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Mention
saffron and one's mind goes wafting amidst the exotic aroma
of the most luxuriant spice, rivalling ounce for ounce, the
cost of gold. The world’s costliest condiment is the
connoisseur’s delight that lends the dish an aura of
celebration, amidst a dash of colour. Saffron is derived from
Arabic Za’fran which refers to golden yellow – the ancient
dye used to colour the bridal veils in the Arab world.
Beyond
the culinary menu, the use of saffron was wide and varied.
History stands witness to the opulent Roman and Greek halls
and theatres enlivened with saffron. Greek courtesans perfumed
their luxuriant baths with saffron, while the Phoenicians
dedicated it to their goddess Astarte. The streets of Rome
were strewn with saffron when Nero entered the city. Saffron
was Prophet Solomon’s ('a) fragrant delight.
The
earliest use of saffron is credited to the people of the Indus
Valley Civilization at Mohenjo-Daro, who used it as an edible
herb and a dye. However, bits of saffron were also discovered
in Egyptian mummies and some people attribute the
Mediterranean area to be the place of origin for saffron. Its
earliest cultivation is believed to be in Cilicia, southern
Turkey in the ancient town of Corycus where saffron was
referred to as Crocus. An Indian legend attributes the spice
to be a gift from the water god (Taksaka Naga) to Waghbhatta,
the physician who cured the god’s eye infection.
The
enchanting saffron colour has always been identified with royalty and throughout its long history saffron has remained
almost unaffordable. It was a matter of pride to display one's pelf and power by wearing clothes dyed in saffron. In
ancient India it was a popular fabric dye and later the
Buddhist monks adopted it as the colour of their robes. In
ancient Ireland, the king’s mantle used to be dyed with
saffron and a saffron dyed shirt was a status symbol. Mughal
monarchs like Akbar and Jehangir were no less seduced by the
charms of saffron. They mention it in their respective memoirs
and describe the spectacle of saffron fields as the most
enchanting and fastidious. Homer, Pliny, Hippocrates, Chaucer,
Shakespeare, among others refer to this glorious herb.
The
physicians appreciated the properties of saffron and the rich
condiment went well with various medical preparations. Saffron
contains an essential oil ( terpenes and esters) and
constituents like crocin and picrocorcin. The tiny stigma of
Crocus Sativus exhilarates the spirits when taken in small
doses, but if used in large doses, it induces immoderate
mirth. It is believed to aid digestion, cure heart ailments,
serve as a sedative and has even proved to be a powerful
aphrodisiac and an anti-spasmodic drug. Pregnant women should
avoid saffron in large doses as it may lead to abortion. Swiss
children can be seen with bits of saffron tied to their necks
in order to prevent diseases. The Germans carried a pouch of
saffron to ward off plague.
A
good number of traditional remedies, therefore contain
saffron, which is equally popular in the cosmetic world. It
begins with the Song of Solomon, where the virtues of saffron
are extolled. Next we hear of Cleopatra’s make-up kit to be
rich in saffron. Ladies of the court of Henry VII, used
saffron to dye their hair and as a cheaper alternative they
even used marigold flowers.
The Irish slept between saffron coloured sheets to
strengthen their limbs, while the English believed that
drinking saffron tea made one quite jolly. Kalidasa’s
Raghuvamsa speaks of Kashmiri women painting their breasts
with saffron. Chinese are also fond of rubbing themselves with
saffron after the bath in order to acquire the golden sheen of
Buddha.
Today
saffron is recognised more as a popular culinary ingredient.
French bouillabaisse, Italian risotto, Spanish paella
and Indian pulao or biryani simply can’t do in
absence of saffron. While saffron buns have long been popular
in England, the English are rendered sprightly by a liberal
use of saffron in sweet meats, broth, pastry and
confectionery. Edward III introduced saffron among the farmers
of Essex and soon it was cultivated in Saffron Walden where
the growers were referred to as ‘crokers.’
Come
November and the saffron fields are worth a look. Even the
clouds in the brilliant blue sky seem to reflect the colour of the
purple field below. Fragile saffron flowers bloom with sunrise
and are destined to die by sunset. It therefore, becomes an
arduous task for the cultivators to pluck the arrogant purple
flowers before they wilt and render the precious stigmas
useless. People remain at this back breaking job throughout
the flowering season, where the entire household is involved
in one or the other processing job that continues till late in
the night.
Once
the tiny flowers are plucked they are sent for indoor
processing where the red stigmas are separated with
considerable skill and the petals discarded. Without losing
time the stigmas are dried in the sun or roasted over charcoal
flame before being packed for sale. It is only after stripping
around 150,000 flowers that one kilo of saffron is obtained.
Each flower has only three filaments of the stigma of the
crocus sativus.
One
reason for saffron’s great cost is that the spice is still
untouched by the industrial age and continues to be stripped,
harvested and roasted by hand. Moreover, its growth is confined
to very few places in the world. Invading Arabs, who were the
most shrewd spice traders, introduced azafran (Spanish word
for saffron derived from Arabic zafran) to Spain around the
10th century and four centuries later Spain became a leading
producer (accounting for 3/4 of the world production) and
exporter of the precious spice. Kashmir ranks next and the
saffron sellers sell it with a guarantee tag attached to their
product. Most of them promise a reward of thousand rupees for
proving their product to be impure or inferior.
Adulteration
in saffron is deemed to be a serious offence, which invited
severe punishments. Encyclopaedia Britannica mentions the
regular inspection of saffron during 15th century Germany and
there are descriptions of people being burnt alive in public
along with their adulterated saffron. Saffron can be
adulterated with turmeric, marigold, bits of coloured wax,
silk, oil, glycerine or molasses, etc. Exhausted saffron,
discarded parts of the flowers like style, antlers and stamens
made to look like stigmas often go unnoticed.
Genuine
saffron is best purchased from dealers of repute and the price
is never bargained for fear of losing quality. Inexpensive
saffron turns brown with age and does not exude the aroma
retained in the fresh pack, which is dark but bright red.
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