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Saffron's expensive by weight; but not per recipe. A teaspoon of the stuff could float away on the breeze, but few recipes call for as much as a teaspoon. A £5.

Saffron's expensive by weight; but not per recipe. A teaspoon of the stuff could float away on the breeze, but few recipes call for as much as a teaspoon. A £5.00 box of saffron lasts me about 3 months, and I use the stuff weekly.

abtinf 3y ago
I think most people have no idea how to use it efficiently either. Cooking shows and recipes often depict simply adding threads directly to a recipe. Growing up, I was taught to grind a small amount into a fine powder and mix with a bit of very hot water, which yields an incredibly potent, fragrant, and inexpensive ingredient that can flavor significant quantities of food.
- denton-scratch 3y ago
  Does grinding help the extraction? I just steep the threads for ten minutes in freshly-boiled water, then strain them (my mother was not a great cook, and I don't think she ever used saffron).
  - an_aparallel 3y ago
    Yes, I grind with raw sugar granules something like 20 threads. And then mix it with a bit of rose water, then add to meat marinade or stew. For other cultures mix it with warmed up butter (fat will transfer flavour even better than rose water) or wine
  - Eager 3y ago
    Grinding with sugar is definitely the way to go. I generally buy a big wheel of Iranian Saffron on eBay or a Persian shop, then grind it all up in a mortar and pestle with some sugar and store it in a spice jar in a dark cupboard. Then when you need it you don't need to be faffing about. If you want to be fancy, save a few whole strands that you can add to rice for decoration, but using whole stamens is really not necessary.
    - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
      > I generally buy a big wheel of Iranian Saffron on eBay or a Persian shop Shouldn't this be a dead ringer for the stuff being fake? We don't trade with Iran.
      - globular-toast 3y ago
        Yes we do.
      - barrkel 3y ago
        I think that's just the US, though, right? UK imported 11 tons of saffron from Iran in 2023 - https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/GBR/year/2023/tradeflow/Imports/partner/ALL/product/091020 https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/GBR/yea...
      - Etheryte 3y ago
        Did you know that not everyone on HN is American? This is such a silly I'm the main character syndrome.
      - defrost 3y ago
        We (Australia) do - 2019: https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/AUS/year/2019/tradeflow/Imports/partner/ALL/product/091020 https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/AUS/yea... 2023: https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/AUS/year/2023/tradeflow/Imports/partner/ALL/product/091020 https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/AUS/yea... Your blinkers are showing.
epolanski 3y ago
This, as an Italian I often cook rigatoni with zafferano and sausage, which is a variation on the popular saffron risotto from the north. The way I cook it, for two people, is to put a very small amount (I guess it's around 0.1 grams or so, not much more) in a small espresso cup with a small amount of very hot water. The saffron quickly dissolves in it, and you can then throw the water with saffron in the pasta, add some grated cheese (generally parmigiano or grana) and the sausages pieces and it's delicious. The saffron makes a lot of difference.

abtinf 3y ago

I think most people have no idea how to use it efficiently either. Cooking shows and recipes often depict simply adding threads directly to a recipe. Growing up, I was taught to grind a small amount into a fine powder and mix with a bit of very hot water, which yields an incredibly potent, fragrant, and inexpensive ingredient that can flavor significant quantities of food.

denton-scratch 3y ago
Does grinding help the extraction? I just steep the threads for ten minutes in freshly-boiled water, then strain them (my mother was not a great cook, and I don't think she ever used saffron).
- an_aparallel 3y ago
  Yes, I grind with raw sugar granules something like 20 threads. And then mix it with a bit of rose water, then add to meat marinade or stew. For other cultures mix it with warmed up butter (fat will transfer flavour even better than rose water) or wine
- Eager 3y ago
  Grinding with sugar is definitely the way to go. I generally buy a big wheel of Iranian Saffron on eBay or a Persian shop, then grind it all up in a mortar and pestle with some sugar and store it in a spice jar in a dark cupboard. Then when you need it you don't need to be faffing about. If you want to be fancy, save a few whole strands that you can add to rice for decoration, but using whole stamens is really not necessary.
  - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
    > I generally buy a big wheel of Iranian Saffron on eBay or a Persian shop Shouldn't this be a dead ringer for the stuff being fake? We don't trade with Iran.
    - globular-toast 3y ago
      Yes we do.
    - barrkel 3y ago
      I think that's just the US, though, right? UK imported 11 tons of saffron from Iran in 2023 - https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/GBR/year/2023/tradeflow/Imports/partner/ALL/product/091020 https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/GBR/yea...
    - Etheryte 3y ago
      Did you know that not everyone on HN is American? This is such a silly I'm the main character syndrome.
    - defrost 3y ago
      We (Australia) do - 2019: https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/AUS/year/2019/tradeflow/Imports/partner/ALL/product/091020 https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/AUS/yea... 2023: https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/AUS/year/2023/tradeflow/Imports/partner/ALL/product/091020 https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/AUS/yea... Your blinkers are showing.

epolanski 3y ago

This, as an Italian I often cook rigatoni with zafferano and sausage, which is a variation on the popular saffron risotto from the north. The way I cook it, for two people, is to put a very small amount (I guess it's around 0.1 grams or so, not much more) in a small espresso cup with a small amount of very hot water. The saffron quickly dissolves in it, and you can then throw the water with saffron in the pasta, add some grated cheese (generally parmigiano or grana) and the sausages pieces and it's delicious. The saffron makes a lot of difference.