SAFFRON
SAFFRON
saffron is considered one of the world’s most expensive spices which is used in the kitchen.
Saffron is a plant. The dried stigmas (thread-like parts of the flower) are used to make saffron
spice. It can take 75,000 saffron blossoms to produce a single pound of saffron spice. Saffron is
largely cultivated and harvested by hand. Due to the amount of labor involved in harvesting, saffron
is considered most expensive.
saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the “saffron crocus”.
Saffron crocus grows to 20–30 cm (8–12 in) and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson
stigmas, which are the distal end of a carpel.Good saffron crop production demands cool dry climate
with well-drained rich fertile soil and irrigation facilities or sufficient amount of rain fall. The
flowers are generally harvested during the early-morning hours and soon their stigma separated, allowed
to dry, and packed for marketing.
Almost all saffron grows in a belt from Spain in the west to India in the east. The other continents,
except Antarctica, produce smaller amounts.Mainly there are only two or three places in the whole
world where saffron grows. Kashmir has the proud privilege of being one of these places. There are
two locations in Kashmir where saffron grows. One of these two places is Pampore. Pampore is a small
town, which is 13 km from Srinagar.
