Saffron: an expensive spice that’s easy to grow at home!
Saffron is an expensive spice derived from a flower known as Crocus Sativus.
It originated in Asia and has been cultivated for many years to be used in the manufacture of medicines, dyes and perfumes.
It is added to culinary recipes to enhance the flavor of food preparations and beverages.
Successful cultivation requires a number of conditions to ensure the plant’s healthy, normal growth.
What are the conditions required for successful cultivation?
1- Saffron growing conditions:
This plant can be grown in your garden during the autumn season, provided you have a few saffron bulbs.
Plant them between July and August in well-nourished, sunny soil, at a depth of 8 inches (ca. 20 cm).
This crop requires light, well-draining soil that is not hard.
It needs a sunny spot, but we can’t conclude that it’s grown exclusively in regions that get sun all year round.
This plant flowers between September and the end of November, which is the best time to pick the flowers.
The pistils are the part of the flower containing the spice.
The 3 pistils of each flower are picked using hair pliers.
Each pistil has 3 stigmas at its tip, which give saffron after drying.
To obtain saffron, cut the flower pistils carefully and lay them flat on a piece of cloth to dry in a shady spot.
Flower pistils should be picked at dawn, before the flowers bloom, to preserve the smell, flavor and properties of saffron.
2- Spice drying procedure:
Turn on the oven and set it to a temperature equal to 122 °F, then put your spice in for about twenty minutes to obtain a hot, pungent flavor.
For a more pronounced flavor, put it in the oven for half an hour at a temperature of 85 °F.
Cook in a clean, dry, dark place for 2-3 months before eating.
Now you know how to grow and use this plant.
Respect the conditions required to grow it successfully in one go, extract your spice and prepare it for use when needed.
