Used plant part
Stigma, also called style (central part of a flower, female sexual organ). Approximately 150000 flowers are needed for one kilogram of dried saffron; typically, one would need 2000 m2 field area per kg harvest. Less expensive qualities include also the yellow stamina (male sexual organ), which do not have any taste of their own.

Flowering saffron plant

Plant family
Iridaceae (iris family).

Sensoric quality
Very intensively fragrant (reminiscent to iodoform, but much more pleasant), slightly bitter in taste. By soaking saffron in warm water, one gets a bright yellow-orange solution.

Main constituents
The intensive colour of saffron is caused by pigments of carotenoid type. Although saffron contains some conventional carotinoids (a- and ß-carotene, lycopin and zeaxanthin), its staining capability is mostly caused by crocetine esters; crocetin is a dicarboxylic acid with a carotenoid-like C18 backbone which is formed from carotenoid precursors (“diterpen carotenoid”). Crocin, a diester of crocin with gentobiose, is the single most important saffran pigment.

In the essential oil (max. 1%), several terpene aldehyds and ketones are found. The most abundant constituent is safranal, 2,6,6-trimethyl 1,3-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxaldehyd (50% and more); another olfactorically important compound is 2-hydroxy-4,4,6-trimethyl 2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one. Furthermore, terpene dervatives have been identified (pinene, cineol).

The bitter taste is attributed to picrocrocin, the glucosid of an alcohol structurally related to safranal (4-hydroxy-2,4,4-trimethyl 1-cyclohexene-1-carboxaldehyd). On de-glucosylation, picrocrocin yields safranal.

Safranal and its relatives, most typically C9 or C10 isoprenoids with a cyclohexane ring, are formed from carotenoid pigments as the result of enzymatic degradation (see also pandanus leaves).

Origin
Saffron is the triploid form of a species found in Eastern Greece, Crocus cartwrightianus; it probably appeared first in Crete. An origin in Western or Central Asia, although often

Saffron corms

suspected, has been disproved by botanical research. (Plant. Syst. Evol., 128, 89, 1977)

Because of being triploid, saffron is necessarily sterile, and its beautiful flowers cannot produce any seeds; propagation is possible only via corms. Distribution over larger distance requires human help, and so it's surprising that saffron was known to the Sumerians almost 5000 years ago. It is not known, however, how the spice was transported from the Mediterranean to Sumer in Mesopotamia.

Today, saffron is cultivated from the Western Mediterranean (Spain) to India (Kashmir). Spain and Iran are the largest producers, accounting together for more than 80% of the world's production, which is approximately 300 tons per year.

In Europe, saffron production is almost limited to the Mediterranean; Spanish (La Mancha) saffron is generally considered the best. In much smaller scale, saffron is also cultivated in Italy and Greece (Crete).

Saffron does, however, grow well in cooler climates, and since the 15.th century, numerous attempts have been made to introduce saffron production to German, Switzerland, Austria and even England. For example, the town of Saffron Walden (Essex/England) got its name from local saffron production in the 16.th century. However, by the end of the 18.th century, most most the former saffron cultivation sites had become abandoned, and in our days, the only remaining saffron “industry” in Europe north of the Mediterranean is found in Mund, a small Swiss village in canton Wallis. In Mund, a few kilograms of saffron per year are produced in traditional way, at an elevation of about 1200 m.

Saffron corms

Saffron stigmata, also called saffron threads

Of the Western and Central Asian cultivation areas, Iran is most productive. In recent years, yield has been enormously increased and Iran now produces more saffron than Spain. Smaller amounts are harvested in Turkey and India. Kashmiri saffron has a particularly high reputation, but is hardly available outside India; furthermore, yields and quality have decreased because of the unfortunate political situation persisting since decades.

Etymology

The name saffron comes from Arabic, where the spice is known as za'fran; that name derives from a Semitic root PR signyfying “be yellow” or “become yellow” (see also safflower). Almost all European and several non-European languages have loaned that name, e.g. (to name a few geographical extremes) Portuguese açafrão, Italian zafferone, Greek zafora, Georgian zaphrana , Russian shafran and Finnish sahrami. Similar names are also found in non-European languages, e.g., Amharic safron, Kazakh zagiparan, Hindi zafran, Thai yafaran and Japanese safuran

The Sanskrit names of saffron point to the ancient Indian area of saffron production: Kashmirajanman “product of Kashmir” and kashmira “the one from Kashmir”; the second name, however, can also be used for other Kashmiri products, e.g., costus (putchuk), Saussurea lappa, Asteraceae. Cf. also the name of saffron in some modern Indic languages, e.g., Hindi kesar and Urdu kisar.

By the name krokos, the spice was known to the Greeks (as mentioned by Homeros in the Ilias, see poppy). Except in Modern Greek, this name has not survived to any contemporary language, but in it Latin form Crocus, it is used as the botanical genus name of saffron. The etymology of krokos is not known, but maybe there is a connection to Old Hebrew language.

The Old Hebrew name for saffron is karkom and appears frequently in the Old Testament (see pomegranate). In Modern Hebrew, karkom was abandoned in favour of safran which is directly derived from Arabic za'fran.

The Arabic cognate of Hebrew karkom is kurkum, originally also with the meaning “saffron”; in modern Arabic, however, this is used as the name of turmeric only. The Arabic word indirectly entered many European languages to form the name of turmeric, e.g., curcuma. Of the whole kin of karkom and kurkum, only Armenian kerkoom is still alive with the meaning “saffron”.