Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Spice guide to Safflower along with all the Safflower containing recipes presented on this site, with 11 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 a listing of all the spice-based recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Safflower as a major flavouring.

Safflower, also known as false saffron, is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant in the family Asteraceae. It is one of the world's oldest crops and was first cultivated in Mesopotamia, with archaeological traces possibly dating as early as 2500 BCE. Safflower is a fast growing, erect, winter/spring-growing annual herb, that resembles a thistle. Originating from a leaf rosette emerges a branched central stem (also referred to as terminal stem), when day length and temperature increase. The main shoot reaches heights of 30–150cm. The plant also develops a strong taproot, growing as deep as 2m. First lateral branches develop, once the main stem is about 20–40cm tall. These lateral branches can then branch again to produce secondary and tertiary branches. The chosen variety as well as growing conditions influence the extent of branching. The dried petals and the seeds are used as spices.

Buds are borne on the ends of branches, and each composite flower head (capitulum) contains 20–180 individual florets. Depending on variety, crop management and growing conditions, each plant can develop 3–50 or more flower heads of 1.25–4 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄2 in) diameter. Flowering commences with terminal flower heads (central stem), followed sequentially by primary, secondary and sometimes tertiary branch flower heads. Individual florets usually flower for 3–4 days. Commercial varieties are largely self-pollinated. Flowers are commonly yellow, orange and red, but white and cream coloured forms exist.

The word safflower is a borrowing from the Dutch, saffloer, German, safflor, and Old French, saffleur, having uncertain origin, though influenced by the words saffron and flower. The word was first used in English in the 16th century. An alternate common name is false saffron, indicating the resemblance of its flower petals to those of saffron.

For the past 50 years or so, the plant has been primarily cultivated for the vegetable oil extracted from its seeds. Safflower seed oil is flavourless and colourless. It is used mainly in cosmetics and as a cooking oil, in salad dressing, and for the production of margarine.[citation needed] INCI nomenclature is Carthamus tinctorius.

Safflower flowers are occasionally used in cooking as a cheaper substitute for saffron, sometimes referred to as "bastard saffron". the dried flowers are also made into a floral tea. As a spice, it is most commonly found in Central Asian cuisine and is a component of Kyrgyz chmeli suneli spice blend. It's also used in Maghrebi cuisine and is a component in algerian/Tunisian tawabel spice blend.

The seeds are also employed as a spice and they have a rich, nutty, flavour that's enhanced by toasting. They're a feature of the cuisine of Karnataka, India and some recipes from Ethiopia.

Safflower petals have a very mild, delicate flavour with light earthy and floral notes. Because their taste is subtle and not overpowering, they are primarily used in cooking and herbal teas for their vibrant red-orange colour rather than as a primary flavouring agent. As a result, when used as a substitute for saffron they are used for their colour rather than their flavour. For those who want to try safflower in their cooking, note that they release their colour much better in oil than in water, so add them at the beginning of your cooking when you're softening your onions by frying.