The Delicate Art of Saffron Harvesting

Saffron is one of the world’s most coveted spices due to its mesmerizing flavor, sweet aroma, and brilliant color. Unlocking Saffron’s peak performance requires a rigorous harvesting process due to its delicate nature. In this article, you’ll learn about what it takes to bring Eupherbia’s high quality Saffron to your spice cabinet.

Where does Saffron come from?

Saffron is obtained by harvesting the stigma and styles from the purple-colored flower known as Crocus sativus. “Stigmas” also known as “threads” are found within each flower. Each crocus plant will produce only 3 threads, and it takes about 150 flowers to yield a single gram of saffron! Top Saffron brands, like Eupherbia, will even go to the lengths to separate the most potent part of the stigmas to deliver ‘Negin’ Saffron. The entire stigma has both red and yellow parts. Saffron with just the deepest red color throughout is of the highest quality.

What is the process of harvesting Saffron?

The crocus sativus is a perennial plant that blooms once in a year in autumn. It requires a great deal of land to produce even a minimal amount of saffron. 1 acre of land can only yield about 500 grams of saffron! The harvesting window is limited to a week after the flower blooms. This is when the stigmas are at peak potency and have not started to wither.

Over this week, skilled saffron cultivators pick the flowers in the early morning before the heat of the day can damage the fragile stigmas. The flowers are hand-plucked, with each thread being plucked from the flower using tweezers. After plucking, threads are usually dried in the sun or above a source of heat, which intensifies their flavor and aroma. After drying, the stigmas are sorted and, in the case of higher quality saffron brands like Eupherbia, the yellow and orange parts are removed to deliver the highest saffron to your dish!

Final Thoughts

The process to harvest Saffron is as delicate as the spice itself. Applying the utmost care throughout the harvesting process like hand harvesting, timing the harvest and carefully portioning the threads will deliver the highest quality Super Negin saffron to the market. Check out eupherbia.com for the high quality ISO tested Super Negin Saffron!