SC - transporting ingredients

[David Dendy]

If you are offered saffron for $17/oz US RETAIL, you may feel reasonable
certain that what you are being offered is not genuine pure saffron. That is
considerably less than I have ever seen it offered WHOLESALE, even in large
quantities by major importers. Either it is adulterated with material such
as turmeric (if it is in ground form -- n.b. it is always risky to buy
saffron ground) or it is actually safflower (carthamus tinctoria), otherwise
known as Mexican saffron. This is often sold to the unwary as saffron (this
is doubtless what whoever was claiming to get saffron at $3.95 per 1/4 oz in
an ethnic market is getting); if will give some colour, but none of the
flavour of genuine saffron.

Incidentally, in medieval Europe adulteration of saffron was considered a
heinous offense. I have read accounts of dealers convicted of doing so being
burnt alive, with a bag of the spurious saffrom tied around the neck.

Yours spicily,
Francesco Sirene


>sca-cooks at ansteorra.org wrote:
>> <<SNIP>>Incidently, I wasn't paying much attention to the saffron
discussion.  Is $17/oz. considered a good price for Spanish saffron?
>
>Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
>Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
>mka Robin Carroll-Mann