Herb. No. 120 · Iridaceae
A sterile autumn crocus of the eastern Mediterranean, now a corm crop from Spain to Kashmir.
Native · Mediterranean · West Asia
Saffron
Crocus sativus
Medicinal herbsKitchenHarvestLookalikes
Three red threads from a sterile autumn crocus — the dearest spice on earth, and a traditional mood-and-digestion pinch.
Saffron is the dried stigma of Crocus sativus, a sterile autumn-flowering crocus that must be planted as a corm. Three threads per flower, picked by hand at dawn. Culinary pinches color rice and stew; larger ‘medicinal’ amounts are a different, stronger drug and are not a home experiment in pregnancy. Colchicum autumnale looks similar and kills. This plate is the true crocus.
Flavor
Honey, hay, and a faint metallic bitterness. A pinch perfumes a pot; a teaspoon is a dye vat.
Parts used
Dried stigma
Helpful
- A true kitchen spice
- A hardy autumn crocus in the right bed
Cautions
- Expensive because it is labor
- Pregnancy caution in medicinal amounts
- Deadly lookalikes in the garden center if you buy the wrong autumn crocus