Parts Most Frequently Used: Dried Style and Whole Stigma

Flavors/Temps: Sweet, Cold

Caution: Considered safe, but use cautiously if using blood thinning medications as saffron prevents blood clotting.

Key Constituents: Picrocrocin, Safranal, Carotenoid pigment crocin. Carotenoids(including Zeaxanthin, Lycopene, and various Carotenes), Vitamin B2, Riboflavin, Crocin.

History/Folklore: Saffron’s dried styles and stigmas are called threads. They have a hay-like fragrance, and the pigments impart a golden-yellowish tint to foods and textiles. The history of the thread is recorded in the 7th century BC Assyrian botanical treatises. It has been traded and used as a culinary spice, dye, and medicine for over four thousand years.

The Sumerians used wild-growing saffron in their remedies and magical potions. The Persians wove saffron into textiles that were ritually offered to their gods. They used saffron in dyes, perfumes, medicines, and body washes. Saffron threads would be tossed over a bed and mixed into hot teas to cure melancholy. Non-Persians feared their use of saffron as a drugging agent and aphrodisiac.

Alexander the Great used saffron infusions in his rice and added it to baths to cure battle wounds. His army brought these Persian uses of saffron back to Greece with them.

The Minoans showed saffron in their palace murals by 1600-1500 BC. Ancient Egyptians and Greeks used saffron in scented waters, perfumes, and potpourris in court. They also used it as divine offerings and as medicine.

The Romans loved saffron and brought it with them when they conquered and settled in Southern Gaul, European production of saffron fell after the fall of Rome but it is said to have been brought back to France with the spread of Islam into Spain and Italy. The Black Death plague incited a spike in saffron usage to counter the disease. The theft of a shipment of Saffron in the Southern Mediterranean caused the fourteen-week-long Saffron War.

Chinese and Kashmiri accounts date the arrival of saffron into South Asia between 2500-900 years ago. Buddhist monks wear saffron-colored robes. The robes are not dyed with expensive saffron, but rather with turmeric or ochre, which are cheaper dyes.

Saffron is mentioned in the Chinese medical text, “Shennong’s Great Herbal,” which dates from 300-200 BC. By the 3rd Century A.D. saffron was referred to as being from Kashmir, where it was to be grown as offerings to Buddha. Buddhist monks wear saffron-colored robes symbolizing their commitment to spirituality, purity, and asceticism. Saffron is the color of the sun and an excellent steadfast dye. It is sometimes called the sunshine spice.

The dye also represents the spiritual concept of conjunction, which means integrating various elements to create a harmonious whole. The color represents renunciation. The Theravada monks, the oldest school of Buddhism, used saffron because it was readily available.
The color was said to represent illumination and a state of perfection. It was the color worn by Buddha. Several other sects also wear the saffron color for similar reasons.

Saffron is used in the food industry and in medicines for its color.

Saffron was brought to England around 1350, most likely to be cultivated in monastic medical gardens.

Saffron was brought to America by colonists around 1730 where the Pennsylvania Dutch cultivated it throughout Eastern Pennsylvania.

Iran accounts for 90% of the world’s saffron production. Persian is the first language in which saffron is referenced as a culinary spice.

Saffron contains 150 volatile oils and many carotenoid compounds. Picrocrocin is a bitter compound responsible for saffron’s flavor and its insecticidal and pesticidal properties. As saffron is dried in the heat, enzymatic actions split picrocrocin, yielding two compounds including safranal, the volatile oil that gives saffron its aroma.

Saffron is divided into grades based on quality and age. Those with only the red tips are the strongest. Red with some yellow is the next strongest grade, also called “bunch” saffron. Yellow saffron will have an aroma but no dying ability.

Spanish-grown saffron labeled La Manch is a protected status confirming the saffron is from a particular area in Spain. It may be either a general grade or of a very high quality.

Italian saffron varieties are said to be slightly more potent than the Spanish, with the most intense varieties coming from Iran.

“Aquila” saffron is grown exclusively on eight hectares of land in Italy’s Abruzzo region. It was brought to Italy by a Dominican monk from inquisition-era Spain. Sardinia grows 60% of Italy’s saffron.

Soaking saffron in milk, broth, or warm water before use helps bring out the herb’s potency. The herb has various uses but is most known for treating depression, helping skin disorders, reducing fevers, and as an anti-inflammatory. Saffron increases dopamine in the brain without changing hormone levels, such as serotonin, helping to lift the spirit and calm anxiety. Studies also show it has significant liver-protecting properties that can help counteract the impact of potentially toxic drugs.

Saffron has been found to improve eyesight, especially in adults with age-related macular degeneration conditions.

Saffron has an earthy, floral scent with a slightly sweet grassy quality that blends well in many dishes, especially rice. Iranian saffron is so potent that you can open a container and smell it across the room!

Culpeper recommended it for “fainting fits and palpitations of the heart”. He called it the “herb of the sun” or “the lion herb” because it strengthened the heart.

Confectioners and liquors use saffron for its taste and color.