When wishing to discuss an object or substance’s value, people will often remark that it is “worth its weight in gold.” In the world of spices, only one particular spice fits this description and it is saffron.
Native to the Middle East and first cultivated in Greece, where it was used for a multitude of purposes, from dying garments and medicinal purposes to its more traditional roles as a fragrance and seasoning, saffron is the dried stiles and stigmata of the flower of the Crocus sativus. Beyond visually identifying saffron and noticing the lofty prices, much about this spice is not commonly known.
The name saffron first appears in English in the Trinity College Homilies circa 1200 AD, noting saffron’s use in dying, stating that: “her clothing we saw made yellow with saffron;” however, the word and uses are far older.
The word saffron came to us via the Old French safran, which itself derived from either the Latin safranum or the Arabic az-za’faran, literally ‘with golden leafs.’ Though both the Arabic and Latin words are themselves likely derived from the Persian za’farān, the first writing of saffron is to be found in an Assyrian treatise during the reign of Ashurbanipal in the 7th century BC. Moreover, the actual usage of saffron dates back some 50,000 years to paint pigments used in prehistoric drawings.
History aside, it is still difficult to come to terms with the price, but there is a good reason for it. Though it can be widely grown, with small-scale cultivation even occurring in places like the Eastern United States and Eastern England, the best quality saffron is produced in a geographic belt that stretches from Spain to India. Further limiting production is the fact that growing saffron, like many other forms of agriculture, is labour and capital intensive. Still, the chief reason for the inflated price is the yield: to obtain 1 pound (approx. 450g) of dried saffron, between 50,000 and 75,000 flowers are needed, which requires slightly more than an acre of land and 20 hours to harvest.
