Saffron
Cultivation, harvest and drying process
Uses
How to use
Classification of saffron
Iranian saffron
Our saffron offering
Our saffron offering: in pictures

Saffron

Saffron is the most precious and expensive spice in the world. The saffron threads are the dried stigmas of the saffron flower, Crocus Sativus Linneaus. Each flower contains only three stigmas. These threads must be picked from each flower by hand, and approximately 170,000 of these flowers are needed to produce 1kg of saffron filaments, making it the world's most precious spice.

Saffron is used both for its bright orange-yellow colour and for its strong, intense flavour and aroma. Saffron is available both in threads and powder. Legitimate powdered saffron is red-orange and is made by grinding saffron stigmas.

For thousands of years saffron has been linked to beauty, elegance and good taste. Saffron is unique among spices. It has an aroma and flavour that cannot be duplicated, either naturally or artificially.

Cultivation, harvest and drying process

Harvesting and separating stigmas is very time consuming and extremely labour intensive. It takes approximately 370-470 hours of work to produce 1 kg of dried saffron threads.

The harvest period is traditionally from late September to late December. The stigmas are collected and placed in shade in a warm and dried room for five to seven days in order to dry.

Drying is the most important part of the saffron process. The drying process activates the chemical compounds, which release aroma, colour and flavour. It is a delicate procedure and requires skill, great care and experience. If the crocus is dried properly it retains its distinctive properties, namely colour and aroma.

Uses

Saffron has been used over the centuries as a natural colouring and aromatic in food, pastries and drinks. Even though saffron stigmas are red, their dye is the colour of egg yolks. It is used in Mediterranean and Asian dishes particularly rice, chicken and fishes, e.g. Indian pilaus, saffron risotto, paella, bouillabaisse. It is also used in the preparation of special kinds of English, Scandinavian and Balkan breads. Other uses include saffron ice cream or as a flavouring in alcoholic drinks (e.g. vodka). In general, saffron can be used as an important ingredient of any custom of cooking from fine dining to use in the household kitchen, with no limitations in its use.

How to use

Crush and soak saffron to release its flavour. The best way to extract flavour from saffron is to soak the threads in hot (not boiling) liquid for 5-20 minutes then add both the saffron and the liquid to the recipe.

Because of its intense flavour and strong dying properties, very little saffron is required for culinary purposes and the key is to distribute it evenly throughout the dish. Powdered saffron is added directly to the required ingredients of the dish.

Saffron should be stored away from moisture and light. Kept this way, it has a shelf life of many years.

Classification of saffron

The colouring strength of the saffron is influenced by the proportion of red stigmas compared to the yellow or white parts of the flower (known as the style). More yellow or white parts imply greater floral waste and therefore lower colouring strength. This translates into lower quality saffron with less flavour and aroma. In addition, there is more deadweight associated with these lower quality saffron grades as the style has no culinary value. Therefore less yellow and more red implies a higher quality of saffron.

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has set a classification for saffron in terms of minimum requirements for each grade of saffron. This ISO 3632 classification is the only method used internationally to measure saffron's worth. It stipulates that the minimum colouring strength for Category I saffron is 190.

The highest quality Iranian saffron is known as “Sargol” (literally translated as “top of flower”). The equivalent Spanish name is “Coupe.” This contains only the pure red stigmas of the saffron plant and therefore captures all of the aroma, flavour and dye. The Sargol saffron is cut and separated from the style prior to the drying process. This enables it to retain its pure red colour and results in a colouring index range of 220 to 250. Our top grade Sargol has a colouring index of approximately 250.

“Pushal” grade (or La Mancha ) saffron is not cut like Sargol and therefore contains more yellow parts from the style of the plant and higher floral waste. This results in a slightly lower colouring strength of approximately 220.

The lower grade saffron contains a higher proportion of yellow parts as the whole filament comprising the yellow style and the red stigmas are included. Consequently the colouring strength for this grade is the lower than the other two grades.

Iranian saffron

Iran is the biggest worldwide producer of saffron in terms of volume and quality. In 2002, Iran produced 173 tons of saffron, over 80% of the world’s total of 210 tons. Other large producers of saffron include Greece and India.

Iran exported around 90 tons of saffron according to the latest available figures. Most of this was exported to Spain and to a lesser extent, the UAE and Turkmenistan where the Iranian saffron is re-branded and re-exported worldwide. Trade statistics, therefore, give a vastly inflated and misleading impression of the volume of Spanish production and so contrary to popular belief, Spain is not the biggest producer of saffron.

The main saffron cultivation areas in Iran are in the eastern and north-eastern parts of the country. The Khorasan Province regions have managed to achieve an excellent reputation for the production and export of saffron over the years. Some 90% of saffron production in Iran is obtained from the Khorasan Province. The Ghaenat region in this province is well known for its quality saffron.

Our saffron offering

We offer saffron in all grades ranging from the highest grade “Sargol” to the standard grades which include the equivalent of La Mancha grade; these are available in both thread and powder form. We supply saffron in bulk form (i.e. 1kg tins) and in various pack sizes (1g, 2g, 4g, 8g and 25g).

We also offer different forms of labelling ranging from a basic sticker to gold embossing to a colour label.

In addition, we have recently launched new and innovative containers designed for the retail, deli and hamper sectors.

Examples and pictures of our packaging can be seen by clicking on the links above.

Our Iranian saffron supplier was established in 1962 as a private company for the production and distribution of high quality saffron. It established itself as a leading producer of saffron in Iran where it supplies approximately 18-20% of total saffron production. It also exports approximately 10-12 tons to various parts of the world.

In November 2002, our supplier inaugurated its new factory with modern production facilities and equipment to become the first Systematic Plant with capabilities of managing the entire process from cultivation to final packaging using its own private farmlands in Ghaen, a region in NE Iran.

We are able to provide photospectometry chemical laboratory reports upon request for each shipment. Our supplier has also made significant investments into its R&D department that enables the farmers to use the most modern and efficient methods to cultivate, sort and dry the saffron to the ISO standards.

The quality of our saffron offering is evident by the rapid success that we have enjoyed in selling our “Sargol” saffron to a number of leading restaurants in London including Moro, Mirabelle, Fifteen, Zaika, Chutney Mary and Tamarind and also in the positive feedback that we have received from several leading chefs (see Testimonials). We supply over 30 top London restaurants and hotels as well as a number of wholesale and retail clients.

We would be delighted to discuss opportunities to supply our high quality saffron with organisations from the wholesale, retail and catering sectors. Please contact us.

Our saffron offering: in pictures

Retail & Wholesale 1g range (Top Grade)	1g Box with Basic Sticker (Top Grade)	1g Box with Colour Label & Bar Code (Top Grade)
	1g Box with Engraving
New 'Cosmetic' Containers with Design Label & Bar Code (Top Grade)
2g Box (Top Grade)	4g Box (Top Grade)	8g Box (Top Grade)
	25g Box (Top Grade)
Catering & Wholesale Products (Top Grade)

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