Source · farm
La Mancha saffron co-op
Castile-La Mancha, central Spain, ES
Placeholder farm entry — Crocus sativus blooms for two weeks in late October. Flowers are picked at dawn before the sun opens them, and the three red stigmas are plucked by hand the same morning. 150,000 flowers per kilogram of dried saffron.
The world’s most expensive spice by weight, grown for a fortnight a year on the Castilian plateau. La Mancha’s saffron — protected as Azafrán de La Mancha DOP — is the standard against which all other saffrons are graded.
Products
- saffron
In season
- saffron · Oct – Nov
Used in · 3
- Gulab JamunDeep-fried *khoya* (reduced-milk) dumplings soaked in a cardamom-and-rosewater syrup — Indian and Pakistani celebration dessert, eaten warm.
- Risotto alla MilaneseSaffron, rice, marrow — the Milanese dish that gilds the plate with the world's most expensive spice.
- Rogan JoshKashmiri lamb braised in yogurt and Kashmiri chili for a deep red gravy, perfumed with fennel, ginger, and cardamom — the showpiece of *Wazwan*, Kashmir's banquet cuisine.