4 ms·

I love saffron! Not because of its taste (which I kind-of hate) or other properties (like staining, which I definitely hate, or security-theatre-triggering, but

I love saffron! Not because of its taste (which I kind-of hate) or other properties (like staining, which I definitely hate, or security-theatre-triggering, but more about that below), but mostly due to the rituals around it, and because a friend of mine once got booted off a TV cooking show as a result of using it. So, visiting the famous (and horrible, but thank you!) Spice Market in Istanbul recently, I just could not resist learning everything I could about saffron (mostly: how to spot the fake stuff -- spoiler: the paint sinks in hot water), plus, of course, taking home some of the real stuff for said friend. This, on an unplanned detour through Germany on my way back, got me into a bit of trouble. Apparently, the post-9/11 scanners that determine whether your hand-luggage contains anything troublesome, have some of their own issues with saffron...

themaninthedark 3y ago
Why did they get booted for using it?
- PreInternet01 3y ago
  The reason given on the show was that the celebrity-chef judge did not appreciate the taste. That didn't (and doesn't) make an awful lot of sense though, since they used the same spice in very similar quantities in another dish the week before, and were praised for that by the same judge. So, everyone's best guess is that the "reality show" script writers decided it was time for them to go, to give more screen time to more interesting contestants...
  - OJFord 3y ago
    It couldn't possibly have been something else about that dish that was different, or simply that they didn't think saffron went well with that one..?
    - xandrius 3y ago
      We'll never know but I guess the friend finds more comfort in blaming the "system" than using it as introspection tool. But maybe they're right, as I said, we'll never know.
deleted 3y ago
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resolutebat 3y ago
Safrole is a precursor for MDMA (ecstasy), so Customs might be interested, but I wouldn't have expected TSA-style scanners to pick this up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safrole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safrole
- cess11 3y ago
  Don't think saffron contains any safrole? The main plant source would be sassafras.
- OJFord 3y ago
  It might just look interesting in the sense of being indistinguishable from a bag of something that is contraband, and so warrant checking out by eyeball.

themaninthedark 3y ago

Why did they get booted for using it?

PreInternet01 3y ago
The reason given on the show was that the celebrity-chef judge did not appreciate the taste. That didn't (and doesn't) make an awful lot of sense though, since they used the same spice in very similar quantities in another dish the week before, and were praised for that by the same judge. So, everyone's best guess is that the "reality show" script writers decided it was time for them to go, to give more screen time to more interesting contestants...
- OJFord 3y ago
  It couldn't possibly have been something else about that dish that was different, or simply that they didn't think saffron went well with that one..?
  - xandrius 3y ago
    We'll never know but I guess the friend finds more comfort in blaming the "system" than using it as introspection tool. But maybe they're right, as I said, we'll never know.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

resolutebat 3y ago

Safrole is a precursor for MDMA (ecstasy), so Customs might be interested, but I wouldn't have expected TSA-style scanners to pick this up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safrole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safrole

cess11 3y ago
Don't think saffron contains any safrole? The main plant source would be sassafras.
OJFord 3y ago
It might just look interesting in the sense of being indistinguishable from a bag of something that is contraband, and so warrant checking out by eyeball.