How to identify high quality saffron | Tips on buying best quality saffron
Saffron; this crimson gold
Saffron is considered the most expensive agricultural product and the most expensive spice all over the world. Apart from its very pleasant color and smell, which is also known as red gold, saffron also has numerous medical and therapeutic properties that have made it the most expensive spice in the world. In this article, we intend to answer the question; how to identify high quality saffron and the ways to distinguish genuine saffron from counterfeit.
Components of Saffron
The three main parameters that guarantee the quality of saffron are aroma, bitterness, and coloring power. Saffron itself is composed of three different components: safranal, crocin, and picrocrocin. Safranal is the main cause of aroma, crocin is the main cause of coloring and picrocrocin is the main cause of saffron’s bitter taste.
The color and aroma of the high-quality saffron can be detected by testing in laboratories by UV spectroscopy. Due to the priceless value of this very tasty spice, swindlers increase its volume by adding impurities similar to saffron to achieve huge profits.
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How to identify high quality saffron
In order to identify high quality saffron, you should know how swindlers make counterfeit saffron in the first place. One of the most common methods of producing counterfeit saffron is adding artificial color to it. When this type of saffron is used for medicinal purposes, not only will it be useless but it may also be harmful.
Among the methods of producing counterfeit saffron, which is unfortunately very common, we can mention the following examples:
- Mix saffron with sugar beet
- Use or add pomegranate to pure saffron
- Add red-dyed silk threads to saffron
- Use corn silk instead of high quality saffron threads
- Soaking saffron in vegetable oils or glycerin
- Adding artificial dye
What are the easy ways to identify the high quality saffron?
Since you can’t go to the lab after buying even a few grams of saffron, there are very simple ways to prove the quality of saffron without the need for painstaking tests. The following methods will help you to identify high quality saffron.
- first step is by looking carefully at saffron
- Second step is through the sense of smell
- Third one is through the sense of taste
- Fourth step is cold water testing
- Fifth step is through gasoline!
First method of how to identify high quality saffron – Just look at it
As mentioned, one of the methods of producing counterfeit saffron is to add impurities that are very similar to saffron. The image below describes the components of a saffron thread, and you can understand the main structure of the saffron flower, and then if you come across saffron that had a different shape and image, keep in mind that you are buying non-genuine saffron.
Second method of how to identify high quality saffron – Just smell it
To distinguish the high quality saffron from counterfeit, you must first be familiar with the smell of honey and alfalfa! The aroma of saffron is very pure and it smells like a mixture of honey and alfalfa. Therefore, to know the high quality saffron of those who are not familiar with the aroma of alfalfa and honey, this feeling is completely useless! So, you should go out and smell pure honey and alfalfa in the first place! then come and compare the saffron’s aroma you bought with the smell of honey and alfalfa mixture.
Third method of how to identify high quality saffron – Just taste it
As mentioned before, picrocrocin is responsible for the taste of saffron. Saffron, despite its pleasant aroma and color, has a bitter taste. Saffron that tastes sweet is definitely created by one of the methods of producing counterfeit saffron. The taste of saffron is genuine, astringent, bitter, and sharp.
If you want to buy saffron, first get a few threads of saffron from the seller to taste. Even if the taste of saffron is bitter, continue your experiment. Put a few threads of saffron on a clean piece of paper towel and dry them. After a few minutes, if the color of the tissue turns red, you will still be faced with counterfeit saffron.
Fourth method of how to identify high quality saffron – cold water testing
The coloring of saffron in liquids is very slow but steady. In this method, first put a few saffron threads in water, after ten minutes, the high quality saffron turns the color of the water to golden yellow. This color change process should be slow but steady. If the coloring of saffron happened quickly, the saffron in your hands is not of the high quality and they added artificial color to it.
Fifth method of how to identify high quality saffron – Gasoline testing
As mentioned before, there are many methods of producing counterfeit saffron, but the ways to distinguish genuine saffron from counterfeit saffron are just as simple and reliable. The last practical method of identifying high quality saffron is the use of gasoline. When we add a few saffron threads to an ice cream full of gasoline, if the color of the gasoline does not change after a few minutes, your saffron is of the high quality. Note that real saffron is not soluble in gasoline, meaning that this expensive spice can never release its color in gasoline.
Do you want to buy high quality saffron? Better buy from the authentic shops
Saffron is a spice that is almost as valuable as gold, and it is not surprising that swindlers are always looking for a way to deceive the buyers of this valuable spice. Saffron is one of the most expensive agricultural products in the world. If you are looking to buy excellent saffron, it is better to look for it in authentic shops with reputable brands.
Buy the high quality saffron Online at Roda Gold
In Roda Guldet, we have started selling the high type of saffron, that is, genuine Iranian saffron. We have very large farms in Iran and our farmers produce the best kind of saffron.
Due to the fact that we buy saffron directly, the price of our saffron is very affordable and the farmer gets more profit. There is no middleman in our saffron production and pure saffron enters Sweden directly. Our packaging has two unique features: First, they are recyclable and do no harm to nature. Two, they are very stylish and beautiful, and due to the use of the latest technologies, they will not affect the flavor and color of saffron at all.
Also, if you have a restaurant or bakery and you need saffron on a large scale, contact us. We have also made arrangements for selling saffron in bulk (Wholesale), the price of our products will be greatly reduced if you do wholesale. Visit our site now to purchase and get more information.