Use for saffron

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Mikeymoo
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Use for saffron

Post by Mikeymoo »

Managed to obtain some saffron from a street vendor in Luxor recently.

Can anyone advise me of its uses?

I believe its supposed to be on threads. However, mine was in a packet and is loose. Is it authentic?


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Post by dab19 »

...Probably ordinary Crocus stamens.......proper stuff costs a forturne and you don't get it from street hawkers!!!! You could have been had.!!!

Bit like that stuff you can buy in Spain.....

Several recipes use it, but if you only want colour, use turmeric.

Jamie O

:lol: :lol: :lol:

:mrgreen:
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Post by Mikeymoo »

God! Hope it doesn't poison me! Got it together with curry powder, dried chlli peppers, and hibiscus leaves. Thought I'd got a bargain for about 3.50 English.
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Post by Goddess »

Don't know if it is authentic or not - I can only tell when I do buy it as threads, and it's for that reason I never touch the ground up stuff just in case it is turmeric.

But on saying that, it really won't make all that much difference to you. Add a pinch to water to make yellow rice - (add some nuts and sultanas too) or add a pinch to about a quarter glass of water - and then add it to chicken in the browning stage to make the chicken turn golden.


I was quite surprised last time I bought a wodge of bay leaves - thought they were going to be quite expensive - and was stunned when the weighing man stuck a ticket on for 16 piastres! I know that little story didn't have much to so with Saffron - but never mind! ;)
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Post by HEPZIBAH »

Saffron
Crocus sativus
Fam: Iridaceae

Coming from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus, it takes 75,000 blossoms or 225,000 hand-picked stigmas to make a single pound which explains why it is the world’s most expensive spice.

More saffron trivia

According to Greek myth, handsome mortal Crocos fell in love with the beautiful nymph Smilax. But his favours were rebuffed by Smilax, and he was turned into a beautiful purple crocus flower. A native of the Mediterranean, saffron is now imported primarily from Spain, where Moslems had introduced it in the 8th century along with rice and sugar. Valencia coup (coupé meaning “to cutâ€
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Post by Scott »

On an earlier visit here I discovered the 'saffron' at dirt cheap prices so I gobbled it up - only to discover it is fake. I don't know for sure what it is but it is not the high quality saffron one expects. Basically, as I understand it, if it is ground it is most likely not the real thing.

I bought a small jar of threads in a small town in Spain and paid something like $25 for it. Seemed like a lot but the real thing goes a very long way, a few threads are all you need for color or seasoning.

Actually I have not seen the strands here at all - has anyone??

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Post by dab19 »

Mickeymoo.....unless you bought buckets of the stuff, methinks you were overcharged!!!

Hepzi.....Re that recipe for the Supreme.
As (being a bloke) I need to know EXACTLY what is what, etc in a recipe. Someone pse elucidate on.....

Converted Rice.......Converted to what...surely not Christianity!
Yellow Raisins.........is that Sultanas???? or would Sultanas do?

The rest I have.....including a few (suspect) Saffron STIGMA (Sri, I called them Stamens before, but I too Googled it and got corrected). But will not be using it....Turmeric instead.


:lol:
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Post by PRchick »

I know Saffron threads are very very expensive.
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Post by HEPZIBAH »

dab19 wrote:Converted Rice.......Converted to what...surely not Christianity!
Yellow Raisins.........is that Sultanas???? or would Sultanas do?
[face=Comic Sans MS]Sorry Dabby, it's an American Recipe I had written down and just copied it as such. I guess I'm used to 'translating' in the kitchen, and adapting.

For converted rice - I read ready hydrated (cooked) ie not in it's raw grain stage.

Yes Sultanas would be fine. If you look in some of the health food shops, and supermarkets too now Christmas is approaching, you'll probably find a wider range of dried vine fruits available. Even currents would work, but less attractive!

Tip - cold tea is excellent for rehydrating dried fruits. Apple juice is good too.

Good served warm eg with roast chicken and roasted mediteranean vegetables. Also good cold with salads.[/face]
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Post by jewel »

I was quite surprised last time I bought a wodge of bay leaves - thought they were going to be quite expensive - and was stunned when the weighing man stuck a ticket on for 16 piastres! I know that little story didn't have much to so with Saffron - but never mind! Wink
Actually we have a bay tree in the garden backin UK so if we want a bay leaf.....just go out and pick one!
Saffron however is a different story mmmm we DO have crocus in spring so you never know ;)
I don't have a plan......so nothing can go wrong!

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Post by dab19 »

Tks Hepzi...."converted"...why on earth can't they say..."cooked"....OMG!

Got the rest...intend to try...I usually cook a big batch of curried veg, freeze in suitable portions, then do the meat separately, before combining for last ten minutes. Works a treat.

:P :P :lol:
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Post by PRchick »

HEPZIBAH wrote:
dab19 wrote:Converted Rice.......Converted to what...surely not Christianity!
Yellow Raisins.........is that Sultanas???? or would Sultanas do?
[face=Comic Sans MS]Sorry Dabby, it's an American Recipe I had written down and just copied it as such. I guess I'm used to 'translating' in the kitchen, and adapting.

For converted rice - I read ready hydrated (cooked) ie not in it's raw grain stage.

Yes Sultanas would be fine. If you look in some of the health food shops, and supermarkets too now Christmas is approaching, you'll probably find a wider range of dried vine fruits available. Even currents would work, but less attractive!

Tip - cold tea is excellent for rehydrating dried fruits. Apple juice is good too.

Good served warm eg with roast chicken and roasted mediteranean vegetables. Also good cold with salads.[/face]
Converted rice is more commonly called instant rice or one-minute rice nowadays. It is cooked then dehydrated.

By yellow raisins, I assume they mean golden raisins.
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Post by dab19 »

Tks PRc....So you just add water to the rice?......Yuk. As bad as Pot Noodles! ... Dreadful stuff!!........(am standing by for the barrage of hatet!!!...). :mrgreen:

Do they have sultanas in the States? During my travels there, I've never had to ask for them, so don't really know!!!! :cry:

:lol:
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Post by PRchick »

dab19 wrote:Tks PRc....So you just add water to the rice?......Yuk. As bad as Pot Noodles! ... Dreadful stuff!!........(am standing by for the barrage of hatet!!!...). :mrgreen:

Do they have sultanas in the States? During my travels there, I've never had to ask for them, so don't really know!!!! :cry:

:lol:
Yes you just boil water, add the rice, cover it and remove from the heat. I don't care for it myself but some recipes like this one call for it. My girls prefer it as they don't have the patience to cook rice. :lol:

I don't know what sultanas are. :?:
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Post by HEPZIBAH »

PRchick wrote:
dab19 wrote:Tks PRc....So you just add water to the rice?......Yuk. As bad as Pot Noodles! ... Dreadful stuff!!........(am standing by for the barrage of hatet!!!...). :mrgreen:

Do they have sultanas in the States? During my travels there, I've never had to ask for them, so don't really know!!!! :cry:

:lol:

Yes you just boil water, add the rice, cover it and remove from the heat. I don't care for it myself but some recipes like this one call for it. My girls prefer it as they don't have the patience to cook rice. :lol:

I don't know what sultanas are. :?:
[face=Comic Sans MS]I loath and detest quick cook rice as in 'Uncle Ben's'. It smells different in cooking and tastes different too, and to be honest really don't find it that much less trouble than cooking less 'treated' rice.

PR- Sultanas are just another variety of dried vine product aka grape. They all have different size, taste, colour and texture when dried, just as grapes do.[/face]
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Post by PRchick »

So is it a grape? Or muskadine? Or plum?
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Post by HEPZIBAH »

PRchick wrote:So is it a grape? Or muskadine? Or plum?
[face=Comic Sans MS]Like I said PR - it's a fruit of the vine - Grape (Plum is from tree). I'm not familier with the word 'muskadine' but assume it's the same as Muscat which is probably the oldest known grape variety and used a lot in wine making.

Here's what Wiki has to say about Raisin:[/face]

The sultana (also called the sultanina or sultani) is a type of white, seedless grape of Turkish or Iranian origin. It is also the name given to the raisin made from it; such sultana raisins are often called simply sultanas or sultanis. These are typically larger than the currants made from Zante grapes, but smaller than "normal" raisins.

Sultana raisins have a delicate and unique flavor and are especially noted for their sweetness and golden colour.[1]

The sultana raisin was traditionally imported to the English-speaking world from the Ottoman Empire, hence the name sultana, from the feminine form of sultan. Turkey and Australia are major producers.[2]

The sultana grape is cultivated in the United States under the name Thompson Seedless, named after William Thompson, a viticulturist who was an early grower in California and is sometimes credited with the variety's introduction.[3][4] According to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, the two names are synonymous.[5] Virtually all of California raisin production (approximately 97% in 2000) and roughly one-third of California's total grape area is of this variety, making it the single most widely-planted variety.[6][4]

Not all speakers of English in Anglo America make clear distinctions between different types of dried grapes (raisins, sultanas, currants), and golden-coloured raisins made from other grape varieties may be marketed as sultanas. In addition, virtually all California raisins are produced from the Thompson Seedless grape, even those which, because of different drying processes, are not golden like the traditional sultana raisin. The term sultana is not commonly used to refer to any type of raisin in American English; as most American raisins are from sultana grapes, they are called simply raisins or golden raisins, according to colour. The latter, which at least in colour resemble the traditional sultana raisin, are artificially dried and sulfured, in distinction to "natural" raisins.[7] All non-organic sultana grapes in California and elsewhere are treated with the plant hormone gibberellin.

As well as serving as a snack food without further processing, sultana raisins are used in a variety of dishes and baking, such as in scones, often prepared by soaking in water, fruit juice, or alcohol. The sultana grape is even used to make white wine, in which capacity it is known for its 'sweet blandness'.[3][4]
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Post by PRchick »

Oh OK. So it is a grape and is similar, if not the same, as what we call golden raisins. http://www.sun-maid.com/en/products/pro ... olden.html
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Post by dab19 »

Good God, Hepzi....That, as they say, is a mouthful!!!

:lol: :lol:

:mrgreen:
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Post by drwho »

Try smoking it..Remember "I'm just mad about saffron, She's just mad about me..try the banana skins whilst your at it, now nutmeg does your nut, personally my favorite is the 'Blue Lotus Cocktail' does wonders for me..8)
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