Excursion: Saffron field in Mund
The saffron crocuses grow on sun drenched slopes in poor, well-drained soil. They're harvested from mid-October to early-November.
Saffron probably originated in the Fertile Crescent region (Wiki link). No one knows for certain how the first saffron corms came to Mund. The Arabs were cultivating saffron in Spain by AD 960 (source: The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson) and one popular theory states that pilgrims brought them to Mund from Spain in the 1400s.
Saffron harvesting is hard labor. The flowers, and subsequently the stigmas, must be picked by hand and it takes 70,000 blossoms to produce one pound of the dried spice. The Mund yearly output is 3 or 4 kilos, and almost all of it is consumed locally.
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10 comments:
I undestand why I found the saffron flower looks like a crocus. It is a crocus !
Rambling Round,
I have received the BFF blog award, and now it is my turn to pass the award on to others. I have chosen your blog ...stop by my blog on today's post to pick up your award.
~Hope from Knoxville
Z....sorry for the wrong name posted above.... this should of course have been addressed to you "Z". The sentiment is still sincere...I just failed to change the address line. Sorry for the mix-up.
Claude: yes, it's one of the many sorts of crocuses that exist around the world.
Hope: Thank you for the thought, and I hope you'll understand if I gently decline the invitation. A severe lack of time means that I can't participate in these group activities with the level of involvement I would like to.
Sounds like hard work. I guess that's one of the reasons it's so expensive.
Have you tried any of the local saffron in your cooking?
I want a saffron field, it's just lovely!
Thanks so much for sharing these photos and the information. I love saffron and cook with it quite often even if it costs a lot. I love the flavor and the scent. I make an awesome saffron and stem ginger cheesecake.
No wonder they come as expensive as that!!!!
Lovley!
Halcyon: Yes I do have some Munder saffron and I use it, though not often. I think a saffron risotto is in the works for this weekend.
Sharon: Share your recipe?
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