In the article we tell you how saffron is useful, we talk about its medicinal properties and contraindications for use. You will learn how to use saffron in cooking, cosmetology and folk medicine, is it possible for pregnant and lactating women to consume the spice?
Saffron is a spice and food coloring orange color . Dried stigmas of saffron sativum (crocus) are used as a spice. This is the most expensive seasoning. The cost of saffron is due to the labor intensity of production - 1 crocus produces only 3 stigmas, and to obtain 1 kilogram of the spice you need 200 thousand flowers. For this reason, saffron is often counterfeited by selling marigold petals instead of crocus stigmas.
Appearance (photo) of saffron
Saffron (lat. Crocus Sativus) is a perennial corm herbaceous plant genus Saffron of the Iridaceae or Iridaceae family. It does not grow in the wild, as it cannot reproduce without human intervention. Now you know what saffron looks like and what it is. The plant can be grown at home, read more in.
Saffron has a strong, unique aroma and a bitterly spicy taste. Although the saffron herb also has beneficial properties, the stigma of the plant is used in medicine and cooking. The spice is also used to color and flavor food.
Chemical composition of the spice:
The calorie content of 100 g of saffron is 310 kcal. In 1 teaspoon there are approximately 2 grams of saffron - 6.2 kcal.
Medicinal properties of saffron:
The benefit of saffron is its beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract. The spice improves digestion, metabolism and removes waste and toxins from the body.
The properties of saffron allow it to be used for the nervous system. The spice stops headache and relieves stress, activates brain activity, improves memory and increases concentration. The spice helps with insomnia and depression.
Saffron has benefits for the cardiovascular system. Regular consumption of the spice helps strengthen the myocardium and normalize heart rate. Saffron strengthens the walls of blood vessels and lowers blood pressure.
Saffron is useful for women. The spice improves the functioning of the reproductive system, increases libido, activates blood circulation in the genitals, normalizes the menstrual cycle and hormonal levels. In the East, the spice is used in the treatment of infertility.
Saffron has also been used in the treatment of male diseases. The spice enhances desire and increases potency; it is recommended for the treatment of prostatitis.
IN Food Industry The spice saffron is used for coloring and flavoring foods. The seasoning is used to color cheeses, sausages, and liqueurs.
How to use saffron? To give dishes a characteristic taste and aroma, spices are added to Not large quantities during the cooking process. Most often, saffron is used to season rice, legumes, and potatoes. Add to meat and fish. Read more about saffron seasoning.
Saffron is used not only in cooking, it is used in cosmetology and folk medicine
The seasoning saffron has also been used in cosmetology.. It is used to improve the condition of the skin of the face and body, and saffron is used for hair.
Saffron cleanses the skin, nourishes and moisturizes it. The spice fights age-related changes and increases skin elasticity.
Ingredients:
How to cook: Mix the ingredients until smooth, dilute with a small amount of warm water to the consistency of thick sour cream.
How to use: Apply the mask to your face for 15 minutes, rinse warm water.
Result: Cleanses and moisturizes the skin, evens out the complexion.
In home cosmetology, saffron is added to hair masks. Regardless of the type, hair needs hydration. Saffron is mixed with honey and sour cream.
Ingredients:
How to cook: Mix the ingredients.
How to use: Apply the mask from roots to ends of your hair, put on a shower cap and wrap your head in a warm towel. Keep the mask on for 30 minutes. Rinse off with warm water and shampoo.
Result: The mask moisturizes and restores damaged hair.
For cosmetic purposes, not only dried crocus stigmas are used, but also saffron oil - the product retains its properties fully.
In folk medicine, decoctions and infusions are made based on saffron.
Saffron is used in medicine to strengthen the immune system, prevent and treat various diseases. Below we have given recipes for effective medicines with this spice.
If you want to boost your immunity and reduce the risk of developing colds, take a water infusion of saffron.
Ingredients:
How to cook: Pour a glass of boiling water over the saffron and leave the medicine for 30 minutes. Strain the drink before use.
How to use: Drink an infusion of saffron stigmas 3-4 times a day half an hour before meals or 1 hour after meals.
Result: Increases immunity.
Saffron increases visual acuity, improves eye condition with conjunctivitis and barley. For these purposes, compresses with saffron are used.
Ingredients:
How to cook: Grind saffron stigmas into powder and mix with rose water infusion.
How to use: Soak cotton pads in the product and apply for 15 minutes.
Result: Relieves fatigue and irritation, improves vision.
To eliminate headaches, saffron is used in the form of lotions, mixing the seasoning with melted butter. The medicine also helps with insomnia.
Ingredients:
How to cook: Grind the stigmas into powder and mix with ghee.
How to use: Rub the resulting paste into your nostrils for headaches.
Result: The product relieves pain, soothes nervous system, normalizes sleep.
Men can get the benefits of saffron for the body by drinking an infusion to increase potency.
Ingredients:
How to cook: Grind all the spices in a mortar or coffee grinder to a powder consistency. Pour into the pan along with the black tea. Fill with water and place on low heat. Bring the broth to a boil, remove from heat and strain.
How to use: Drink tea immediately after preparation.
Result: Tea with saffron increases potency.
Now you know how to take saffron - beneficial features The spice is preserved in the form of tea, decoctions and infusions.
Saffron can cause both benefit and harm - medicinal spice will harm your health if used incorrectly. Pregnant women need to be especially careful. During pregnancy, saffron can be used only immediately before childbirth - the seasoning stimulates uterine contractions and provokes contractions. On early stages consuming saffron can lead to miscarriage, and in later cases - to premature birth.
It is forbidden to use saffron while breastfeeding breast milk. Saffron can cause overexcitation and even poisoning in a child.
Now you know what saffron has medicinal properties, contraindications to the use of spices:
Knowing about saffron - its beneficial properties and contraindications for its use, also do not use the spice in large quantities, large dosages of seasoning can cause food poisoning.
In the article we tell you what dishes saffron is added to, how this spice is made, what aroma and taste it has. You will learn what you can replace saffron with, how to choose a seasoning and distinguish it from counterfeits.
Saffron is the dried stigmas of the purple crocus.. Crocus - bulbous plant without stem. Flowers and leaves grow from the bulb. Crocus flowers are quite large and have a soft lilac, sometimes deep purple color. From one bulb grows from 1 to 3 funnel-shaped flowers.
Saffron is the stigma of Crocus sativus
Wild crocus is no longer used to make saffron seasoning. It was replaced by specially bred varieties that have more large flowers and long stigmas. For the first time, saffron began to be grown on a large scale in Spain. Besides Spain, the main suppliers of saffron are India, Italy and Iran.
Crocus plantations are renewed after 3-4 years. To produce saffron, not the whole flower is used, but only the stigmas. The crocus has only 3 stigmas, which are collected in a special way in short time. Growing, harvesting and drying saffron is a special and very labor-intensive process.
Saffron is threads of red-brown or dark red color interspersed with yellow. The spice has a strong original aroma. Saffron has a bitter, spicy, honey-tinged taste.
We said above that saffron is made from crocus stigmas. Let's tell you how they make aromatic seasoning.
Crocus blooms once a year and only for 2-3 days. As soon as the flower opens, it is picked and the stigmas are torn off. After this, the stigmas are dried under the sun, in dryers or on fire. The slightest violation of technology or drying time greatly reduces the quality of the seasoning. It is also important that the weather during collection is warm, dry and windless. Otherwise, the raw materials may deteriorate. Once the saffron is completely dry, it is placed in sealed containers. There are several varieties of saffron, which are determined by its quality.
Saffron, which is grown in Spain, has 2 types:
Kashmir saffron grows in northern India. If in Spain saffron is dried in ovens, then in India it is dried only in the sun. When the saffron is collected, it is sorted and the stigmas are placed in water. Those who have sunk to the bottom consider premium— Shahi
The world's largest supplier of saffron is Iran. Iranian saffron differs from other types in its strong coloring effect and inexpensive price.
Saffron is used in cooking
Below we will look at where to add saffron. Note that saffron does not combine well with other seasonings. Therefore, when cooking and adding saffron, do not add other spices.
Saffron is widely used in cooking. Add a little spice to the dough and it will acquire a yellowish color and a pleasant aroma. You can add saffron to desserts, creams and alcoholic cocktails. For the same purpose, saffron is used in the production of sausages and cheeses.
Saffron adds an original aroma and taste to rice dishes. Add it to pilaf, risotto, stew, broth. In European countries, saffron is often added to fish dishes. Saffron complements the taste of vegetables and meat well.
Saffron is one of the most expensive spices, which is why there is a high chance of buying a spice that is only similar to it. Let's look at how to tell if saffron is real or not.
Marigolds or Imeretian saffron are often passed off as saffron. This spice has a yellow-red color. The stigmas of high-quality saffron are dark red or red-brown in color and soft to the touch. Pay attention to the price of the spice. If you are offered to buy real saffron cheaply, it is most likely a fake.
Also sold under the guise of saffron are safflower petals - “Mexican saffron”. It is often used to color caramel or tea mixtures. In some countries it is used instead of saffron.
Another spice that may be sold as saffron is ground turmeric root. It is difficult to distinguish ground saffron from marigold, safflower or turmeric.
To avoid counterfeiting:
Buy saffron in specialized stores that can provide you with documents for the spice. They must indicate the country of origin. The main countries that supply saffron are Iran, Spain and India. We do not recommend buying saffron in the markets, as there is a high risk of purchasing a fake.
Since real saffron is difficult to buy and not everyone can afford it, let’s consider what can replace this spice.
Saffron can be replaced with turmeric; it also gives dishes a pleasant yellowish color and spicy taste. Imereti saffron or dried marigolds can also be used as a spice substitute.
For more information about saffron in cooking, watch the video:
Saffron has a number of contraindications. Be especially careful when choosing your dosage. Usually 2-4 threads of saffron are enough. In large quantities, saffron is poisonous. In large dosages it causes nervous excitement. You should not eat more than 1 gram of saffron per year.
Contraindications:
The only spice whose price has not decreased since the Middle Ages, when a pound of saffron could be exchanged for an Arabian horse. The name of this spice in almost all languages comes from the Arabic word "za'faran", meaning "yellow", which indicates that saffron was valued primarily as a dye. Although saffron modern world has lost its former significance and is used only in cooking; it is valued on a par with gold. Only 300 tons of saffron are produced annually in the world.
Saffron has been known to mankind as a spice for over 4,000 years., although saffron-based paints were used in Neolithic rock paintings. The first traces of its use as food were found in Mesopotamia, and the first written mentions date back to the Sumerian civilization. Persians in the 10th century BC. they wove saffron threads into fabrics for sacrifices and made perfumes and aromatic oils based on saffron, used as powerful aphrodisiacs. The army of Alexander the Great used saffron to treat wounds. IN Old Testament saffron is mentioned as a sacrificial element, dye and incense. In ancient Chinese sources, saffron is mentioned as a medicine. In the east, saffron became the color of clothing for Buddhist monks, and in Europe it became a sign of wealth and high position in society. The Roman nobility used saffron as a medicine, a dye for fabric and leather, and as an aromatic seasoning.
Interest in saffron, like other spices and luxury goods, declined with the fall of the Roman Empire and only reappeared in the Middle Ages during the plague. The theft of a ship with valuable cargo by pirates even led to a small “saffron war.” At the courts of European monarchs, clothes and shoes dyed with saffron were very popular. Saffron flowers were used in Bourbon heraldry. In the English county of Essex there is a town called Saffron, named after the saffron fields, which brought considerable income to the treasury. Henry VIII valued saffron so much that he forbade courtiers to dye their hair and clothes with saffron in order to look advantageous against their background.
The Spaniards were the first to grow crocus and produce saffron for export.. Until now, the largest saffron plantations are in Andalusia, Valencia and the Bolearic Islands. Currently, saffron is produced in Greece, Iran, France, Italy, Turkey, Pakistan, New Zealand, USA, China, Japan and the Transcaucasian countries. Residents of these regions, who widely use saffron in cooking, do not suffer from cardiovascular diseases, despite the fact that their traditional cuisine may be rich in fat. Spanish saffron is sold at the highest price, as it has a rich aroma and rich taste. Italian saffron has a very pungent smell and strong taste; saffron of Greek, Iranian and Indian origin lasts longer than others.
The high price of saffron is due to two reasons. Firstly, its production is very labor-intensive, and secondly, the aroma, taste and medicinal properties of saffron have no equal among spices. Saffron is the dried stigmas of the purple crocus (Crocus sativus), which blooms en masse only 10-15 days a year, and the duration of flowering for each flower is only 2-3 days. Only manual labor is used to collect flowers and process crocus pistils. The stigmas should be cut out on the first day the flowers open. The quality of saffron depends on the speed of harvesting and drying. To get a kilogram of saffron, you need to collect about 150,000 flowers at dawn, before the sun has dried the pistils. A one-acre field produces a harvest of 4-5 kilograms of saffron, depending on the weather and the skill of the pickers.
The wild crocus (Crocus cartwrightianus) is not used for the production of saffron; its place is taken by a sterile form (Crocus sativus), bred in Crete. "Domesticated" crocus has longer pistils and cannot reproduce by seeds. New plants are formed from bulbs, which are divided into several parts and planted in a new place. Crocuses live only 3-4 years, after which the plantation needs to be renewed. Growing crocuses is as labor-intensive as collecting wild flowers, but thanks to breeders, wild crocus is not in danger of disappearing from the face of the earth. It can be found in warm and bright places, protected from the wind.
It has been known since ancient times that saffron has unique properties. It is able to relieve pain, depression and melancholy, as it promotes the production of serotonin - the hormone of joy. Thus, saffron is a mild psychotropic substance that is not addictive. Ayurveda credits saffron with the ability to improve digestion, strengthen the senses and respiratory organs, cleanse the lymph, kidneys and liver, relieve cramps, remove blood stagnation in the vessels, improve complexion and increase potency. In ancient times, noble women drank saffron tincture before childbirth to relieve pain. Cleopatra took saffron baths to preserve youthful skin.
Saffron is used in modern medicine for the preparation of eye drops and various medicinal and restorative tinctures. It has been proven that saffron has anticarcinogenic and antimutagenic properties. Saffron with hot milk promotes the growth of brain tissue and improves memory. Saffron with honey helps break up kidney stones. An infusion of crocus stigmas contains carotene, thiamine, riboflamin, flavonoids, calcium, phosphorus and vitamins. Over 4,000 years of use, saffron has been found to be effective against 90 diseases.
Inhaling the aroma of saffron has a beneficial effect on the respiratory system and helps you fall asleep.. Saffron lotions relieve severe headaches and help with ear inflammation. In addition, saffron reduces hunger and relieves hangover. However, saffron taken with wine increases intoxication. Excessive dosage of saffron can lead to severe stimulation and tension of the senses. Excess saffron can not only spoil the dish, but also lead to poisoning. A few grams of fresh, high-quality saffron is a lethal dose! Such a strong tonic as saffron is contraindicated for pregnant women.
Saffron represents dark red or red-brown soft tangled threads with yellow patches. Even one thread is enough to give the dish a specific subtle aroma and an exquisite sweet-spicy-bitter taste. Gourmets describe the aroma of saffron as metallic-honey with hints of fresh hay. When purchasing saffron, try to choose whole threads rather than powder. Pliny warned 2000 years ago that ground saffron could be counterfeit. In the Middle Ages, counterfeiting saffron was punishable by burning at the stake. Real saffron cannot be cheap. Usually, under the guise of cheap saffron, they sell turmeric, calendula flower powder, “Mexican saffron” or saffron, which has the same yellow pistils, but does not have remarkable properties real saffron. The autumn crocus is very similar to the crocus, which is very poisonous. Real saffron stigmas from unscrupulous sellers may be coated with glycerin to increase weight. Saffron does not last long, so there is no point in buying it for future use.
Saffron is used in cooking to give subtle aroma, spicy taste and beautiful golden color to soups, meat, fish, vegetable dishes and desserts. Saffron can be added to tea, coffee and soft drinks to give them tonic properties. Typically, saffron is added in the form of an alcohol or aqueous solution before preparing the dish. For 1 liter of finished dish you need no more than 5-6 drops of saffron tincture.
Recipes with saffron
Sausages stewed with saffron
Ingredients:
2-3 strands of saffron,
2 large sausages,
2 tablespoons olive oil,
100 g onion,
1 clove of garlic,
2 potatoes,
200 g chicken broth,
50 g green peas,
Salt and pepper to taste.
Preparation:
Soak the saffron in a spoon of warm water. Cut the sausages, fry over low heat and place on a plate. Fry the onion for 2-3 minutes, add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add potatoes and continue to cook for about 5 minutes. Add broth and saffron infusion, bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are ready. Add sausages, peas, salt and pepper and simmer for another 1-2 minutes.
Halibut with saffron stew
Ingredients:
1 thread of saffron,
500-600 g halibut fillet,
30 g flour,
30 ml olive oil,
2 bell peppers(yellow and red),
1 onion,
1 clove of garlic,
1 tomato
1 tsp parsley,
salt, pepper to taste.
Preparation:
Pre-cut the vegetables.
Soak the saffron in a little warm water. Fry the salted, peppered and floured halibut in oil on both sides, place in the pan and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes.
At this time, fry the peppers, onions and garlic, add the tomatoes and parsley and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the saffron along with the infusion and leave to simmer over low heat for 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve with halibut.
Golden Pie
Ingredients:
1 tsp butter,
4-5 strands of saffron
60-70 ml milk (used separately),
130-140 g flour,
130-140 g sugar (used separately),
1 tsp baking powder,
0.5 tsp soda,
1 egg,
2 tsp rose water,
1 tsp vanilla (used separately),
70 ml water,
2-3 tsp. chopped pistachios.
Preparation:
Preheat the oven and grease a baking sheet with oil. In a small saucepan, add 2 tablespoons of milk to the saffron, bring to a boil and let cool. In a large container, mix flour, 100 g sugar, baking powder and soda.
Add the remaining milk to the saffron milk, add the egg, rose water and half a spoon of vanilla. Stir and pour into the flour mixture, stirring thoroughly.
Pour the dough onto a baking sheet and place in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes. At this time, dissolve the remaining 40 g of sugar in water, let it boil and add the remaining half a spoon of vanilla. Wooden stick Make a few depressions in the center of the cake, pour syrup over it and sprinkle with pistachios.
Curd dessert with saffron (Easter)
It is better to prepare this dish in large quantities at once, 2-3 days in advance, so that it can brew for Easter.
Ingredients:
10 strands of saffron,
2 kg of fat homemade cottage cheese,
9-10 yolks,
200 g sugar,
300 g butter,
50 g sour cream with high fat content,
200 g raisins (golden and dark),
100 g dried fruits or candied fruits,
200 g chopped almonds,
100 g crushed unsalted pistachios,
50 g cognac.
Preparation:
Place the cottage cheese in gauze in a colander placed over a deep bowl, place pressure on top and leave for 10-12 hours. Pour cognac over raisins and dried fruits and leave for 2-3 hours. Rub the squeezed cottage cheese through a sieve.
Beat the butter while adding sugar. When it turns white, add the yolks and sour cream one at a time, stirring constantly. Mix the resulting mass with cottage cheese, add nuts and dried fruits, leaving a little for decoration. Grind the saffron, add the powder to the resulting mixture and mix well. Place Easter on a dish covered with cheesecloth and place in the refrigerator. 1-2 hours before serving, remove Easter from the refrigerator and decorate.
Saffron has long and deservedly been called the “golden” spice, as it is one of the rarest and most expensive spices in the world. Since ancient times, saffron was equal in price to gold, it was presented as a luxurious gift to royalty, tribute was paid with the spice, and clothes dyed with saffron were considered a sign of unprecedented luxury. Modern archaeologists still find paintings made with saffron.
Saffron was glorified in poetry and legends, and even Hippocrates himself noted its beneficial properties. There is a belief that once upon a time there lived a beautiful young man named Saffron, who dared to anger the almighty gods with something, and they turned him into no less beautiful flower. According to Buddhist legend, saffron was brought to earth from heaven.
Whether this is true or not, saffron is indeed a very beautiful soft lilac flower, from which one of the most expensive spices in the world is made. The flowers themselves are interesting because they do not have a stem, and they grow directly from the bulb. The spice is prepared from the stigmas of a flower, and since the flowering time of this almost unearthly creature is only three days, all the stigmas must be collected at this time. All work is carried out exclusively by hand, the collected flowers are laid out on the table and the stigmas are extracted from them, again by hand. Then the stigmas are dried and the seasoning is ready. In order to get one gram of spice, you need to collect and process about 150 flowers. The work is painstaking and time-consuming, so the price of saffron simply cannot be cheap. Unfortunately, saffron is very often counterfeited; you can buy real spice only in a specialized store and not in powder form, but in the form of fibers.
But there is one consolation - saffron is very economical. Just one gram of spice contains about four hundred flower stigmas, and to prepare one large dish, only 10-15 pieces will be enough. To color two liters of water, only two stigmas are enough.
Since ancient times, saffron has been highly valued in medicine due to its high carotene content, essential oils and vitamins. Over four thousand years of use, the plant’s effectiveness in treating about 90 different diseases has been discovered.
Plant stigmas are part of medicines against cough and whooping cough, used to treat oncology, respiratory system and bladder. Saffron renders beneficial influence on the body as a whole, normalizes the functioning of the immune system, gives vigor and improves the color of the skin.
It is impossible to imagine Tibetan medicine without saffron - the spice is considered the most valuable and indispensable component. Not a single Tibetan incense is made without saffron. The substance serotonin contained in the plant is also called the hormone of joy.
In folk medicine, saffron is used as an analgesic and antipyretic, as well as a diaphoretic and diuretic that improves metabolism.
The spice itself has a strong intoxicating aroma and a bitter-spicy taste with a hint of honey. Saffron does not mix well with other spices, and its price is too high to fill the taste with anything else. You can’t add a lot of it, otherwise the dish will be very bitter, and in large quantities, saffron can become a deadly poison. The norm for saffron consumption is no more than 1 gram per day; exceeding this norm is dangerous to health.
Video recipe for the occasion:
If it seems to you that when added to a dish, the spice did not reveal its aroma enough and you want to add more, stop! The taste of the spice reveals itself after about 12 hours, and ideally within a day. Yes, that is the essence of this exotic princess. If you overdo it even a little with the dosage, any dish will end up with a persistent aroma of pharmaceutical herbs.
To optimize rationing, saffron is dissolved in water or an alcohol-containing mixture - this makes it much easier to measure required quantity seasonings A water or alcohol tincture is prepared as follows: 1 gram of flower stigmas or powder is poured with 120 milliliters of warm water or alcohol-containing liquid. After 15-20 minutes, the mixture can be added to dishes. If the saffron was poured with alcohol, the mixture should be further diluted with water.
Saffron is most widely used in the confectionery industry. It is often added to cakes, cookies and various pastries, and creams, jams and mousses receive a unique light aroma and spicy taste. The spice is added to the dough during kneading, and to hot dishes 5 minutes before readiness.
The word saffron itself is translated as “yellow”, so it is often used as a natural food coloring - it gives dishes a delicate golden color. Active use the spice is found in the preparation of various alcoholic drinks - as a natural coloring and flavoring.
In the East, saffron is an indispensable ingredient for cooking meat dishes, various sauces and gravy. The spice is also added to rice, vegetable stews and dishes made from valuable varieties of fish.
In Europe, saffron is used in almost all haute cuisine - paella, various soups and delicious desserts, seafood delicacies and vegetarian dishes simply cannot do without this king of spices.
And in conclusion, I would like to say that saffron can turn the simplest dish into a culinary masterpiece, but the main rule when using it is moderation and moderation again, otherwise instead of a unique taste you will only get bitterness, both in the literal and figurative sense of the word . Bon appetit!
When we talk about saffron, the East immediately comes to mind with its subtle luxury, abundance of spices and unusual flavors. The seasoning saffron was glorified in poetry and legends; its beneficial properties were noted by Hippocrates. In the East you can hear that once upon a time there lived a beautiful young man, Saffron, who somehow displeased the gods, and they turned him into a beautiful flower.
The spice saffron actually comes from the stigmas of flowers, although we call them crocuses. This product is used not only to give food a special taste, but also as a dye: archaeologists often find drawings made with saffron.
The stigmas of flowers are one of the richest useful substances parts of plants. Saffron is quite high in calories, but given that it is used in very small quantities, this can be neglected. By the way, you should not abuse this spice also because it is quite poisonous: sometimes just half a gram can cause irreparable harm to your health. But we have nothing to fear: the amount we add to food is measured in hundredths of a gram. But they give us a huge amount of essential vitamins and minerals, saturate with flavonoids and antioxidants. Scientists have noticed that people who consume saffron cope better with even the most severe diseases.
Crocus pollen, due to its high content of biologically active and coloring substances, is used in many industries - medicine, cosmetology, even industry. But first of all, saffron is a seasoning; its use in cooking is very wide. It will add a rich golden hue and excellent taste to any dish. The most common option is to cook rice with saffron, then this simple grain will sparkle with new colors, so it will be difficult to do without this spice. Golden seasoning also goes well with vegetables, especially beans, zucchini and eggplant. Saffron is used in cooking both for taste and as a dye: it is added to muffins and cookies and fruit creams. Often they even bake bread with it.
In some countries, saffron is so popular that it is added to coffee or tea.
Natural saffron is sold in the form of specific veins. You need to choose carefully: dark saffron, dark red or even red-brown has the richest taste. You can often find saffron in the form of a ready-made powder, but it is too easy to fake, so you shouldn’t risk wasting money. As for use, the veins can be immediately added to the dish, but it is better to prepare the seasoning in advance: the veins should be slightly dried in a frying pan without oil, ground into a fine powder and then dissolved in a small amount of water, milk or alcohol. This way the spice will be preserved for a long time and will fully impart its taste to the dish. For baking, saffron is added to the dough at the beginning of kneading, but to hot dishes - no earlier than five minutes before cooking. The dosage of saffron is very small. 
No more than five veins are placed in one serving of a particular dish, and the weight of each of them is so small that it is difficult to imagine: 1/400 g.
The cost of saffron has always been comparable to gold, and even now, when pepper and salt are almost worthless, the golden seasoning is still not very accessible. Therefore, in India they have long found something to replace saffron with. It is now used only for special occasions, and turmeric is used in everyday meals. Its taste is not so bright, it is a little reminiscent of pepper and orange, but turmeric also gives the products an appetizing golden hue. You need to add it a little, at the tip of a knife for one serving.
