How to Buy the Best Iranian Saffron

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How to Buy the Best Iranian Saffron

They say saffron is the red gold that embodies an indescribable flavor that boosts its surrounding flavors into something extraordinary. As the only aromatic spice that is worth like gold in its weight, saffron is the product of crocus flowers. The use of saffron gives a pungent aroma, a distinctive flavor, and a brilliant golden color to the foods. However, its use is not limited to the orders of cuisine, but saffron is used for medicinal purposes as well as making perfumes and dyes.

Buying saffron is among those purchases that demand you to attend to extreme delicacies in order to avoid breaking the bank or getting ripped off. While purchasing saffron, you should be careful about bunk saffron and the source from which you buy saffron. Today, you can find saffron from various sources such as Greece, Afghanistan, Morocco, Kashmir, Spain, and Iran; however, the quality of them is definitely not the same.

Here are the most important questions we answer about purchasing saffron in this blog:

1. Why Choose the Iranian Saffron?
2. Different Types of Saffron
3. How to Distinguish the High-Quality Saffron?
4. Why Is Saffron So Expensive?
5. How Can We Help You Buy Iranian Saffron?

Why Choose the Iranian Saffron?

Iran is the motherland of saffron and produces more than 90% of the world’s saffron each year. Compared to saffron produced in other countries, Iranian saffron has a deeper red color and a tingling aroma specific to this kind of saffron. Saffron has had a crucial role in Persian cuisine and culture for a long time, and the quality of pure Iranian saffron is not open to question. The saffron produced in Khorasan Razavi, particularly the city of Qaen, is the most famous saffron among Iranians for its quality. But how can you make sure you buy a high-quality type of saffron?

Different Types of Saffron

There are different kinds of saffron with varying levels of quality. You might find saffron in red or orangish threads (i.e., whole stigma) or in ground form. You should go for the threads since they preserve their flavor and aroma for a longer time. Moreover, it is easy to adulterate ground saffron with similar substances and fillers. You will be able to check the quality of saffron when it comes in threads. There are four main types of saffron in terms of where the stigma is cut: Sargol, Negin, Poshal, and Dasteh.

Sargol saffron is the best type of saffron with the most pungent color and aroma. As the purest type of saffron, sargol threads are the red tips of stigma with a trumpet shape that are separated from the yellow and white parts of the style that have no qualitative value. This type of saffron has the highest amount of crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal.

Negin saffron is the second-best type of saffron. Negin saffron is cut right at the end of the stamen, where the stigma is trifurcated into three sargols, and it is the product of too much care and time. This type of saffron is not as pure as Sargol saffron, but there’s a much lower possibility of getting ripped off since the saffron strands are connected to each other.

Poshal saffron threads comprise of the sargol and the yellow part of the stigma above style. This type of saffron is not as pure as the Negin variety of saffron.

Dasteh saffron threads include almost all parts of the stigma, and the stigma is cut about 3-4 cm below the sargol. The coloring power of this type of saffron is not as strong as the other types, and it’s much less pure.

How to Distinguish the High-Quality Saffron?

When purchasing saffron, you should beware of bunk saffron. There are five simple ways for you to test the saffron you have bought and make sure it has the authentic smell and hue of the real saffron:

1. The physical appearance

How to Distinguish the High-Quality Saffron?

The real high-quality saffron threads look dry, fine, dark red with a trumpet-like top, and even in size. On the other hand, low-quality saffron threads are coarse, tiny, and irregular in size. If the saffron looked wax-coated, you should doubt its quality. Saffron threads do not stick to each other.

Do you want to buy high-quality Iranian saffron with its aromatic from a reliable source? Visit Our Iran will get you whatever you want. Do not hesitate to email us at visitouriran@gmail.com or contact us through Whatsapp icon at the botton right of the page. We will get you to the best local saffron producers in Iran.

Buy Saffron through Visit Our Iran

2. Taste

Try a saffron thread on your tongue. The taste of an authentic saffron thread is slightly bitter and astringent when you try it. Low-quality saffron tastes sweet.

3. Aroma

Breathe in the smell of the saffron threads, and it is the authentic saffron if it feels like smelling hay and honey. The smell of real saffron will tickle your nose, even if it’s wrapped in a plastic cover. If your nostrils were not filled with the aroma, then do not doubt that the saffron is fake.

4. Water test

In this easy test, you should put the saffron in a glass of water, and if the saffron starts to color the water in yellow-gold slowly while it floats, it might be real saffron. However, you can make sure by taking the saffron out of the water, and if it had preserved its initial color, you could say it is real saffron. If it was the other way around and the saffron thread was no longer red, it is bunk saffron.

5. Baking soda test

First, put a small amount of baking soda in a glass of water and mix them together. Then, you can put the saffron thread into the mixture to see what happens. If the color of your mixture turns yellow, you could be certain that it’s real saffron. However, if it turns red, the saffron that you used is definitely fake.

6. The Test of flame

All you have to do for this test is that you should put a little saffron on fire. If the color of flame changed to purple or orange, the saffron you’ve got is pure original saffron. But if the color of flame turned out to be yellow, the saffron is, unfortunately, bunk saffron.

Iran, where the world majority of Saffron comes from. Learn about Iran’s red gold: Saffron.

Why is Saffron So Expensive?

Some spices like vanilla beans are more expensive because they are only harvested in particular regions and climates. But when it comes to the most expensive spice, saffron, the high prices are not attributed to the place or conditions of its cultivation. Saffron is expensive because there’s too much effort and time spent to get only 1 gram of saffron threads. The crocus flowers are hand-picked through this process, and then the three stigmas in each blossom are carefully plucked out.

With 150 flowers going through this process, only one single gram of saffron is produced. Therefore, you should note that saffron is always expensive and if you could find it at unbelievable discounts, it is likely to be low-quality so you probably should not buy it. Although saffron is expensive, a small pinch of it adds a wonderful flavor, a rich aroma, and a bright yellow color to the meals or desserts such as ice cream, custard, and cookies. Additionally, saffron has medicinal properties due to the amount of antioxidants, riboflavin, and vitamin B2 and prevents the coming of numerous diseases such as cardiovascular diseases.

How Can We Help You Buy Iranian Saffron?

In Visit Our Iran, we have been trying to introduce the beauties and wonders of our country and its unique culture to people all around the world. And in this path, we always try to guide the travelers in gathering the unique moments and experiences in their memories. Moreover, we will always be by their sides and get them whatever they want.

If you wish to buy high-quality Iranian saffron with its aromatic enchanting red, do not hesitate to contact us, and we will introduce you to the top saffron sellers in Iran and get you whatever you want. We will also help you get your orders delivered to your home address.