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Trade and usage of saffron

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Plants

   Saffron crocuses flowering in a garden in Osaka Prefecture (大阪府),
   Kansai, Honshu Island, Japan.
   Enlarge
   Saffron crocuses flowering in a garden in Osaka Prefecture (大阪府),
   Kansai, Honshu Island, Japan.

   The trade and usage of saffron reaches back more than 3,000 years and
   includes marketing for medicinal, culinary, and colourative
   applications. Saffron, a spice derived from the dried stigmas of the
   saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), has remained among history's most
   costly comestibles. With its bitter taste, hay-like fragrance, and
   slight metallic notes, saffron has been used as a seasoning, fragrance,
   dye, and medicine. Saffron is native to Southwest Asia, but was first
   cultivated in Greece.

   In both antiquity and modern times, most saffron was and is used in the
   preparation of food and drink: cultures spread across Africa, Asia,
   Europe, and the Americas value the red threads for use in such items as
   baked goods, curries, and liquor. Medicinally, saffron was used in
   ancient times to cure a wide range of ailments, including stomach
   upsets, bubonic plague, and smallpox; in modern times clinical trials
   have shown saffron's potential as an anticancer and anti-aging agent.
   Lastly, saffron has been used to colour textiles and other items, many
   of which carry a religious or hierarchical significance.

   Saffron cultivation — as in ancient times — predominantly centres on a
   broad belt of Eurasia bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in the
   south-west to Kashmir and China in the north-east. Thus, the major
   saffron producers of antiquity — Iran, Spain, India, and Greece —
   continue to dominate the world trade. In recent decades cultivation has
   also spread to New Zealand, Tasmania, and California.

Modern trade

                World saffron cultivation patterns
            A map showing the primary saffron-producing nations.

            A map showing the primary saffron-producing nations.

    —  Major growing regions.
    —  Major producing nations.
    —  Minor growing regions.
    —  Minor producing nations.
    —  Major trading centers (current).
    —  Major trading centers (historical).

   Virtually all saffron is produced in a wide geographical belt extending
   from the Mediterranean in the west to Kashmir in the east. All
   continents outside this zone — except Antarctica — produce smaller
   amounts. Annual worldwide production amounts to some 300 tonnes,
   including whole threads and powder. This includes 50 tonnes of annual
   production of top-grade "coupe" saffron in 1991. Iran, Spain, India,
   Greece, Azerbaijan, Morocco, and Italy (in decreasing order of
   production) dominate the world saffron harvest, with Iran and Spain
   alone producing 80% of the world crop. According to one source, Iran
   accounts for 96% of world production. Despite numerous cultivation
   efforts in such countries as Austria, England, Germany, and
   Switzerland, only select locales continue the harvest in Northern and
   Central Europe. Among these is the small Swiss village of Mund, in the
   Valais canton, whose annual saffron output comes to several kilograms.
   Micro-scale cultivation also occurs in Australia (in Tasmania), China,
   Egypt, France, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Turkey (particularly in the
   region surrounding Safranbolu, a city that took its name from saffron),
   the United States (especially in California and disproportionately by
   Iranian Americans) and Central Africa.

   The high cost of saffron is due to the difficulty of manually
   extracting large numbers of minute stigmas; the only part of the crocus
   with the desired properties of aroma and flavour. In addition, a large
   number of flowers need to be processed in order to yield marketable
   amounts of saffron. A pound of dry saffron (0.45 kg) requires the
   harvesting of some 50,000 flowers, the equivalent of a football field's
   area of cultivation. By another estimate some 75,000 flowers are needed
   to produce one pound of dry saffron. This too depends on the average
   size of each saffron cultivar's stigmas. Another complication arises in
   the flowers' simultaneous and transient blooming. Since some 150,000
   crocus flowers are needed to produce just one kg of dry saffron, about
   forty hours of intense labour, harvesting is often a frenetic affair.
   In Kashmir, for example, the thousands of growers must work
   continuously in relays over the span of one or two weeks throughout
   both day and night.
   A saffron crocus flower.
   Enlarge
   A saffron crocus flower.

   After they are extracted, the stigmas must be dried quickly, lest
   decomposition or mould ruin the batch's marketability. The traditional
   method of drying involves spreading the fresh stigmas over screens of
   fine mesh, which are then baked over hot coals or wood or in
   oven-heated rooms with temperatures reaching 30–35 °C for 10–12 hours.
   Afterwards, the dried spice is preferably sealed in airtight glass
   containers. Bulk quantities of relatively lower-grade saffron can reach
   upwards of US$500/pound, while retail costs for small amounts may
   exceed 10 times that rate. In Western countries the average retail
   price is approximately $1,000 per pound, however. The high price is
   somewhat offset by the small quantities needed: a few grams at most in
   medicinal use and a few strands per person in culinary applications;
   there are between 70,000 and 200,000 strands in a pound.

   Experienced saffron buyers often have rules of thumb when deliberating
   on their purchases. They may look for threads exhibiting a vivid
   crimson colouring, slight moistness, and elasticity. Meanwhile, they
   reject threads displaying telltale dull brick red colouring (indicative
   of age) and broken-off debris collected at the container's bottom
   (indicative of age-related brittle dryness). Such aged samples are most
   likely encountered around the main June harvest season, when retailers
   attempt to clear out the previous season's old inventory and make room
   for the new season’s crop. Indeed, experienced buyers recommend that
   only the current season's threads should be used at all. Thus,
   reputable saffron wholesalers and retailers will indicate the year of
   harvest or the two years that bracket the harvest date; a late 2002
   harvest would be shown as "2002/2003".

Culinary use

   Saffron is one of the three essential ingredients in the Spanish paella
   valenciana, and is responsible for its characteristic brilliant yellow
   colouring.
   Enlarge
   Saffron is one of the three essential ingredients in the Spanish paella
   valenciana, and is responsible for its characteristic brilliant yellow
   colouring.

   Saffron is used extensively in Arab, Central Asian, European, Indian,
   Iranian, and Moroccan cuisines. Its aroma is described by cooking
   experts and saffronologists as resembling that of honey, with grassy,
   hay-like, and metallic notes. Saffron's taste is like that of hay, but
   with hints of bitterness. Saffron also contributes a luminous
   yellow-orange colouring to items it is soaked with. For these traits
   saffron is used in baked goods, cheeses, confectionaries, curries,
   liquors, meat dishes, and soups. Saffron is used in India, Iran, Spain,
   and other countries as a condiment for rice. In the cuisine of Spain,
   it is used in many famous dishes such as paella valenciana, which is a
   spicy rice-meat preparation, and the zarvela fish stews. It is also
   used in fabada asturiana. Elsewhere, saffron is needed in the French
   bouillabaisse, which is a spicy fish stew from Marseilles, the Italian
   risotto alla milanese and the Cornish Saffron Cake.

   Iranians use saffron in their national dish, chelow kabab, while Uzbeks
   use it in a special rice dish known as a "wedding plov" (cf. pilaf).
   Moroccans use it in their tajine-prepared dishes, including kefta (
   meatballs with tomato) , mqualli (a citron-chicken dish), and mrouzia
   (succulent lamb dressed with plums and almonds). Saffron is also
   central in chermoula herb mixture, which flavours many Moroccan dishes.
   Indian cuisine uses saffron in its biryanis, which are spicy
   rice-vegetable dishes. (An example is the Pakki variety of Hyderabadi
   biryani.) It is also used in Indian milk-based sweets such as gulab
   jamun, kulfi, double ka meetha, and "saffron lassi", which is a spicy
   Jodhpuri yogurt-based drink.

   Because of its high cost, saffron was often replaced by or diluted with
   safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) or turmeric (Curcuma longa) in
   cuisine. Both mimic saffron's colour well, but have flavours very
   different from that of saffron. Saffron is also used in the
   confectionery and liquor industries; this is its most common use in
   Italy. Chartreuse, gin, izarra, and strega are types of alcoholic
   beverages that rely on saffron to provide a flourish of colour and
   flavour.
   Italian risotto traditionally relies on the high α–crocin content of
   saffron threads to give the dish a warm golden-yellow hue.
   Enlarge
   Italian risotto traditionally relies on the high α–crocin content of
   saffron threads to give the dish a warm golden-yellow hue.

   Experienced saffron users often crumble and pre-soak threads for
   several minutes prior to adding them to their dishes. For example, they
   may toss threads into water or sherry and leave them to soak for
   approximately ten minutes. This process extracts the threads' colour
   and flavour into the liquid phase; powdered saffron does not require
   this step. Afterward, the soaking solution is added to the hot and
   cooking dish. This allows even distribution of saffron's colour and
   flavour throughout a dish, and is important when preparing baked goods
   or thick sauces.

Medicinal use

   Saffron's traditional folkloric uses as an herbal medicine are legion.
   It has been used for its carminative and emmenagogic properties, for
   example. Medieval Europeans used saffron to treat respiratory
   infections and disorders such as coughs and common colds, scarlet
   fever, smallpox, cancer, hypoxia, and asthma. Other targets included
   blood disorders, insomnia, paralysis, heart diseases, flatulence,
   stomach upsets and disorders, gout, chronic uterine haemorrhage,
   dysmorrhea, amenorrhea (absence of menstrual period), baby colic, and
   eye disorders. For ancient Persians and Egyptians, saffron was also an
   aphrodisiac, a general-use antidote against poisoning, a digestive
   stimulant, and a tonic for dysentery and measles. In Europe
   practitioners of the archaic "Doctrine of Signatures" took saffron's
   yellowish hue as a sign of its supposed curative properties against
   jaundice.

   Saffron's carotenoids have been shown in scientific studies to have
   anticarcinogenic (cancer-suppressing), anti-mutagenic
   (mutation-preventing), and immuno-modulating properties. The active
   ingredient behind these effects has been identified as
   dimethyl-crocetin. This compound counters a wide spectrum of both
   murine (rodent) tumours as well as human leukaemia cancer cell lines.
   Saffron extract also delays ascites tumour growth, delays papilloma
   carcinogenesis, inhibited squamous cell carcinoma, and decreases the
   incidence of soft tissue sarcoma in treated mice. Researchers theorise
   that such anticancer activity can be best attributed to
   dimethyl-crocetin's disruption of the DNA-binding ability of proteins,
   as shown in Thymidine-uptake studies. Specifically, the DNA-binding
   ability of enzymes known as type II topoisomerases within cancer cells
   is inhibited. Thus, the malignant cells are unable to synthesize or
   replicate their own DNA.
   A saffron crocus flower.
   Enlarge
   A saffron crocus flower.

   Saffron's pharmacological effects on malignant tumours have been
   documented in studies done both in vitro and in vivo. For example,
   saffron extends the lives of mice that are intraperitoneally
   impregnated with transplanted sarcomas, namely, samples of S-180,
   Dalton's lymphoma ascites (DLA), and Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC)
   tumours. Researchers followed this by orally administering 200 mg of
   saffron extract per each kg of mouse body weight. As a result the life
   spans of the tumour-bearing mice were extended to 111.0%, 83.5%, and
   112.5%, respectively, in relation to baseline spans. Researchers also
   discovered that saffron extract exhibits cytotoxicity in relation to
   DLA, EAC, P38B, and S-180 tumour cell lines cultured in vitro. Thus,
   saffron has shown promise as a new and alternative treatment for a
   variety of cancers.

   Besides wound-healing and anticancer properties, saffron is also an
   antioxidant. This means that, as an "anti-aging" agent, it neutralises
   free radicals. Specifically, methanol extractions of saffron neutralise
   at high rates the DPPH ( IUPAC nomenclature:
   1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radicals. This occurred via vigorous
   proton donation to DPPH by two of saffron's active agents, safranal and
   crocin. Thus, at concentrations of 500 and 1000 ppm, crocin studies
   showed neutralisation of 50% and 65% of radicals, respectively.
   Safranal displayed a lesser rate of radical neutralisation than crocin,
   however. Such properties give saffron extracts promise as an ingredient
   for use as an antioxidant in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and as a food
   supplement. Ingested at high enough doses, however, saffron is lethal.
   Several studies done on lab animals have shown that saffron's LD[50]
   (semi-lethal dose, or the dose at which 50% of test animals die from
   overdose) is 20.7 g/ kg when delivered via a decoction.

Colouring and perfumery

                  Saffron
   — Colour coordinates —
       Hex triplet      #F4C430
   RGB^N  ( r, g, b)    (244, 196, 48)
   CMYK^N ( c, m, y, b) (10, 58, 206, 10)
    HSV   ( h, s, v)    (45°, 80%, 96%)
   ^N : Normalised to [0–255].

   Despite its high cost, saffron has also been used as a fabric dye,
   particularly in China and India. Nevertheless, it is an unstable
   colouring agent; the initially vibrant orange-yellow that it imparts on
   clothes quickly fades to a pale and creamy yellow. The saffron stigmas,
   even when used in minute quantities, produce a luminous yellow-orange
   colour. Increasing the amount of saffron applied will turn the fabric's
   imparted colour an increasingly rich shade of red. Traditionally, the
   noble classes were the exclusive users of saffron-dyed clothes. Saffron
   was thus accorded a ritualised and caste-representative significance.
   Saffron dye also has been responsible for the saffron, vermilion, and
   ochre hues of the distinctive mantles and robes worn by Hindu and
   Buddhist monks. Meanwhile, in medieval Europe well-to-do Irish and
   Highland Scots would wear a long linen undershirt known as a léine;
   this garment was traditionally dyed with saffron.

   There have been many attempts to replace costly saffron with a cheaper
   dye. Saffron's usual substitutes in food — turmeric, safflower, and
   other spices — yield a bright yellowish hue that does not match that of
   saffron exactly. Nevertheless, saffron's main colour-yielding
   constituent, the flavonoid crocin, has been discovered in the gardenia
   fruit. Because gardenia is much less expensive to cultivate than
   saffron, it is currently being researched in China as an economical
   saffron-dye substitute.

   Saffron has also been used for its aromatic properties alone. In
   Europe, for instance, saffron threads were processed and combined with
   such ingredients as alkanet, dragon's blood (for colour), and wine (for
   colour) to produce an aromatic oil known then as crocinum. Crocinum was
   then applied as a perfume to hair. Another preparation involved the
   mixing of saffron with wine to produce a viscous yellow spray that was
   copiously applied to freshen the air of Roman theatres.

Citations

    1. ^ Deo 2003, p. 1.
    2. ^ Grigg 1974, p. 287.
    3. ^ ^a ^b ^c Hill 2001, p. 272.
    4. ^ ^a ^b McGee 2004, p. 422.
    5. ^ ^a ^b Katzer 2001.
    6. ^ Goyns 1999, p. 2.
    7. ^ Iran seeks more sparkle from blooming saffron industry
    8. ^ Courtney 2002.
    9. ^ ^a ^b ^c Abdullaev 2002, p. 1.
   10. ^ Hill 2004, p. 273.
   11. ^ Rau 1969, p. 35.
   12. ^ Lak 1998.
   13. ^ Goyns 1999, p. 8.
   14. ^ Hill 2004, p. 274.
   15. ^ ^a ^b Hill 2004, p. 275.
   16. ^ Goyns 1999, p. 59.
   17. ^ Willard 2001, p. 203.
   18. ^ Park 2005.
   19. ^ Abdullaev 2002, p. 2.
   20. ^ Darling Biomedical Library 2002.
   21. ^ Hasegawa, Kurumboor & Nair 1995, p. 1.
   22. ^ Nair, Pannikar & Panikkar 1991, p. 1.
   23. ^ Assimopoulou 2005, p. 1.
   24. ^ Chang, Kuo & Wang 1964, p. 1.
   25. ^ Willard 2001, p. 205.
   26. ^ Major 1892, p. 49.
   27. ^ Dharmananda 2005.
   28. ^ Dalby 2002, p. 138.

   Buddhist clergy, such as these monks in Thailand, often donned
   saffron-hued robes. Traditionally, these were coloured using
   saffron-based dyes.
   Enlarge
   Buddhist clergy, such as these monks in Thailand, often donned
   saffron-hued robes. Traditionally, these were coloured using
   saffron-based dyes.
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