Safinter Genuine Spanish Saffron

The Safinter company headquartered in Barcelona, Spain has been growing, buying and exporting saffron for over 90 years. The Spanish have federal grading standards to designate quality: the highly rated La Mancha is cork-sealed in a glass bottle which keeps the saffron dry and fresh. There is no substitute for saffron in paella, bouillabaisse, Indian cuisine or just stirring into your favorite rice dish. Safinter La Mancha saffron is aromatic and flavorful. Yeah, it's expensive, and worth every penny; in fact if you come across inexpensive saffron it's either adulterated or a very poor grade.

Size: .0035oz

NO LONGER AVAILABLE

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Saffron

There actually exists a grading standard for Saffron. Check it out:
Spanish federal saffron grading standards (the higher the better):
Coupe > 190
La Mancha 180-190
Rio 150-180
Standard 145-150
Sierra < 110

Wars have been fought over it, men have been executed for adulterating it, in ancient times it was thought to cure melancholy, used as an aphrodisiac, and Cleopatra even bathed in an infusion of saffron, specifically the stamen of the flower Crocus sativus.

Each purple crocus flower produces but 3 stamens, which are gathered by hand. It requires an area the equivalent of a football field under cultivation to produce just one pound of spice! Saffron is commercially grown today primarily in Iran and Spain, however it has been so sought after and valued as a spice that widespread production occurs in places as diverse as Greece, Azerbaijan, Morroco, Italy, Switzerland, the Lancaster, PA area, and England. Kashmir, India grows highly valued saffron which is rarely exported. They know what to hold on to!

In Western countries the price of saffron averages $1000 per pound. This spice is so valuable that adulteration and imitation has been a problem throughout history. In an effort to regulate saffron, The International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, has established a saffron grading system: from IV (poorest), to, I (finest).