6 ms·
How saffron became an American cash crop
- tonetegeatinst 2y agohttps://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20250103061402/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/02/dining/saffron-farming-crop.html https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20250103061402/https://... Pesky paywall begone.
- yial 2y agoThat link didn’t work for me, a few paragraphs down it just shows a swirling “please wait why we verify access”. In case anyone else has the same issue; https://archive.is/2025.01.02-101341/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/02/dining/saffron-farming-crop.html https://archive.is/2025.01.02-101341/https://www.nytimes.com...
- berkai 2y agoFor those who don't know it yet, "bypass paywall" extensions are an alternative for a smooth browsing experience. I just can't bother with archive links. see. (https://github.com/bpc-clone/bypass-paywalls-firefox-clean https://github.com/bpc-clone/bypass-paywalls-firefox-clean)
- wolfgangK 2y agoHow do we know that this extension can be trusted ?
- jhdias 2y agoWe read the source code.
- Filligree 2y agoThen it auto-updates.
- NinoScript 2y agoThen we blindly trust that someone else is still reading the new version’s code and will raise the alarm if something bad happens.
- rpdillon 2y agoI highly recommend turning off auto updates on browser extensions.
- dotancohen 2y agoI suggest looking into the Obfusicated C contest before relying on your own reading of code to verify lack of malicious intent.
- blacksmith_tb 2y agoThere's no source provided in the repo? It seems to just be a discussion of how to download the xpi from somewhere else.
- mindslight 2y agoYou run it in a VM that you only use for casual web browsing, so the scope of possible damage is limited.
- berkai 2y agoWe simply can't, I guess. Not after the original repo is long gone due to DMCA. Therefore, better to mention to do your own due diligence.
- pjmlp 2y ago"Why can't we nowadays find any quality content?" Hence why.
- cf100clunk 2y agoSaffron was also introduced to BC's lush Fraser Valley through years of effort by Avtar Dhillon: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/abbotsford-farmer-saffron-1.6247091 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/abbotsford-f...
- cf100clunk 2y agoAn essential ingredient of authentic bouillabaisse.
- blacksmith_tb 2y agoIt's also tasty in chai, though rarely present in store-bought mixes (but you can just toss in a couple of threads when brewing).
- impossiblefork 2y agoHere in Sweden we use it in buns and in ice cream.
- ginko 2y agoMy understanding is that saffron grows almost anywhere (there's people growing it up here in Norway). It's mainly the labor to harvest the threads that makes it economically unviable. I guess you can sell American produced saffron at a premium but I'd still love to see the labor cost / profit calculation on those. >In 2021, Peace and Plenty harvested 700,000 flowers, which yielded about 3.5 kilograms of saffron. Ms. Price sold it to home cooks, and to chefs. >I was doing one flower per five seconds at my fastest, which sounds good So with 5 seconds per flowers 700,000 flowers are about 1000 man hours to harvest. With the Californian $16.5 minimum wage that'd mean about $4.50 per gram just in harvesting labor cost.
- geraneum 2y ago> My understanding is that saffron grows almost anywhere As in it grows in a farm, outside, under the sun, in Norway? Otherwise, Banana, coffee and Mango can also be cultivated anywhere in a controlled/enclosed environment.
- ginko 2y agoGrows outside in people's front/back yards. People grow them for fun. Farming wouldn't make sense.
- malfist 2y agoSaffron comes from crocus flowers. Crocus is an extremely common plant, you can probably find bulbs for sale for it in ever big box home improvement store in the US during the spring
- analog31 2y agoIndeed, and they're well suited to northern climes. Here in the upper Midwest, they're one of the first things up in the spring, often poking up through the snow.
- Ichthypresbyter 2y ago
- ipsum2 2y ago"American cash crop" is a little misleading (implies that its a substantial amount) when the article cites 3.5kg and 360g of harvests of saffron from American farms. Iran produced 174 tonnes, for comparison.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- stearns 2y agoThe term "cash crop" refers to a crop that is grown for sale rather than use. So NYT is using it correctly, but I agree they could have chosen a better term for the headline, since "cash crop" doesn't really help to explain the article. Also, to be pedantic, 3.5kg was from one American farm, not "from American farms".
- DidYaWipe 2y agoHe also mentioned the 360g from another farm.
- j45 2y agoMaybe this article is trying to seed it for American consideration.
- ChuckMcM 2y agoAt $100/g 3.5kg is $350,000 which is pretty decent cash for a crop that was planted in September and harvested in November. And unlike marijuana you probably don't need to have armed guards. I'm intrigued by the harvesting technique. Mostly because it looks like an interesting problem you might be able to work on with robotics.
- herbst 2y agoAs far as I understand there are machines or automations for this process. But it decreases the quality. We have saffron here in Switzerland and the reason it's premium priced is mostly because it's done the exact same way as 100 years ago.
- Morizero 2y agoI noticed not long ago that nootropic users were talking about it a lot. I wonder how much demand comes from that?
- OutOfHere 2y agoFor what it's worth, it is studied to have a variety of related benefits: nootropic, hedonic, antidepressant, retinal, macular, anti-glaucoma, and more. Its dose range is quite tight.
- fmajid 2y agoIt doesn’t make sense to grow it with US labor, on the other hand, in desperately poor countries like Afghanistan it provides a living for women like this project: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7267488367909462018/ https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7267488...
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago> doesn’t make sense to grow it with US labor, on the other hand, in desperately poor countries like Afghanistan it provides a living for women like this project Between adulteration risk, transport costs and concerns around financing the Taliban, I can absolutely see the American product competing with Afghan exports.
- NomDePlum 2y agoIt obviously won't come close on cost to the consumer so what do you base that on? Surely simple market economics apply in this case?
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago> obviously won't come close on cost to the consumer What about an international supply chain involving the Taliban and co-mingled with opium production and transportation is obvious? > Surely simple market economics apply Why “surely”? What are “simple market economics”? If you by “close on cost” you mean there is a fundamental reason the price of the American product cannot compete with the Afghan stuff, you’re wrong. (Also, there is great Kashmiri saffron.) If you’re suggesting nobody thought about producers’ margins, no, that’s not insightful.
- kittikitti 2y agoThere are many fakes but they're easy to spot. The street vendors in NYC use real or fake saffron, and if you have enough halal food you can tell. The more American supply the better, this stuff is crazy good.
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- OutOfHere 2y agoThese people are selling it at 10x the market rate which is senseless for the consumer. It is strange that they even have any market at all at this rate. It is a completely unscalable price.
- lupire 2y agoIt pairs well with a $25 (plus tax and shipping) single, frozen, partially-cooked hamburger that you gave to finish preparing yourself.. https://www.goldbelly.com/restaurants/gramercy-tavern/the-gramercy-tavern-burger-4-pack https://www.goldbelly.com/restaurants/gramercy-tavern/the-gr... They are rich retired people selling miniscule quantities to other rich people. It's just for fun. The excess cost of the saffron is lower than the transaction cost of fulfilling the order.
- snypher 2y ago>Homemade Sesame Seed Buns Let me guess, Homemade is the company name?
- underseacables 2y agoThis is good! Price of saffron got really high there for a while and it really impacted specific dishes. I noticed this about 12 years ago, popular rice brands removed the word Saffron from the front of the packaging. It was replaced by "saffron seasoning" which was a blend of things. The taste changed because I felt it had less saffron, which I thought was due to higher prices.
- exhilaration 2y agoThe article mentions sanctions on Iranian exports, that might have played a role in higher prices.
- bookofjoe 2y agohttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42585112 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42585112
- neonate 2y agohttps://archive.ph/UoWjR https://archive.ph/UoWjR
- Pooge 2y agoSorry to hijack the thread. If I wanted to use my garden to plant things, where should I start and learn? Does anyone have any good resources for this? I'm not very good with my hands and don't know anything about plants. I'd love to grow some vegetables and/or fruits as they seem to be the most useful for me.
- _whiteCaps_ 2y agoThere is a very good book called Square Foot Gardening that's aimed at beginners.
- Pooge 2y agoCould you give me the ISBN or author name? A quick search gave me a handful of books so I'm not sure which one you're talking about.
- _whiteCaps_ 2y agoMel Bartholomew is the author of the version I have, but it looks like "Square Foot Gardening Foundation" took over after he died.
- Pooge 2y ago"All New Square Foot Gardening", I assume? Thanks!
- barnabyjones 2y agoIt says that the first couple spent $20,000 on bulbs 3 years ago which gives them a $25,000 harvest, and have somehow made $1 million from this. There seems to be some information missing.