[Sca-cooks] Saffron in Ireland

[Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise]

> Where is saffron native, and when did it come to Ireland? A friend 
> was told that saffron was from India, was brought to Ireland by the 
> Crusaders.  Since it was known in Minoan Crete, and has a long 
> history in Spain, I would guess that it has a much longer history in 
> Ireland than this.

Saffron is native to the Eastern mediterranean, but it was a common trade
import for most of period, including Roman times. Saffron Walden,
according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, took on it's name in the mid
14th century with the introduction of Saffron growing in that area.

According to the EB:
" In early times, however, the chief seat of cultivation was in Cilicia, 
in Asia Minor. It was cultivated by the Arabs in Spain about 961 and is 
mentioned in an English leechbook, or healing manual, of the 10th century 
but may have disappeared from western Europe until reintroduced by the 
crusaders."

The first mention of the word saffron cited by the Oxford English 
Dictionary is " c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 163 Hire winpel wit oer maked eleu 
mid saffran. "

So, I would say that though saffron was not native to Ireland or grown 
there, there's a good chance it was in use there.

-- 
-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net 
"That road is paved with librarians,/Bushwhackers, scouts with string
Through the labyrinths of information,/Helpers who disappear the moment
You reach your destination." -- Julia Alvarez