How much would you guess a kilo of saffron costs? A kilo of truffles in the Lalbenque market costs up to 800€. A kilo of Beluga caviar might set you back 7,500€. A kilo of saffron easily outstrips both at 30,000-45,000€. However, you’re unlikely to buy anywhere near that much at once, and it would take decades to get through it in domestic use.

Saffron is one of the world’s most highly prized and exotic spices. It comes from the orange-red stigmas of the Crocus sativus, which are picked and removed by hand, hence the high price.

The spice imparts a dark gold colour and a distinctive earthy-sweet flavour to commonplace foods. As well as culinary uses, it has medicinal properties and value as a fabric dye.

Cajarc in the Lot is the thriving centre of saffron growing in our region. But saffron almost disappeared completely in the early 20^th century.

A safranière (saffron farm) exists only a few kilometres from here. The young woman who created it gave a talk about saffron recently in Parisot. I already knew something about it, having visited a safranière years ago, but I learned a whole lot more.

Ancient spice

I often ask myself how people discovered the uses of these condiments from such unlikely sources.

Saffron probably originated in Persia (now Iran). People have traded the spice since the Bronze Age, which inspired countless legends. One Greek myth recounted how the beautiful youth Crocus pursued the nymph Smilax. She tired of his attentions after a while and turned him into a saffron crocus.

Saffron was in extensive use in the Quercy from the 14^th to the 18^th centuries. The climatic and soil conditions here were right for the cultivation of the crocus. Researchers also suggest that it might have a symbiotic relationship with a fungus, like certain wild orchids.

Saffron growing here lost out to competition, harsh winters and disease in the early 20^th century. A few smallholders kept the plant alive for their own use, and it enjoyed a revival in the late 20^th century.

Today, the global production of saffron is around 300 tonnes per year. Iran produces about 90% of it. The powder you buy in the supermarket is very likely from Iran.

The precise amount produced in France is difficult to estimate, but it’s around 50 kilos. France imports 30 tonnes per year.

Cultivation

Crocus sativus doesn’t grow in the wild because it’s a hybrid. Don’t confuse it with the wild colchicum, the autumn crocus, which is highly poisonous. Saffron stigmas are orange. Colchicum stigmas are yellow.

Anouck achieves a return of about 1 gram of saffron per square metre. Because the corms divide and may no longer flower, she has to renew one-third of them every year. Anouck also has to protect her field from wild animals, notably mice.

The corms develop in February, and the plants flower between October and November. Imagine the sight of a field carpeted with purple crocuses, rivalling the lavender fields of Provence. Sadly, after a very dry early autumn, the crocus fields were parched in October 2011, when I visited one in Cajarc.

The harvest takes place before the flowers are fully open, so that the weather doesn’t damage the stigmas. Anouck also keeps bees, which love the crocus pollen, so she harvests in the early morning and the evening, when the bees are less active.  

Conditioning

The removal of the stigmas is called émondage. The orange and gold parts are separated, leaving a lot of redundant petals. Anouck sends them for making cosmetics. She then dries the filaments in the oven at less than 60° C to avoid them becoming brittle.

Apparently, the taste and scent of saffron can vary according to which safranière it comes from or the conditions of its preparation. You can keep it for many years out of damp, light and excessive heat or cold.

Culinary and medicinal uses

You should use saffron very sparingly, the price being something of an incentive. Anouck said that 1 gram is enough for 100 people. She suggested that it’s better to buy the filaments rather than the powder, since the latter can be adulterated with cheaper substances. Steeping the filaments in liquid, preferably overnight, is essential to bring out the flavour.

After her talk, Anouck gave us a dégustation of savoury and sweet biscuits and a tiny meringue, all flavoured with saffron. She also served a kir with white wine and a saffron syrup.

Anouck sells her saffron and products and honey via her website. 

Saffron has many medicinal uses, including combating depression, insomnia, high cholesterol and digestive problems. It can also be used externally as an analgesic for pain relief.

Worth its weight in gold, you might say.

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