Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Herb guide to Saffron along with all the Saffron containing recipes presented on this site, with 311 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives information about Saffron and a listing of all the Saffron-based recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Saffron as a major herb flavouring.

Although typically thought of as a spice Saffron (which is derived from the saffron crocus Crocus sativus, members of the Iridaceae (Iris) family) actually represents the dried stamens of the flower and should probably be more accurately be classed as a dried herb. The saffron flower itself has three red stigmas (right-hand image) that are the distal ends of the plant's carpels. Together with its style (the stalk that connects the stigmas to the remainder of the plant) these components are often dried and used in cooking as a seasoning and colouring agent. Saffron is native to Southwestern Asia, where its wild precursor Crocus cartwrightianus still grows. Some 3000 years ago it seems that a sterile mutant of this plant, Crocus sativus, emerged in late Bronze Age Crete. Saffron has been used as a spice and medicine in the Mediterranean region since then, with usage and cultivation slowly spreading to other parts of Eurasia as well as North Africa and North America. In the last several decades, saffron cultivation has spread to Oceania.



In Europe, saffron cultivation declined steeply following the Roman Empire's fall. Saffron was reintroduced when Moorish civilization spread to Spain, France, and Italy. During the 14th century Black Death, demand for saffron-based medicine skyrocketed, and much saffron had to be imported via Venetian and Genoan ships from southern and Mediterranean lands such as Rhodes. Far of piracy and the loss of saffron imports led to the crocus being gown in Northern Europe, first in Basel and then Nuremberg and finally in England.



Saffron's aroma is often described by connoisseurs as reminiscent of metallic honey with grassy or hay-like notes, while its taste has been noted also as hay-like and yet somewhat bitter. Saffron also contributes a luminous yellow-orange colouring to foods. Because of the unusual taste and colouring it adds to foods, saffron is widely used in Arab, Central Asian, European, Indian, Iranian, and Moroccan cuisines it is also a crucial ingredient in any authentic paella. Confectionaries and liquors also often include saffron. Saffron remains the most expensive spice, mostly as it requires about 60 000 flowers to produce 0.5kg of the spice and about forty hours of frenetic day-and-night labour are needed to pick 150,000 flowers. Saffron grows well in all climates, from temperate to tropical and you can create a small crop even in your own garden and as an autumn flowerer it makes a colourful addition to any garden.