ်ကသဝ် နူပကဴ ကြဴကုသ် သတိဝုသ် (Crocus sativus)၊ တၞံပကဴဂှ် ဗွဲမဂၠိုင် ကော်စ တၞံကြဴကုသ်ကုံကမာန် ရ။ ကသဝ်ဇုက် အသာ်ဗကေတ် မတိတ်ဒၟံင် လဒေါဝ်ပကဴဂှ် ပလှ်ကေတ် စဲဗကှ်တုဲ စုတ်ပ္ဍဲသွ၊ စုတ်ပ္ဍဲဂဥုဲ ကေုာံ ပဍာ်ဂဥုဲရ။ ကုံကမာန်ဂှ် နူကဵု ခေတ်တမၠာတမၠာတေအ်ရ ဒှ်ဒၟံင် ကပေါတ်မနွံကဵု င္ၚုဟ်မးမွဲရ။ တမ်မူလ ကုံကမာန် ဂှ် ၜိုန်ရ ဟွံဂွံတီကေတ် ကၠးကၠးကီုလေဝ် ပတှ်ေကေတ် ဍေဟ်စေန်ဆက်ကၠုင် နူကဵု အဳရာန်။ ဆဂး ဍုင်ဂရိတ် ကေုာံ Mesopotamia လေဝ် စှ်ေစိုတ် မဒှ် ဒၞာဲမူလ ကုံကမာန်ကီုရ။ Harold McGee ဟီု တၞံဏအ်ဂှ် နူကဵု ခေတ်ဗရိုတ်တေအ် ဗဒါဲဂရိတ်ဂှ် စတဵုလွဳဒၟံင်ရ။ ကြဴကုသ်သတိဝုသ် ဂှ် ကၠာဲကၠုင် နူကဵု တၞံ Crocus cartwrightianus, မဒှ်တၞံ သီုကော်စ တၞံကုကမာန်အရိုင် "wild saffron"ရ။ တၞံကုံကမာန်ဂှ် ပြးချာဲအာ ဒေသယူရေယှ နူဂှ် စိုပ်အာ အာဖရိသၟဝ်ကျာ၊ အမေရိက သၟဝ်ကျာ ကေုာံ ဒေသသြသေနဳယျာ Oceania တအ်ရ။

သၟူ ကုံကမာန်ဂှ် မောဝ်တုဲ နွံကဵု အသာ်ထဝ်/မိတ်။ အတိုင်စၟတ်သမ္တီဝင်မ္ဂး မၞိဟ်တအ် စကာကၠုင် ကုံကမာန် နူကဵု ဘဳသဳၜိုတ် ၇ ဗွဝ်ကၠံတေအ်ရ။ တုဲပၠန် ပဗၞိက် မသွံရာန်ဒၟံင် နူကဵုသၞာံ မဂၠိုင်ကဵု လ္ၚီရ။ ပ္ဍဲကဵု ၂၁ ဗွဝ်ကၠံဂှ် ကုံကမာန် ၜိုတ်မပ္တိတ် ပ္ဍဲမွဲဂၠးတိ သီုဖအိုတ်ဂှ် ၉၀%ဂှ် တိတ်နူ ဍုင်အဳရာန်ရ။ ပ္ဍဲကၟိန်ဍုင်ပံင်ကောံအမေရိကာန်မ္ဂး ကုံကမာန် မွဲကဳလဝ်ဂှ် သြန်ဒဝ်လာ မသုန်လ္ၚီတုဲ ကုံကမာန်ဂှ် ပၞောဝ်ကဵု ကပေါတ်မဆလာဂမၠိုင် ဒှ်ကပေါတ်င္ၚုဟ်မးက္ဍင်အိုတ်မွဲရ။

နိရုတ် 
"ကုံကမာန်" ဂှ် ဒှ်အရေဝ်မန် မလွဳဗ္စလဝ် နူကဵု သံသကြိုတ် ကုံကုမာ (Kuṃkumā कुंकुमा) လဆောဝ်ချူ ကုင်ကုမ Kuṅkuma ရ။ ပ္ဍဲဍုင်မန် တၞံဏအ် ဟွံမဲကီုလေဝ် ဟိုတ်မလုပ်ဒၟံင် ပ္ဍဲဂြန်ဂဥုဲ ကေုာံ ကာလဍုန်ပုင်ဒါမ်ပေါက်မ္ဂး စုတ်ဒၟံင်ကီုရ။ မအရေဝ် အင်္ဂလိက်  "saffron" ကၠုင်နူ အရေဝ်ပြင်သေတ်တြေံ  safran မဒှ်မအရေဝ် မကၠုင်နူ လေတ္တေန်  ၊ လေတ္တေန်ဂှ် ကေတ်နူ အရေဝ်အာရာပ် za'farān,၊ အာရာပ်ဂှ်ကေတ် ကေတ်နူအရေဝ်ပါသဳ zarparan မဂွံအဓိပ္ပါယ် "အသာ်ထဝ် gold strung”

ဂကူ

လက်သန် 
alt=Saffron Flowers|thumb|တၞံကြဴကုသ် မကဴဒၟံင် မဂွံဆဵုကေတ် ကသဵုဇုက် ကုံကမာန်။
alt=Saffron onions|thumb|ခၟာဲကဴ
alt=Saffron harvest|thumb|မၞိဟ်တအ် ပလှ်ဒၟံင် ကုံကမာန်၊ ပ္ဍဲအဳရာန်။ 
တၞံကုံကမာန် မတဵုလွဳ ပ္ဍဲကၠအ်ဂှ် ဍေဟ်ကဴ ပ္ဍဲအခိင်ကၞောတ်သၞာံ တၞံမတိုန်ပ္ဍဲဂြိုပ်ဂှ် အခိင်လဵုမကဴဂှ် ဟွံတီရ။ ပ္ဍဲဒေသၜဳလဒေါဝ်တိဂှ် တၞံအရိုင်တအ်လေဝ် ကဴပ္ဍဲအခိင်ကၞောတ်သၞာံ ဒှ်မာန်ကီုရ။ 

တၞံကုံကမာန်ဂှ် ဒှ်တၞံ ဂကူဖျောန်မွဲတုဲ မဒှ်တၞံ ဂကူမနွံကဵု လိင်တြိကလာပ်ရုပ် (sterile triploid form) မဂွံအဓိပ္ပါယ် ဇၟာပ်ဗဳဇဂှ် မနွံကဵု ခရဝ်မဝ်သောမ် ဟဝ်မုန်စန်ပိပိတုဲ ဒက်ပတန်လဝ် နကဵုခရဝ်မဝ်သောမ် သီုဖအိုတ် ၂၄ ရ။ ဍောင်ပကဴ ကုံဂမာန် အသာ်ကဴခဍောင်ဂှ် ကၠောန်ပ္တိတ် မဍေဟ်တုဲ ပြဟ်စှ်ေပ္ဍဲတိ၊ မဍေဟ်ဂှ် ဍတ်ဒှ်ကၠုင် က္ဍိုပ်တုဲ တၞံတၟိတိုန်ရ။ က္ဍိုပ်ဍေဟ်ဂှ် ဒးဂၠံက်တုဲ ဂိုင်စွံ၊ စိုပ်အခိင် ကလေင်တဵုပၠန်ရ။ က္ဍိုပ်ဍေဟ်မွဲဂှ် ဂျိုင်မွဲဆ မွဲရာသဳဟေင်ရ။ က္ဍိုပ်တြေံဂှ် ကလေင်ပတိတ်ကဵု က္ဍိုပ်တၟိ စဵုကဵုစှ်က္ဍိုပ် သွက်ဂွံဆက်တိုန် ရာသဳဂတဂှ်ပၠန်ရ။ က္ဍိုပ်ဍေဟ်ဂှ် ဍောတ်၊ အသာ်ဗတေင် ကလိတ်ဒၟံင် နွံစ တၟာ နကဵု ဗွဲလၞင်၊ လပါ်သၟဝ် ထပှ်ေ၊ ထဍမ်တုဲ နွံကဵု ကသော်လပါ်လတူ တုပ်ညံင် က္ဍိုပ်လသိုင်။

တၞံဍေဟ်ဂှ် ကလုတ် တိတ် အကြာ ၅-၁၁ တုဲ ဟွံမဲ ကုတၞးလျးသံယိုဂ် မကော်စ တၞးcataphylls တအ်ရ။ ကာလခမောမ်ဍေဟ်တိတ်ကၠုင်မ္ဂး တၞးဂရောမ် မစဵုဒၞာလဝ် ခမောမ်ဍေဟ် နွံအကြာ ၅-၁၁တၞး မဗါန်ဒၟံင်ခမောမ်ဍေဟ်ရ။ တဝ်ဍေဟ်သောဲတုဲ မတုပ်ညံင်တၞးဂှ် နွံတၟာ ဗွဲလၞင်၊ ကာလကဴရာင်တိတ်မ္ဂး ဂရောပ်မတုပ်တၞးဂှ် ဒှ်အရာမထိင်ဒဝ်လဝ် ဍောင်ပကဴဍေဟ်ရ။ တဝ်ပကဴဍေဟ်ဂှ် နွံကဵု ဍောင်ပ္ကဴမွဲ မနွံကဵု ကထိုက် တြဴကထိုက်ရ။ ကြဴနူကဴတုဲ တၞံဍေဟ် ပ္တိတ်တၞးဍေဟ်ဇေတ်တ် ဇၟာပ်တၞးဂှ် နွံစဵုကဵု ဇမၠိင် ရ။ Only in October, after most other flowering plants have released their seeds, do its brilliantly hued flowers develop; they range from a light pastel shade of lilac to a darker and more striated mauve. The flowers possess a sweet, honey-like fragrance. Upon flowering, the plants are  in height and bear up to four flowers. A three-pronged style  in length, emerges from each flower. Each prong terminates with a vivid crimson stigma, which are the distal end of a carpel.

Cultivation 
The saffron crocus, unknown in the wild, probably descends from Crocus cartwrightianus. It is a triploid that is "self-incompatible" and male sterile; it undergoes aberrant meiosis and is hence incapable of independent sexual reproduction—all propagation is by vegetative multiplication via manual "divide-and-set" of a starter clone or by interspecific hybridisation.

Crocus sativus thrives in the Mediterranean maquis, an ecotype superficially resembling the North American chaparral, and similar climates where hot and dry summer breezes sweep semi-arid lands. It can nonetheless survive cold winters, tolerating frosts as low as  and short periods of snow cover. Irrigation is required if grown outside of moist environments such as Kashmir, where annual rainfall averages ; saffron-growing regions in Greece ( annually) and Spain () are far drier than the main cultivating Iranian regions. What makes this possible is the timing of the local wet seasons; generous spring rains and drier summers are optimal. Rain immediately preceding flowering boosts saffron yields; rainy or cold weather during flowering promotes disease and reduces yields. Persistently damp and hot conditions harm the crops, and rabbits, rats, and birds cause damage by digging up corms. Nematodes, leaf rusts, and corm rot pose other threats. Yet Bacillus subtilis inoculation may provide some benefit to growers by speeding corm growth and increasing stigma biomass yield.

The plants fare poorly in shady conditions; they grow best in full sunlight. Fields that slope towards the sunlight are optimal (i.e., south-sloping in the Northern Hemisphere). Planting is mostly done in June in the Northern Hemisphere, where corms are lodged  deep; its roots, stems, and leaves can develop between October and February. Planting depth and corm spacing, in concert with climate, are critical factors in determining yields. Mother corms planted deeper yield higher-quality saffron, though form fewer flower buds and daughter corms. Italian growers optimise thread yield by planting  deep and in rows  apart; depths of  optimise flower and corm production. Greek, Moroccan, and Spanish growers employ distinct depths and spacings that suit their locales.

C. sativus prefers friable, loose, low-density, well-watered, and well-drained clay-calcareous soils with high organic content. Traditional raised beds promote good drainage. Soil organic content was historically boosted via application of some  of manure per hectare. Afterwards, and with no further manure application, corms were planted. After a period of dormancy through the summer, the corms send up their narrow leaves and begin to bud in early autumn. Only in mid-autumn do they flower. Harvests are by necessity a speedy affair: after blossoming at dawn, flowers quickly wilt as the day passes. All plants bloom within a window of one or two weeks. Stigmas are dried quickly upon extraction and (preferably) sealed in airtight containers.

Harvesting 
thumb|Saffron sargol
The high retail value of saffron is maintained on world markets because of labour-intensive harvesting methods, which require some 200,000 saffron stigmas to be hand-picked from 70,000 crocus flowers for each  of saffron product. Forty hours of labour are needed to pick 150,000 flowers.

One freshly picked crocus flower yields an average  of fresh saffron or  dried; roughly 150 flowers yield  of dry saffron threads; to produce  of dried saffron,  of flowers are needed;  of fresh saffron yields  of dried spice.

Spice 
Saffron contains some 28 volatile and aroma-yielding compounds, dominated by ketones and aldehydes. An aroma chemical analysis showed that the main aroma-active compounds were safranal – the main compound responsible for saffron aroma – 4-ketoisophorone, and dihydrooxophorone. Saffron also contains nonvolatile phytochemicals, including carotenoids, including zeaxanthin, lycopene, and various α- and β-carotenes.

The yellow-orange colour of saffron is primarily the result of α-crocin. This crocin is trans-crocetin di-(β-D-gentiobiosyl) ester; it bears the systematic (IUPAC) name 8,8-diapo-8,8-carotenoic acid. This means that the crocin underlying saffron's aroma is a digentiobiose ester of the carotenoid crocetin. Crocins themselves are a series of hydrophilic carotenoids that are either monoglycosyl or diglycosyl polyene esters of crocetin. Crocetin is a conjugated polyene dicarboxylic acid that is hydrophobic, and thus oil-soluble. When crocetin is esterified with two water-soluble gentiobioses, which are sugars, a product results that is itself water-soluble. The resultant α-crocin is a carotenoid pigment that may make up more than 10% of dry saffron's mass. The two esterified gentiobioses make α-crocin ideal for colouring water-based and non-fatty foods such as rice dishes.

The bitter glucoside picrocrocin is responsible for saffron's pungent flavour. Picrocrocin (chemical formula: 

C

16H

26O

7

; systematic name: 4-(β-D-glucopyranosyloxy)-2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-1-ene-1-carbaldehyde) is a union of an aldehyde sub-molecule known as safranal (systematic name: 2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexa-1,3-diene-1-carbaldehyde) and a carbohydrate. It has insecticidal and pesticidal properties, and may comprise up to 4% of dry saffron. Picrocrocin is a truncated version of the carotenoid zeaxanthin that is produced via oxidative cleavage, and is the glycoside of the terpene aldehyde safranal.

When saffron is dried after its harvest, the heat, combined with enzymatic action, splits picrocrocin to yield D–glucose and a free safranal molecule. Safranal, a volatile oil, gives saffron much of its distinctive aroma. Safranal is less bitter than picrocrocin and may comprise up to 70% of dry saffron's volatile fraction in some samples. A second molecule underlying saffron's aroma is 2-hydroxy-4,4,6-trimethyl-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one, which produces a scent described as saffron, dried hay-like. Chemists find this is the most powerful contributor to saffron's fragrance, despite its presence in a lesser quantity than safranal. Dry saffron is highly sensitive to fluctuating pH levels, and rapidly breaks down chemically in the presence of light and oxidising agents. It must, therefore, be stored away in air-tight containers to minimise contact with atmospheric oxygen. Saffron is somewhat more resistant to heat.

Grades and ISO 3632 categories 
left|thumb|Red threads and yellow styles from Iran
left|thumb|High quality red threads from Austrian saffron
left|thumb|Kashmiri saffron package
Saffron is not all of the same quality and strength. Strength is related to several factors including the amount of style picked along with the red stigma. Age of the saffron is also a factor. More style included means the saffron is less strong gram for gram because the colour and flavour are concentrated in the red stigmas. Saffron from Iran, Spain and Kashmir is classified into various grades according to the relative amounts of red stigma and yellow styles it contains. Grades of Iranian saffron are: "sargol" (red stigma tips only, strongest grade), "pushal" or "pushali" (red stigmas plus some yellow style, lower strength), "bunch" saffron (red stigmas plus large amount of yellow style, presented in a tiny bundle like a miniature wheatsheaf) and "konge" (yellow style only, claimed to have aroma but with very little, if any, colouring potential). Grades of Spanish saffron are "coupé" (the strongest grade, like Iranian sargol), "mancha" (like Iranian pushal), and in order of further decreasing strength "rio", "standard" and "sierra" saffron. The word "mancha" in the Spanish classification can have two meanings: a general grade of saffron or a very high quality Spanish-grown saffron from a specific geographical origin. Real Spanish-grown La Mancha saffron has PDO protected status and this is displayed on the product packaging. Spanish growers fought hard for Protected Status because they felt that imports of Iranian saffron re-packaged in Spain and sold as "Spanish Mancha saffron" were undermining the genuine La Mancha brand. Similar was the case in Kashmir where imported Iranian saffron is mixed with local saffron and sold as "Kashmir brand" at a higher price. In Kashmir, saffron is mostly classified into two main categories called "mongra" (stigma alone) and "lachha" (stigmas attached with parts of the style). Countries producing less saffron do not have specialised words for different grades and may only produce one grade. Artisan producers in Europe and New Zealand have offset their higher labour charges for saffron harvesting by targeting quality, only offering extremely high-grade saffron.

In addition to descriptions based on how the saffron is picked, saffron may be categorised under the international standard ISO 3632 after laboratory measurement of crocin (responsible for saffron's colour), picrocrocin (taste), and safranal (fragrance or aroma) content. However, often there is no clear grading information on the product packaging and little of the saffron readily available in the UK is labelled with ISO category. This lack of information makes it hard for customers to make informed choices when comparing prices and buying saffron.

Under ISO 3632, determination of non-stigma content ("floral waste content") and other extraneous matter such as inorganic material ("ash") are also key. Grading standards are set by the International Organization for Standardization, a federation of national standards bodies. ISO 3632 deals exclusively with saffron and establishes three categories: III (poorest quality), II, and I (finest quality). Formerly there was also category IV, which was below category III. Samples are assigned categories by gauging the spice's crocin and picrocrocin content, revealed by measurements of specific spectrophotometric absorbance. Safranal is treated slightly differently and rather than there being threshold levels for each category, samples must give a reading of 20–50 for all categories.

These data are measured through spectrophotometry reports at certified testing laboratories worldwide. Higher absorbances imply greater levels of crocin, picrocrocin and safranal, and thus a greater colouring potential and therefore strength per gram. The absorbance reading of crocin is known as the "colouring strength" of that saffron. Saffron's colouring strength can range from lower than 80 (for all category IV saffron) up to 200 or greater (for category I). The world's finest samples (the selected, most red-maroon, tips of stigmas picked from the finest flowers) receive colouring strengths in excess of 250, making such saffron over three times more powerful than category IV saffron. Market prices for saffron types follow directly from these ISO categories. Sargol and coupé saffron would typically fall into ISO 3632 category I. Pushal and Mancha would probably be assigned to category II. On many saffron packaging labels, neither the ISO 3632 category nor the colouring strength (the measurement of crocin content) is displayed.

However, many growers, traders, and consumers reject such lab test numbers. Some people prefer a more holistic method of sampling batches of threads for taste, aroma, pliability, and other traits in a fashion similar to that practised by experienced wine tasters. However, ISO 3632 grade and colouring strength information allow consumers to make instant comparisons between the quality of different saffron brands, without needing to purchase and sample the saffron. In particular, consumers can work out a value for money based on price per unit of colouring strength rather than price per gram, given the wide possible range of colouring strengths that different kinds of saffron can have.

Adulteration 
alt=saffron-properties-zafaranic|thumb|saffron
Despite 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 beetroot, pomegranate fibres, red-dyed silk fibres, or the saffron crocus's tasteless and odourless yellow stamens. Other methods included dousing saffron fibres with viscid substances like honey or vegetable oil to increase their weight. Powdered saffron is more prone to adulteration, with turmeric, paprika, and other powders used as diluting fillers. Adulteration can also consist of selling mislabelled mixes of different saffron grades. Thus, high-grade Kashmiri saffron is often sold and 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. Safflower is a common substitute sometimes sold as saffron. The spice is reportedly counterfeited with horse hair, corn silk, or shredded paper. Tartrazine or sunset yellow have been used to colour counterfeit powdered saffron.

In recent years, saffron adulterated with the colouring extract of gardenia fruits has been detected in the European market. This form of fraud is difficult to detect due to the presence of flavonoids and crocines in the gardenia-extracts similar to those naturally occurring in saffron. Detection methods have been developed by using HPLC and mass spectrometry to determine the presence of geniposide, a compound present in the fruits of gardenia, but not in saffron.

Types 
The various saffron crocus cultivars give rise to thread types that are often regionally distributed and characteristically distinct. Varieties (not varieties in the botanical sense) from Spain, including the tradenames "Spanish Superior" and "Creme", are generally mellower in colour, flavour, and aroma; they are graded by government-imposed standards. Italian varieties are slightly more potent than Spanish. Greek saffron produced in the town of Krokos is PDO protected due to its particularly high-quality colour and strong flavour. Various "boutique" crops are available from New Zealand, France, Switzerland, England, the United States, and other countries—some of them organically grown. In the US, Pennsylvania Dutch saffron—known for its "earthy" notes—is marketed in small quantities.

Consumers may regard certain cultivars as "premium" quality. The "Aquila" saffron, or zafferano dell'Aquila, is defined by high safranal and crocin content, distinctive thread shape, unusually pungent aroma, and intense colour; it 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 friar from inquisition-era Spain. ] But the biggest saffron cultivation in Italy is in San Gavino Monreale, Sardinia, where it is grown on 40 hectares, representing 60% of Italian production; it too has unusually high crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal content. 

Another is the "Mongra" or "Lacha" saffron of Kashmir (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 prohibitive overseas prices. Kashmiri saffron is recognizable by its dark maroon-purple hue, making it among the world's darkest. In 2020, Kashmir Valley saffron was certified with a geographical indication from the Government of India.

Production 
left|thumb|Saffron market, Iran
Almost all saffron grows in a belt from Spain in the west to Kashmir in the east. In 2014,  were produced worldwide. Iran is responsible for 90–93% of global production, with much of their produce exported.

In the 21st century, cultivation in Greece and Afghanistan increased. Morocco and India were minor producers. In Italy, saffron is produced primarily in Southern Italy, especially in the Abruzzo region, but it is also grown in significant numbers in Basilicata, Sardegna, and Tuscany (especially in San Gimignano). Prohibitively high labour costs and abundant Iranian imports mean that only select locales continue the tedious harvest in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland—among them the Swiss village of Mund, whose annual output is a few kilograms. Microscale production of saffron can be found in Australia (mainly the state of Tasmania), Canada, Central Africa, China, Egypt, parts of England France, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden (Gotland), Turkey (mainly around the town of Safranbolu), the United States (California and Pennsylvania). Greece is a saffron producer with a history of 3 centuries of cultivation of a saffron called Krokos Kozanis, having started exports to the United States in 2017.

Trade 
Saffron prices at wholesale and retail rates range from US$500 to US$5,000 per pound, or US$1,100–11,000/kg. In Western countries, the average retail price in 1974 was $1,000 per pound, or US$2,200 per kilogram. In February 2013, a retail bottle containing 0.06 ounces (1.7 g) could be purchased for $16.26 or the equivalent of $4,336 per pound or as little as about $2,000/pound in larger quantities. A pound contains between 70,000 and 200,000 threads. Vivid crimson colouring, slight moistness, elasticity, and lack of broken-off thread debris are all traits of fresh saffron.

Uses 
left|thumb|Saffron threads soaked in hot water prior to use in food preparation
Saffron's aroma is often described by connoisseurs as reminiscent of metallic honey with grassy or hay-like notes, while its taste has also been noted as hay-like and sweet. Saffron also contributes a luminous yellow-orange colouring to foods. Saffron is widely used in Persian, Indian, European, and Arab cuisines. Confectioneries and liquors also often include saffron. Saffron is used in dishes ranging from the jewelled rice and khoresh of Iran, the Milanese risotto of Italy, the paella of Spain, the bouillabaisse of France, to the biryani with various meat accompaniments in South Asia. One of the most esteemed use for saffron is in the preparation of the Golden Ham, a precious dry-cured ham made with saffron from San Gimignano. Common saffron substitutes include safflower (Carthamus tinctorius, which is often sold as "Portuguese saffron" or "açafrão"), annatto, and turmeric (Curcuma longa).

Saffron has a long history of use in traditional medicine. Saffron has also been used as a fabric dye, particularly in China and India, and in perfumery. It is used for religious purposes in India.

Nutrition 
Dried saffron is 65% carbohydrates, 6% fat, 11% protein (table) and 12% water. In one tablespoon (2 grams; a quantity much larger than is likely to be ingested in normal use) manganese is present as 29% of the Daily Value, while other micronutrients have negligible content (table).

Research 
Genes and transcription factors involved in the pathway for carotenoid synthesis responsible for the colour, flavour and aroma of saffron were under study in 2017.

Saffron constituents, such as crocin, crocetin, and safranal, were under preliminary research for their potential to affect mental depression.

History 
left|thumb|A detail from the "Saffron Gatherers" fresco of the "Xeste 3" building. It is one of many depicting saffron; they were found at the Bronze Age settlement of Akrotiri, on the Aegean island of Santorini.
Some doubts remain on the origin of saffron, but it is believed that saffron originated in Iran. However, Greece and Mesopotamia have also been suggested as the possible region of origin of this plant. C. sativus is possibly a triploid form of Crocus cartwrightianus. Saffron crocus slowly propagated throughout much of Eurasia and was later brought to parts of North Africa, North America, and Oceania.

Saffron was detailed in a 7th-century BC Assyrian botanical reference compiled under Ashurbanipal. Documentation of saffron's use over the span of 3,500 years has been uncovered. Saffron-based pigments have indeed been found in 50,000-year-old depictions of prehistoric places in northwest Iran. The Sumerians later used wild-growing saffron in their remedies and magical potions. Saffron was an article of long-distance trade before the Minoan palace culture's 2nd millennium BC peak. Ancient Persians cultivated Persian saffron (Crocus sativus 'Hausknechtii') in Derbent, Isfahan, and Khorasan by the 10th century BC. At such sites, saffron threads were woven into textiles, ritually offered to divinities, and used in dyes, perfumes, medicines, and body washes. Saffron threads would thus be scattered across beds and mixed into hot teas as a curative for bouts of melancholy. Non-Persians also feared the Persians' usage of saffron as a drugging agent and aphrodisiac. During his Asian campaigns, Alexander the Great used Persian saffron in his infusions, rice, and baths as a curative for battle wounds. Alexander's troops imitated the practice from the Persians and brought saffron-bathing to Greece.

South Asia 
right|thumb|Buddhist adepts wearing saffron-coloured robes, pray in the Hundred Dragons Hall, Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, Singapore.
Conflicting theories explain saffron's arrival in South Asia. Kashmiri and Chinese accounts date its arrival anywhere between 2500 and 900 years ago. Historians studying ancient Persian records date the arrival to sometime prior to 500 BC, attributing it to a Persian transplantation of saffron corms to stock new gardens and parks. Phoenicians then marketed Kashmiri saffron as a dye and a treatment for melancholy. Its use in foods and dyes subsequently spread throughout South Asia. Buddhist monks wear saffron-coloured robes; however, the robes are not dyed with costly saffron but turmeric, a less expensive dye, or jackfruit. Monks' robes are dyed the same colour to show equality with each other, and turmeric or ochre were the cheapest, most readily available dyes. Gamboge is now used to dye the robes.

East Asia 
Some historians believe that saffron came to China with Mongol invaders from Persia. Yet saffron is mentioned in ancient Chinese medical texts, including the forty-volume Shennong Bencaojing, a pharmacopoeia written around 300–200 BC. Traditionally credited to the legendary Yan Emperor and the deity Shennong, it discusses 252 plant-based medical treatments for various disorders. Nevertheless, around the 3rd century AD, the Chinese were referring to saffron as having a Kashmiri provenance. According to the herbalist Wan Zhen, "the habitat of saffron is in Kashmir, where people grow it principally to offer it to the Buddha." Wan also reflected on how it was used in his time: "The 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."

South East Mediterranean 
The Minoans portrayed saffron in their palace frescoes by 1600–1500 BC; they hint at its possible use as a therapeutic drug. Ancient Greek legends told of sea voyages to Cilicia, where adventurers sought what they believed were the world's most valuable threads. Another legend tells of Crocus and Smilax, whereby Crocus is bewitched and transformed into the first saffron crocus. Ancient perfumers in Egypt, physicians in Gaza, townspeople in Rhodes, and the Greek hetaerae courtesans used saffron in their scented waters, perfumes and potpourris, mascaras and ointments, divine offerings, and medical treatments.

In late Ptolemaic Egypt, Cleopatra used saffron in her baths so that lovemaking would be more pleasurable. Egyptian healers used saffron as a treatment for all varieties of gastrointestinal ailments. Saffron was also used as a fabric dye in such Levantine cities as Sidon and Tyre in Lebanon. Aulus Cornelius Celsus prescribes saffron in medicines for wounds, cough, colic, and scabies, and in the mithridatium.

Western Europe 
right|thumb|Preserved "Safran", Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Karlsruhe, Germany
Saffron was a notable ingredient in certain Roman recipes such as jusselle and conditum. Such was the Romans' love of saffron that Roman colonists took it with them when they settled in southern Gaul, where it was extensively cultivated until Rome's fall. With this fall, European saffron cultivation plummeted. Competing theories state that saffron only returned to France with 8th-century AD Moors or with the Avignon papacy in the 14th century AD. Similarly, the spread of Islamic civilisation may have helped reintroduce the crop to Spain and Italy.

The 14th-century Black Death caused demand for saffron-based medicaments to peak, and Europe imported large quantities of threads via Venetian and Genoan ships from southern and Mediterranean lands such as Rhodes. The theft of one such shipment by noblemen sparked the fourteen-week-long Saffron War. The conflict and resulting fear of rampant saffron piracy spurred corm cultivation in Basel; it thereby grew prosperous. The crop then spread to Nuremberg, where endemic and insalubrious adulteration brought on the Safranschou code—whereby culprits were variously fined, imprisoned, and executed. Meanwhile, cultivation continued in southern France, Italy, and Spain.

The Essex town of Saffron Walden, named for its new specialty crop, emerged as a prime saffron growing and trading centre in the 16th and 17th centuries but cultivation there was abandoned; saffron was re-introduced around 2013 as well as other parts of the UK (Cheshire).

Europeans introduced saffron to the Americas when immigrant members of the Schwenkfelder Church left Europe with a trunk containing its corms. Church members had grown it widely in Europe. By 1730, the Pennsylvania Dutch cultivated saffron throughout eastern Pennsylvania. Spanish colonies in the Caribbean bought large amounts of this new American saffron, and high demand ensured that saffron's list price on the Philadelphia commodities exchange was equal to gold. Trade with the Caribbean later collapsed in the aftermath of the War of 1812, when many saffron-bearing merchant vessels were destroyed. Yet the Pennsylvania Dutch continued to grow lesser amounts of saffron for local trade and use in their cakes, noodles, and chicken or trout dishes. American saffron cultivation survives into modern times, mainly in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

References

Bibliography 
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