American saffron?

[JohnL]

While shopping at Wegmanns, I came upon american saffron in the spice section. Has anyone here tried this product? If so, how does it compare to spanish saffron? It was really inexpensive, I guess I should have tried it.
Thanks,
John.

 

[Michael in FtW]

"American Saffron" - aka "False Saffron" is just Safflower - a thistle. Doesn't taste like the real thing. It gives you the color, but not the real flavor. Other "make believe" saffron substitutes include turmeric, marigold blossoms, and annatto seeds.

Real saffron is the stigmas from crocus sativus flowers.

I did find a site that gave a substitution formula: "use 8 times as much; less expensive and imparts similar color, but taste is decidedly inferior."

 

[Claire]

My reaction was the same as MFtW's ... My MIL used to grow saflower and send it to me, and it was great for giving that color to dishes. But if you're looking for that unique, earthy flavor, it won't come from saflower. That said, there's nothing wrong with cooking with safflower. It is pretty. It just isn't the same thing.

 

[Claire]

One thing that burns my patootie is that once upon a time, many years ago (less than ten) I actually got a seed catalog that was selling saffron crocus bulbs. I tried to figure out if they'd live in the environment where I was at the time. Decided that they wouldn't work. But now you can't even buy them.

 

[JohnL]

Thank's for the info, I'm glad I asked first.
Gee, that's almost like false advertising calling it saffron.
Guess I'll try Trader Joes to see if they have the real thing.
Mike, I've used tumeric many times for yellow rice. It does give it a nice color, but your right, it's a poor substitute.
Claire, you've got me curious about those bulbs. Crocus do grow in my area, but I wonder if the saffron species would?

 

[Ishbel]

If you KNEW just how many crocus stamens you'd need to get any worthwhile amount of saffron

 

[Claire]

I wonder that myself (Claire is Roy, BTW, I am one and the same, just was having log-in problems so changed my name!). I live in northwest Illinois now, and crocus are here everywhere. At the time I found the bulbs in a catalog (it was Park Seed, many years ago), I lived on the central Florida coast and there were no crocus, so I wasn't willing to spend the $$$$ on the experiment. Now if I ever find a source again I'll try it. I haven't seen the bulbs in any of my seed catalogs since I moved here.

You can pretty much take it to the bank: If it isn't expensive, it isn't real saffron. Ounce for ounce, saffron is the most expensive comodity in the world. I personally don't buy it very often, don't think the flavor is worth the expense except in certain dishes. Then I buy just what I need (paella is pretty much it for me) because I don't think it has much of a shelf life (another reason not to buy it when it looks inexpensive -- it's probably too old). If you find bulbs, let us know!

 

[Claire]

Ishbel, I suspect that if we grew our own saffron, in my yard, I could probably get enough to make one dish a year from it! And that's assuming I actually got my fanny out there to harvest it at the right time! But it would be fun to try.

 

[GB]

Ounce for ounce, saffron is the most expensive comodity in the world.

I am not sure this is true. I know saffron is the most expensive spice, but you can get an ounce of saffron through Penzys for between $140 and $240. I am pretty sure that an ounce of gold is going for a lot more than that right now.

Saffron is so expensive because it takes so many stamin to make up a substantial amount. They also have to be hand picked. Talk about a lot of labor!

 

[Claire]

You're probably right; I probably heard that urban myth years ago, maybe it was never true, maybe the price of gold was down, and maybe saffron isn't as expensive as it used to be. Mea culpa for repeating a quote without researching.

 

[Yakuta]

GB 140-240 an ounce seems really high. I buy a lot of saffron. I can't remember when I ever ran out of it. Yes it's expensive but not that expensive. I am not debating the quality of Penzy's but I prefer to buy spices using my local mom and pop shops (Indian that is and even Chinese and Thai for that matter). I can smell spices, they are packaged nicely and they are so clean and of really good quality yet at affordable price. So I would say if you have the luxury of living in a city where there are ethnic neighbourhoods or stores, check them out and you will be surprised at what you find.

I buy a large tin container of saffron (sealed and very nicely packaged and it is from Spain) for around 50 dollars. I am not sure how many ounces ( I will check and report back). I suspect it has to do with Indian stores purchasing this in large volumes. We use saffron for almost all of our dishes. Rice pulaus, curries, most of our sweet confectionaries, desserts and even icecreams have saffron in it.

 

[Andy M.]

I agree with Yakuta. I have also found that herbs and spices are less expensive in small ethnic markets. Not just saffron, but just about everything I've had the chance to compare. I'm not sure why that is. I don't think it's a volume purchase thing.

 

[Michael in FtW]

If you Google on crocus sativus you'll find several sources for information and bulbs.

The Brooklyn Botanical Garden has some inseresting info on their page about saffron crocus including some info on growing conditions, etc.

One flower only produces 3 strands of saffron.