Saffron, a cultivated plant, is a perennial plant that blooms in autumn and is not found on its own in natural habitat.
According to botanical research, it first appeared in Crete. It is known as a bulbous cultivated plant of the crocus genus, 20-30 cm tall, and the spice obtained from this plant.
The spice saffron has a pungent taste and a hay-like odor, due to the chemicals picrocrocin and safranal found in it.
Saffron, which has the most expensive and valuable position among herbs and spices, is a plant that deserves this position with its rarity and chemical structure. Approximately 150 saffron flowers are used to obtain 1 gram of saffron.
A single leaf or two of this special plant will give your entire meal the flavor it needs.
What are the benefits?
Saffron plant is used as an expectorant, stimulant, anti-seizure and analgesic.
It is also recommended for use in conditions such as loss of appetite, bronchitis, whooping cough, indigestion, insomnia, and impotence.
Saffron is also used as an antipyretic and sudorific agent in diseases that cause red spots on the skin such as fever, spleen enlargement, measles, and smallpox.
It is important not to use it in excessive amounts and not to be consumed by pregnant women.
How to Use?
In addition to its use as a food, saffron also has a long history of use for medicinal purposes in both Western and Eastern traditions.
Saffron, which has been perceived as a spice used in the kitchen for years, has recently begun to be used for its therapeutic properties again.
Especially in medicine, saffron is used to treat many diseases due to its analgesic and sedative properties.
It is known that this plant, which is mentioned in the Bible, was used extensively in ancient Greece, India and Egypt.
It is recommended to use saffron in marinades prepared to tenderize and flavor meat.
Some special dishes such as Spinach Risotto, Seafood Paella, Milanese Style Risotto, Rice gain flavor with the use of Saffron.