Saffron Price: All You Need to Know Before Buying Saffron

Why saffron is so expensive? What factors affect the price of saffron? What is the saffron price per gram? Is it worth buying saffron unlike its high price? If you are looking for a thorough answer to these questions, you are in the right place. Here we are going to answer all these questions about the price of saffron through a comprehensive article.

Why saffron is expensive?

Have you ever heard of Red Gold? Yes, saffron is so expensive that many would call it red gold. It is, in fact, the most expensive spice in the world. But why? What is the reason behind the high price of saffron? There are not one reason, but several ones.

Firstly, this beautiful purple flower should be handpicked. To be more specific, each of its corns should be planted by human hand, one by one. Then, in the cultivation season, it should be delicately picked up by hand. Finally, saffron threads should be separated from the saffron flower by hand, a time-consuming and delicate process.

Secondly, 2 or 3 bulbs will grow out of each corn, and each flower only contains three saffron threads. So, we need lots of Crocus sativus for one gram of saffron and obviously larger fields should be under cultivation. Also, the field in which saffron is growing should rest at the end of the harvest season, which is not more than 2 months. It is not possible to harvest any other plant during the rest period of the saffron farm till the start of the next saffron harvest season.

More importantly, 1 gram of saffron threads come from 150 Saffron flowers or approximately 125 grams of the flower. So, for a good amount of saffron filament or powder you need lots of flowers.

Finally, as the harvest and extraction process is a delicate procedure and also the condition is hard, the cost of labor is high. The process of picking flowers starts early morning, before sunrise when the flowers are still open, and finishes before noon. The farms are also mostly located in a temperate climate which makes it even a more tiresome process for workers to handpick saffron flower.

All in all, saffron is rare, hard to grow, needs special temperature and fields and the harvest and preparation process is very time-consuming. So, all the mentioned reasons lead to Saffron being expensive.

What factors affect the price of saffron?

Being the most expensive spice in the world, there are different quality types of saffron in the market, set aside the counterfeit products sold instead of saffron filament or powder. By the way, there are many factors through which you can recognize pure saffron, and also specifications which can determine the quality type of saffron. Flavor, aroma, color, and shape are some essential factors to identify pure saffron and these factors eventually affect the price of saffron. Let’s have a closer look at these factors:

Flavor: pure saffron never tastes sweet; it has a bitter and astringent taste. Pure saffron smells sweet but never taste sweet.

Aroma: the small amount of pure saffron has an intense and pleasant smell (sweet smell), while counterfeit saffron almost doesn’t have any scent.

Color: the color of saffron should be dark red, not light. Also, when you put it in warm water, it doesn’t lose its color _only pure saffron keeps its color_ and when you take the real saffron out of the water, it still has its color while the fake ones ultimately loose its added color.

Shape: the highest quality type of saffron has three saffron stigmas of a flower connected together and is also all-red. When you put saffron in the water, the shape of the saffron stigma shouldn’t also change. If you see the form of saffron is changing, it is a warning sign that it’s not real saffron. In other words, real saffron has a corn-like head, and fake saffron has a flat head. The stigma also doesn’t have the same thickness from top to bottom.

Some may mix saffron with some materials like paraffin, fat, sugar, and honey to increase the weight of stigma. Another way through which fake saffron is made is coloring the yellow part of stigma into the red. Sometimes, the corn silk or coconut filaments are even painted and sold instead of real saffron.

There are some bizarre ways through which you can test saffron and distinguish original saffron:

• Combine a little amount of baking soda with water and add saffron to the mixture; if the color turned to yellow, it is pure saffron. But if it turned red, it is a fake one.
• Saffron would not dissolve in gasoline; so, when you add some amount of saffron to gasoline, it should not change the liquid’s color. If the color of the liquid changes, it means that the saffron is not pure or is fake.
• Put some saffron threads between two sheets of paper and press it. Then leave it to rest for some minutes. If you see fat and oil on the paper it means that the saffron is fake, but if it changes to powder, the saffron is original.

If you want to test the aroma and flavor of pure and high-quality saffron, with the best prices, don’t hesitate to check our online shop.

What is the saffron price per gram?

Saffron price varies in different continents and countries. It depends on the type of saffron, its origin, and its quality. Various countries produce and sell saffron, but the leading producer, with over 85% market share, is Iran. Persian or Iranian saffron is the most popular saffron worldwide. Even Iranian saffron has different quality types and each saffron type has a different price per gram. So, depending on different factors like the saffron type, the price of saffron per gram or kg may change and it is not possible to say what is the saffron price exactly. However, we will give you competitive prices for our high-quality saffron, contact us to get the latest quote on Premium Esfedan Saffron.

Is it worth buying saffron unlike its high price?

Is it worth to buy saffron while the saffron price is high and it is an expensive spice? The answer is twofold in my opinion. First, the benefits of saffron and also its color, aroma, and flavor would justify the high price of saffron. There are many proven effects of saffron on human health, for more info read our article: What Are the Benefits of Saffron for Health?

On the other hand, it is interesting to know that the color, aroma, and taste of pure saffron is so intense that you only need 15 threads of saffron for each of your foods. Well, now you think that this is not expensive at all. In fact, the cost for this amount of saffron which is used for one dish is almost as much as 20 cents and when you buy 1 gram of saffron, you can use it for a long period.

However, if you don’t buy pure saffron, you have to use way more than 15 threads to get the aroma and color. So, make sure that you’re buying authentic Persian saffron.

Let us know if you have any other questions about the saffron price.