Welcome to the Celtnet Spice Guide. As this site has grown and many more recipes have been added it's become evident that a guide to the various herbs available to the cook is necessary. With spices becoming more commonly available and more exotic spices becoming available from all over the world it has become evident that some kind of guide or introduction to spices is necessary. These pages are an attempt at bringing all the various culinary spices together into one place so that you can see what's available and perhaps find something new to use in your own cooking. To use this Spice Guide simply click on the first letter of the herb name above or below. Alternativey why not just browse through the guide. All the spices given here, whether common or rare, can be obtained via your local supermarket (or more often via your local Asian supermarket) or via a specialist spice distributor.

This is the description page for Saffron (Crocus sativus) and includes a description as well as an image, if available and a selection of recipes from this site that relates to the herb: Saffron.

Saffron is a spice derived from the saffron crocus Crocus sativus, members of the Iridaceae (Iris) family. The flower itself has three red stigmas (right-hand image) that are the distal ends of the plant's carpels. Together with its style (the stalk that connects the stigmas to the remainder of the plant) these components are often dried and used in cooking as a seasoning and colouring agent. Saffron is native to Southwestern Asia, where its wild precursor Crocus cartwrightianus still grows. Some 3000 years ago it seems that a sterile mutant of this plant, Crocus sativus, emerged in late Bronze Age Crete. This had bright red stigmas that extended outside the flower and it was used as a spice and a dye. As a result, the saffron crocus entered cultivation (indeed, saffron crocus, being sterile can only be propagated with the aid of humans.

Saffron has been used as a spice and medicine in the Mediterranean region since then, with usage and cultivation slowly spreading to other parts of Eurasia as well as North Africa and North America. In the last several decades, saffron cultivation has spread to Oceania, with small-scale cultivation now in New Zealand.

In Europe, saffron cultivation declined steeply following the Roman Empire's fall. Saffron was reintroduced when Moorish civilization spread to Spain, France, and Italy. During the 14th century Black Death, demand for saffron-based medicine skyrocketed, and considerable quantities of saffron had to be imported via Venetian and Genoan ships from southern and Mediterranean lands such as Rhodes. Fear of piracy and the loss of saffron imports led to the crocus being gown in Northern Europe, first in Basel and then Nuremberg and finally in England.

Saffron's aroma is often described by connoisseurs as reminiscent of metallic honey with grassy or hay-like notes, while its taste has been noted also as hay-like and yet somewhat bitter. Saffron also contributes a luminous yellow-orange colouring to foods. Because of the unusual taste and colouring it adds to foods, saffron is widely used in Arab, Central Asian, European, Indian, Iranian, and Moroccan cuisines it is also a crucial ingredient in any authentic paella. Confectionaries and liquors also often include saffron. Saffron remains the most expensive spice (by weight), mostly as it requires about 60 000 flowers to produce 0.5kg of the spice and about forty hours of frenetic day-and-night labour are needed to pick 150,000 flowers. Saffron grows well in all climates, from temperate to tropical and you can create a small crop even in your own garden and as an autumn flowerer it makes a colourful addition to any garden.

As a spice, saffron is very distinctive, it has a pungent aroma with a floral note that is somewhat reminiscent of iodoform. The taste is floral but slightly bitter, however this bitterness does not impart significantly when used in food. The best way to use saffron is to crumble the threads into a glass of warm water. The saffron then imparts a distinctive bright yellow-orange colour and its distinctive flavour to the water. The entire solution should then be added to the food to be cooked.

Saffron's intense colour is caused by carotenoid pigments (α- and β-carotene, lycopin and zea­xanthin) and its staining ability is caused by crocetine esters, with crocin, a diester of crocin with gentobiose, being saffron's single most important pigment. The scent of saffron is caused by terpene aldehydes and ketones, with safranal (2,6,6-trimethyl 1,3-cyclo­hexadiene-1-carbaldehyde) being the single most abundant constituent of the essential oil, with 2-hydroxy 4,4,6-trimethyl 2,5-cyclo­hexadien-1-one also being an important olfactory component. The spice's bitter taste is caused by the present of picrocrocin (4-hydroxy 2,4,4-trimethyl 1-cyclohexene-1-carboxaldehyde) which is a glucoside of an alcohol that's structuraly related to safranal.

The name, saffron, comes from the Arabic az-za'fran [‫الزعفران‬]. Iran, today, is the world's largest producer, followed by Spain and then Turkey and India. In contemporary European cookery, saffron is only used in Mediterranean cuisines, but it plays a much more important rôle in the foods of Central Asia and Northern India (where it is used extensively in rice dishes).

It should be noted that saffron is toxic in high quantities (but amounts of 5g or more need to be consumed before any real harm is done. As a result, due to the high cost of the spice and the limited amounts used in cookery accidental poisoning due to saffron is extremely unlikely.