Kesar: Threading The Golden Stigmas
The other day a fellow baking-enthusiast gave me an interesting tidbit – it takes 75,000 saffron crocus flowers to produce less than 500 grams of saffron. Each flower is painstakingly handpicked and dried. From the stigma of every dried flower, three saffron strands (just 3) are threaded.
That can’t be right! 500 grams is a measly amount for such a laborious process. But then I remembered a pinch of saffron goes a long way. One thread is often enough to color a dish.
No wonder Alexander the Great superfluously used the expensive and luxurious spice to show off his status. Though, he is not the only royal to use Kesar as a delicacy, pigment, medicine and even prompt *cough* passion.
