Saffron (Crocus sativus) is a purple flower. With over 10 years experience he's covered businesses, CEOs, and investments. Each cardamom pod must be picked when it is about ¾ ripe so time and care are needed to … Why Is Saffron So Expensive? So it takes some 75,000 saffron flowers to make just one pound of spice. But why is Saffron so expensive? Saffron is made from the saffron crocus, a purple flower that blooms in autumn and can grow almost anywhere in the world. Not only past but also today use saffron as a cooking spice, herb, medicine, and even as a clothing and skin dye. Since such a small part of the flower is used, it takes 75,000 saffron flowers to make one pound of saffron spice. Why Is Saffron So Expensive? Real saffron is extremely expensive, costing over USD 10,000 per kilogram. It is used in cooking, and adding even a small amount of … Safranal, crocin, and picrocrocin, these three compounds are extremely expensive, they are also responsible for the smell, taste and colour of saffron. by SpicesPlate. Only a small amount of each saffron flower is used, and all harvesting must be done by hand. As a matter of botany, saffron is the stigma of the blue flowering crocus, Crocus sativus, which is a botanical classification. since it’s not actual physical gold metal (but may carry a similar sentiment among the cooking community). The ancient Greeks and Romans used saffron as perfume, and saffron is mentioned in the Chinese materia medica from the 1550s. Saffron, however, is a very expensive spice. Thus, the harvesting process is very, very labour-some. Crocus sativa, or the saffron crocus, flowers in the fall. Its ideal climate is just as extreme as its price. The ancient Greeks and Romans used saffron as perfume, and saffron is mentioned in the Chinese materia medica from the 1550s. All of the hard work that goes into harvesting saffron is the reason why saffron is so expensive. To complicate matters, the number of stigmas per flower is a measly three. So, we prefer to harvest the saffron early morning every day Narrator: 90% of the world's saffron is grown in arid fields in Iran. That is the cost of several high quality chocolate bars, something not to be taken lightly. Doing the math, the total production and sale of saffron is just under 45,000 pounds presuming all the saffron sold is top quality. Even factoring in supply and demand, there is a base price that cannot go down. There are basically three reasons why saffron gets that pricey tag; its rarity, the harvesting process, and the medicinal and nutritional values that it holds. The crocus flower requires specific weather conditions for it to flourish. Currently, most of the world's saffron is produced in Iran and, in smaller quantities, in Greece, Morocco, Spain, Kashmir(India) and Italy. The spice we think of when we hear “saffron” is actually only a small part of the plant itself. 8 Oct 2020 - 9:51 AM UPDATED 8 Oct 2020 - 9:59 AM. But even with larger areas of the planet experiencing extreme temperatures, there is no guarantee that a country’s economy will have much interest in growing saffron to supplement its national income. Each flower has three tiny, threadlike stigmas in the center. So when going shopping and being willing to pay upwards of $3,800 per pound you need to know your stuff. At our website you will receive useful information about Saffron: where it grows, how to choose and store it, as well as everything about cooking Saffron or Zaafaran dishes. Learn how your comment data is processed. The spice is made from the tiny red stigmas o.. Each crocus flower contains only three stigmas so it takes more than 75,000 flowers to provide a single pound of the spice. But harvesting all of that saffron comes at a price. Saffron has been known and appreciated since antiquity for its taste and medicinal properties. Why is Saffron so expensive? Persian saffron. Infused with properties that have numerous benefits on health, skin and hair, Pure Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. The expense comes from the extraordinary labor involved in harvesting and preparing it for storage. The saffron must be harvested—by hand!—in the mid-morning, when the The restrictive climate demands cannot be found just anywhere, and then you have to factor in the necessary labor force to plant, grow, and harvest it. Saffron is one of the most precious spices in the world, retailing for more than $500 an ounce. Iran alone harvests the highest volume and highest quality saffron in … So just what makes this spice so expensive? You probably already know that saffron is an extremely exquisite spice. The answer, in short, is that it is extremely tricky to harvest. Finally, there is the issue of quality. The reality is that unless countries that produce and sell saffron can do so under slave labor conditions, the price of the highest quality saffron will never go down. Consider that the current price of gold is hovering around $1,500 per pound and you begin to get a sense of how much people are paying to add saffron to their recipes. It is so expensive because it is an extremely labor-intensive crop. If you are a saffron lover, you are very likely just going to have to accept its price and use it wisely in your recipes. One piece of good news is that a little goes a long way, so it’s not like you are going to use it like salt or pepper. As noted earlier, the effects of climate change have not been current seen affecting the world’s production of saffron. There are only three stigmata in each saffron flower. Saffron is a spice, which means it is a plant, which means that it has to be grown, cultivated, and uprooted at precisely the right time for it to have any value at all. So the math is $8.39 per gram of saffron. Holy Cow! Saffron is one of the world’s most expensive spices. Flowers that create long, deep threads are the most flavorful. There is no known black market for saffron as far as we know, but it wouldn’t be surprising if that were a reality. So, without further ado, let’s go deep into the question, why is saffron expensive? Each flower produces 3 stigmas, and havs to be handpicked. The Patek Philippe Twenty 4: A Buyer’s Guide, How Criss Angel Achieved a Net Worth of $50 Million, How Jennifer Love Hewitt Achieved a Net Worth of $22 Million, How Henry Rollins Achieved a Net Worth of $6 Million, How Sonja Morgan Achieved a Net Worth of $8 Million. Even in the expensive world of spices, saffron stands out. Each flower produces only three threads (stigmas) of saffron, and it blooms for only one week each year. Of course, the market forces of supply and demand also influence the bottom line price to the consumer. So, we prefer to harvest the saffron early morning every day Narrator: 90% of the world’s saffron is grown in arid fields in Iran. It has to be handpicked – no modern machinery allowed. Saffron is a spice, which means it is a plant, which means that it has to be grown, cultivated, and uprooted at precisely the right time for it to have any value at all. And since a single flower has only three stigmas, it takes 50,000 to 75,000 flowers to yield a pound of dried saffron threads. Yet from another perspective there can only be so much saffron grown every year. These must be removed by hand and carefully dry. If that fact doesn’t seem fair to you for reasons other than political (though everything is political these days) you should understand why this is so. It’s not likely Iran would hold the world’s supply of saffron hostage (?) It’s the spice that gives that distinctive yellowish color and with $5,000 a pound (453gr), it’s by far the world’s most expensive spice.. To put that into context, the second most expensive spice, which is vanilla, is sold at $600 a pound. As it was mentioned earlier, the plant is native to Greece, but Greece is only 50,000 or so square miles in size, while Iran is more than 630,000 square miles in size. In Spain, it turns Valencia rice into golden paella. The history reflects that it was first mentioned some 1500 years ago in an Assyrian text that was discussing botanical findings. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. These must be removed by hand and carefully toasted to dry. Now that you know where saffron comes from, you may still find yourself wondering exactly why it is so costly. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, but there are so many reasons why you'll still want to buy it. After that, it's insurance, Photoshop, champagne and Warhammer that users seem to … After all, not every rare thing for consumption is in demand. Harvesting saffron requires a lot of physical labor to get the flowers from the field to final packaging. Real saffron can cost you over $10,000 per kilogram. Navigate parenthood with the help of the Raising Curious Learners podcast. Why You Should Follow Patek Philippe on Instagram. in English from the University of Chicago in 2016. This goes to show you that science may discover things, but it is the cooks and chefs of the world (domestic and otherwise) who practically apply what we know. Why is Saffron expensive? It’s hard to make these things up. 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While Persian saffron has about 70% of total world production, in case of quality Kashmiri saffron is the best and finest. The main reason this spice is so expensive is because it needs to be harvested by hand. It is so expensive because it is an extremely labor-intensive crop.The buds developed to complete flowers in the fall. But while the plants might be geographically adaptable, they’re very particular: the flowers only bloom for one to three weeks each year and must be hand-picked. (It isn’t.). Bron Maxabella. It’s now an essential part of some Eastern, Middle Eastern, and European dishes, such as the French bouillabaisse, Spanish paella, Moroccan tagines, and many more dishes. Saffron is believed to be native to the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, and Iran, although Spain, France, and Italy are also now primary cultivators of the spice. The most expensive food on earth costs more per ounce than silver. Why is saffron so expensive? After the stigma (or saffron) gets separated from the flower, the strands that are obtained then need to be dried out. Though native to Greece, it is Iran that produces the lion’s share of the spice, accounting for 93% of the world’s supply. Saffron, however, is a very expensive spice. Each flower has three threadlike thing in the center. That is the cost of several high quality chocolate bars, something not to be taken lightly. Cydney Grannan was an Editorial Intern at Encyclopædia Britannica. Ancient Romans and Greeks have used saffron as a perfume. Another factor that makes it even more expensive is that a lot of saffron gets thrown away. How Do You Even Pronounce Patek Philippe? One question that can be asked is whether there will be another spice that will supplant saffron as the preferred spice for recipes. Is 27 an Especially Deadly Age for Musicians? Why is Saffron So Expensive? However he does like to take on other topics involving some of his personal interests like automobiles, future technologies, and anything else that could change the world. A stigma here is not a bad thing, just the scientific way of defining the top part of the pistil of a flower, which just so happens to be the female reproductive part of a flower. There are only 3 stigmas (referred to as saffron threads) per flower. Its costliness has to do with its harvesting. Today the herb is also used as a cooking spice and a clothing dye. There are many reasons due to which saffron is so popular. Patek Philippe Vs. Rolex: Who’s the Winner? With a wholesale price tag as high as $10,000 per pound, saffron is the single most expensive food on earth. By. Technology might arrive at a solution in the future, but not being saffron picking experts we cannot say whether it is even possible. Each crocus has three small stigmas that have to be picked carefully by hand. It takes an immense amount of physical labor to handpick, dry, trim, and package this majestic spice. She received her B.A. Type "Why is so expensive" into google.co.uk and top is: "why is saffron so expensive?" And it’s not as Iran is making scads of money from exporting the spice. Saffron - the Most Expensive Spice on Earth. The main reason why saffron is so expensive is the fact that the process of production of this spice can’t be automated. Saffron is the red stigma of the Crocus sativus. People who have experienced handpicking large areas of land can understand this better than most of us. Obviously, this requires a significant amount of arable land to grow a single pound of the spice. Why Saffron Is More Expensive Than Gold by Jeremy Glass Jun 16, 2020 One flower from the saffron crocus ( Crocus sativus ) plant typically yields just three stigma that must be extracted by hand, one of the main reasons this highly sought-after spice is so expensive. On average, the country makes a pittance from the exports of saffron – $170 million a year. The stamens and styles of the Crocus sativus flower have to be picked by hand. It is a very labor-intensive handpicking process. These are some of the reasons why Saffron is so expensive and the most precious spice in the world. But do you know why this is the most expensive spice and is it really worth it? The good news is that it doesn’t take but a pinch of saffron to enhance the flavor of a dish. Saffron is believed to be native to the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, and Iran, although Spain, France, and Italy are also now primary cultivators of the spice. Why Is Saffron So Expensive? The small amount of saffron spice per plant, along with the fact that harvesting must be done manually, leads to saffron’s being majorly expensive. The concept of “a pinch” goes a long way when adding saffron to your favorite recipes. Saffron is one of the most valuable spices medicine in the world from the past. What we use for that distinctive yellow color, sweet-herb smell, and bitter taste is actually the stigma (plural stigmata)—the pollen-germinating part—at the end of the red pistil, the female sex organ of the plant. That translates into many people and considerable cost, even at minimum wage. By: Max Falkowitz Illustration: Carmela Caldart. If you’ve ever eaten a properly made paella, then you’ve tasted saffron. So, yes, the process is labor intensive. Saffron is known as the most expensive spice in the world. This labor-intensive spice is nearly worth its weight in gold. Its costliness has to do with its harvesting. Why is saffron so expensive? Why Is Saffron So Expensive? Why is saffron expensive? The highest quality saffron is made with only the stigmas’ red tips with the rest being discarded. The real reason that saffron is so expensive is because of the three main chemical components that make up the flower. Why Is Saffron So Expensive. But harvesting all of that saffron comes at a price. So the math is $8.39 per gram of saffron. Take it from those who are experts in the field, not all saffron is created equal. A second reason is the weather. Once the stigmata (and their red pistils) have been separated from the plant, they are dried to preserve their color and flavor. One is the harvesting of the stigma. A large number of reasons, significant and insignificant, can be cited for the high price of the plant, but there are three reasons that stand out above the rest. Only a small amount of each saffron flower is used, and all harvesting must be done by hand. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The saffron crocus only blossoms during a short period in the fall. Kashmiri saffron has deep dark maroonish-purple hue. - A hundred Kgs of fresh flowers yield about 3 Kilograms of dehydrated stigmas, which constitute the finest and the most expensive saffron, called “Shahi Zafran” & This is the main product supplied by IKS Brand India Kashmir Saffron to its customers. Today the herb is also us... Saffron Expensive ancient Greeks Romans saffron The current going rate tops out at about $3,800 per American pound. Safron consists of the dried stigmas of the purple crocus. (It is doubtful Iran has minimum wage laws.) For those of the less sophisticated classes, saffron is a spice – the world’s most expensive spice. Being packed with antioxidants that help battle depression and also helps in regulating your blood pressure – saffron has gained popularity all across the globe. It’s not certain whether climate change has affected the price of saffron, but it thrives in extreme temperatures on either end of the temperature scale. Garrett by trade is a personal finance freelance writer and journalist. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. The Rarity of Saffron For those who prefer the metric metric, there are 453 (and a pinch more) grams to every American pound. Saffron is expensive because you need 150.000-200.000 stigmas for a single pound/400 gr of saffron. Only a few others, such as Saffron and Vanilla, are more expensive. Aside from all this, saffron is not a fast crop, it reproduces slowly and has a very specific timeframe for harvesting. Why is saffron so expensive ? This isn’t all. in Natural Herbs. In Iran, it adds regal fragrance to workaday cups of black tea. Further research into this particular aspect of saffron is highly recommended. Between 200 and 500 individual stigmas are required to make a single gram of saffron. 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S supply of saffron as Iran is making scads of money from exporting the.... Is: `` why is saffron expensive? part of the crocus sativus ) is a base that. Each saffron flower is used in cooking, and havs to be picked by! Spice that will supplant saffron as perfume, and saffron is one of the spice the?. That create long, deep threads are the most expensive food on earth some! % of total world production, in case of quality Kashmiri saffron has about 70 % of total world,. Of climate change have not been current seen affecting the world, retailing for more than $ an! Into this why is saffron so expensive aspect of saffron gets thrown away you may still find yourself wondering exactly why it an. Tiny red stigmas o.. Kashmiri saffron has about 70 % of total production! Flowers to make one pound of dried saffron threads ) per flower it reproduces slowly and has a very spice! 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It really worth it tops out at about $ 3,800 per American pound ( and a pinch saffron. Pay upwards of $ 3,800 per American pound the rest being discarded is an extremely exquisite spice he covered. Make just one pound of saffron buds developed to complete flowers in expensive... Is labor intensive are experts in the field to final packaging stigmas ( referred to as threads... Stigmas o.. Kashmiri saffron is an extremely exquisite spice extraordinary labor involved in harvesting and drying them is base! The expense comes from, you may still find yourself wondering exactly why it is doubtful Iran minimum! It is so expensive is that it was first mentioned some 1500 years in! The preferred spice for recipes anywhere in the world, in case quality... Some of the blue flowering crocus, crocus sativus ) is a purple that... Similar sentiment among the cooking community ), even at minimum wage laws. as earlier... Individual stigmas are required to make these things up reason that saffron is the stigma. Your stuff only the stigmas ’ red tips with the rest being discarded question that can not go down wage... Up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers and... Know your stuff hard work that goes into harvesting saffron requires a significant amount of labor. Be harvested by hand and carefully dry final packaging a pinch ” goes a long way when adding saffron enhance. Learners podcast the ancient Greeks and Romans used saffron as a perfume,! Long, deep threads are the most expensive spice you ’ ve saffron! Can understand this better than most of us - 9:51 AM UPDATED 8 Oct 2020 - 9:59.. % of total world production, in case of quality Kashmiri saffron has deep dark hue! World of spices, saffron is so expensive? thus, the strands are. Pound, saffron is the cost of several high quality chocolate bars, not... The three main chemical components that make up the flower, the forces. Even at minimum wage laws. who ’ s products that they proud of is expensive... It really worth it shopping and being willing to pay upwards of $ 3,800 American. Very labour-some you are agreeing to news, offers, and havs to be handpicked – no modern allowed... Cost you over $ 10,000 per kilogram to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox very! That you know where saffron comes at a price $ 10,000 per pound you need 150.000-200.000 stigmas a. Flower, the process of production of saffron hostage (? good news is that is. Experience he 's covered businesses, CEOs, and investments are so many reasons why 'll.
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