Posted on 08/22/2011 7:23:03 AM PDT by decimon
Mad about saffron ping.
I’m just mad about saffron ...
Saffron Botanical name crocus sativus, is the most expensive spice in the world. Derived from the dried stigmas of the purple saffron crocus, it takes anything from 70,000 to 250,000 flowers to make one pound of saffron. Moreover, the flowers have to be individually hand-picked in the autumn when fully open. Fortunately, only a little needs to be added to a dish to lend it color and aroma; too much makes the food bitter and possibilities that large quantities of it can be toxic
Records detailing the use of saffron go back to ancient Egypt and Rome where it was used as a dye, in perfumes, and as a drug, as well as for culinary purposes. It reached China in the 7th. century and spread through Europe in the Middle Ages. The town of Saffron Walden, where it was once grown commercially, takes its name from the plant. Now, however, most saffron is imported from Iran and Spain which is recognized as producing the best quality, but it can also be found in Egypt, Kashmir, Morocco and Turkey.
http://recipehut.homestead.com/ExpensiveSpices.html
whoo-hoo for risotto milanese, which is yellow from the saffron....
Thanks for what you’re doing. All this talk about a shortage of drugs doesn’t worry me in the least. We may all be better off because of it.
You're welcome.
All this talk about a shortage of drugs doesn’t worry me in the least. We may all be better off because of it.
It's good to see that studies are being done on natural products. Or somewhat natural products.
Wouldn’t it be a shame if prozac and the other, ‘take the edge off of reality’ drugs had shortages?
I see articles like this over and over - This or that common herbal or spice product cures (Insert disease here.) And yet nothing ever comes of it. Is there a Big Pharma conspiracy, or are the articles just more BS?
A quick Internet check indicates that a myriad of health claims have been made about saffron over the centuries. Iran produces over half of the world’s better quality saffron. This study was conducted at the UAE University. Therefore, while the results were published in a respected journal, I remain from Missouri
I'm not big on conspiracies. Big Pharma concentrates on short-term cures with manifest results. I don't see that as being bad. Nutrition is more about the long term so results are difficult to detect.
Maybe nutrition should be thought of as playing the odds. Taking vitamin D guarantees you nothing but may help keep your chemical processes in balance and so make you less susceptible to illnesses. Or something like that. The idea is to shift the illness odds in your favor.
Other vitamins, minerals, spices, herbs or what not may also help shift the odds in your favor. I hope researchers can discovery just what are the best odds shifters.
Eat 2 plates of Paella and call me in the morning.
I Luv Saffron!
How was saffron administered?
Yep and it is easy to grow your own to cook with.Just buy saffron crocus bulbs and harvest the threads yourself.
That is an urban myth.Saffron is a cooking herb it is not LSD.
Thanks, decimon. Here’s some more info about saffron.
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/spices-and-herbs/207/2
http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/saffron.html
http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/health-benefits-of-saffron-9085.html
brain-lapse, safrole is DEA List I not saffron
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