Its origin are shrouded inmystery . Some say the saffron crocus ( Crocus sativus ) works hails from Iran , others say Greece . When picked , glean from the flowers and dried , a pound of saffron can be up to $ 5,000 , allot to MoneyInc.com . Saffron is one of the mostexpensive spicesin the world . Here ’s what make it so worthful .
A spice like rosemary can be harvested anddried at homewith a piece of parchment paper and an oven . All you need for red pepper flakes is a food processor . It is estimated that it takes up to 170,000 single flowers to yield just1 pound(0.45 kilograms ) of saffron , according to Business Insider . Like buy a tailor suit or piece of all right art , the wildly mellow cost of this innocent red spice come from the vapourous manpower it takes to reap it right .
Postdoctoral research comrade at the University of Vermont , Arash Ghalehgolabbehbahani , explainedto Business Insider how the journeying of saffron does n’t end when the heyday is beak .
" Saffron is dehydrate or dry stigma , " said Ghalehgolabbehbahani . " The stigma is the female part of flower . You have to separate that stigma , dry that . And for all of these procedures , you need hand kit and boodle , laborers . "
In the countries where saffron provides a rootage of income for farmer , from Iran to Afghanistan to Morocco , Crocus sativus blossom are harvested at cockcrow , because overexposure from the sun degrades the lineament of the flower . On top of that , saffron flowers(which need to behand picked ) only bloomoneweek per year and typically produce just three useable stigma duds per flower . After the flowers are glean , thelabor - intensive workof polish off the stigma begin .
It can take laborers up to 40 hour of handpicking stamen to produce 1 Sudanese pound ( 0.45 kilo ) of Crocus sativus . Not only is it unmanageable to glean the spice , butgrowing it is a challenge in itself . blossom only during the months of October and November , saffron ask spicy weather condition , direct sunlight and well - drain soil to flourish . Italy , Iran and Spainare amongst the world ’s largest saffron producers with Iran itself producing90 percent of the world ’s supplying .
Saffron FAQs
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