Spices fascinate me. Their elaborate histories and remarkable personalities make them, to me, the most interesting part of a dish. That is why when researching a bit on paella, a traditional Spanish rice dish I was side-tracked by the mention of saffron. As spices go saffron has an exceptionally colorful history. At one time worth more than its weight in gold, it is still the most expensive spice in the world. Saffron has one of the most extensive histories of any spice. The flower that produces it is immortalized in Greek mythology said to be the form Crocus, a Greek youth, took after failing to win the affections of a nymph. Much like the story of the boy who became a myna bird his loss was so great that he could not continue in human form. Saffron is mentioned in several classical texts and even the Bible makes note of it. The etymology of the word traces its spread from the Moors to Europe and it is believed to have originated somewhere in the Orient very likely Persia.
As fascinating as its travels, the harvesting of this spice is what really intrigues me. Saffron is made out of the red stigmas (the female sex organ) of the crocus flower. There are only three stigmas, or threads, per flower, and it takes about 13,125 threads to produce a mere ounce of saffron. The process of removing the threads is too delicate for machines so saffron must be harvested by hand. There is a brief window in the fall, sometimes as little as two weeks, when saffron can be harvested. The fields come alive with workers handpicking the stigmas. Although this labor intensive process is part of the reason saffron is so expensive, the growers of this spice remain connected to their crop in a way that the agribusinesses have long forgotten. (Pictures from Gernot Katzer’s Spice Page)
This non-mechanical harvesting means that saffron enjoys a more organic relationship with man. However, this same relationship has produced dependence similar to that of our domesticated plants and animals. Hybridization of the crocus in search of longer stigmas has resulted in a triploid plant that is sterile. The crocus, like corn, has become dependant on humans for propagation. This is accomplished by planting its corms, bulblike roots that can be divided to form multiple plants, and for now we are all too willing to oblige. I’m bothered by the idea of sterile plants. I feel that in an attempt to increase the yields of saffron we have crippled a wild creature, destroying its allure and possibly robbing it from future generations. Time and again we destroy the very creatures that we value in a never-ending quest to “improve” them. When will we realize that the problem is not with nature but with our desire to change it?
As fascinating as its travels, the harvesting of this spice is what really intrigues me. Saffron is made out of the red stigmas (the female sex organ) of the crocus flower. There are only three stigmas, or threads, per flower, and it takes about 13,125 threads to produce a mere ounce of saffron. The process of removing the threads is too delicate for machines so saffron must be harvested by hand. There is a brief window in the fall, sometimes as little as two weeks, when saffron can be harvested. The fields come alive with workers handpicking the stigmas. Although this labor intensive process is part of the reason saffron is so expensive, the growers of this spice remain connected to their crop in a way that the agribusinesses have long forgotten. (Pictures from Gernot Katzer’s Spice Page)
This non-mechanical harvesting means that saffron enjoys a more organic relationship with man. However, this same relationship has produced dependence similar to that of our domesticated plants and animals. Hybridization of the crocus in search of longer stigmas has resulted in a triploid plant that is sterile. The crocus, like corn, has become dependant on humans for propagation. This is accomplished by planting its corms, bulblike roots that can be divided to form multiple plants, and for now we are all too willing to oblige. I’m bothered by the idea of sterile plants. I feel that in an attempt to increase the yields of saffron we have crippled a wild creature, destroying its allure and possibly robbing it from future generations. Time and again we destroy the very creatures that we value in a never-ending quest to “improve” them. When will we realize that the problem is not with nature but with our desire to change it?
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