24 Saffron Recipes to Showcase the World's Most Expensive Spice (2024)

FAQs

How much does a kg of saffron cost? ›

And real saffron can cost you over $10,000 per kilogram. Sought after for thousands of years as a spice, a dye, and a medicine, you need over 150 flowers to make just 1 gram of saffron. And the stuff you have at home in the cupboard could well be fake. So just what makes this spice so expensive?

Saffron can only be harvested and processed by hand as its petals must be peeled away gently to collect the delicate saffron threads. Consequently, an ounce of saffron is valued at more than an ounce of gold. It is unknown exactly where this precious spice originated, but many believe it came from Greece.

Saffron is often referred to as "red gold," for good reason—it's the world's most expensive spice, retailing for anywhere from $10 to $20 for a gram of the real stuff. It has a subtly sweet, hard-to-pin-down flavor and is a natural food dye.

Since such a small part of the flower is used, it takes 75,000 saffron flowers to make one pound of saffron spice. The small amount of saffron spice per plant, along with the fact that harvesting must be done manually, leads to saffron's being majorly expensive.

Saffron is among the world's most costly spices by weight because 1 kg requires about 110,000–170,000 flowers.

'Real saffron can cost you over $10,000 per kilo. Here's what makes it so expensive”, Business Insider, Accessed 2 May 2022.

Growers in Spain, considered the lowest quality of the spice in the world and naturally cheaper. Is saffron cheap in Turkey?

Historical Data

In 2022, the top importers of Saffron were Spain ($45.8M), United Arab Emirates ($28.4M), United States ($19.9M), India ($18.3M), and China ($16.5M).

Saffron is more valuable than gold and diamonds, but how can you tell if it's real or fake? Especially now that companies have become so good at creating fraudulent versions that look very real. Sometimes the best hint is if it's inexpensive, it's probably fake.

The wholesale price of a kilo of saffron, as mentioned, is between $ 2,400 and $ 2,600. If you want to buy saffron in retail, you have to pay much more. Purchasing saffron in retail is not recommended at all to those who are looking for saffron packaging.

How much is Turkish saffron? ›

What is the price of saffron in Turkey? The price of saffron in Turkey can vary depending on the quality and quantity. Generally, saffron is a relatively expensive spice, and the price in Turkey can range from around 50-100 Turkish Lira per gram.

Kashmiri saffron, also known as Kashmiri Kesar or Kashmir Saffron, is highly regarded for its exceptional quality and is considered among the finest saffron varieties in the world.

Saffron can last for several years if stored properly. To maintain its flavor and aroma, store saffron in an airtight container in a cool, dark place, away from moisture and direct sunlight. When stored correctly, saffron threads or powder can remain usable and retain their quality for up to 2-4 years.

Fake saffron—which is often colored with red food coloring or other foreign substances —will either lack flavor entirely or have a bitter metallic taste. On the other hand, real saffron will have a strong floral scent and the will have a floral and earthy taste, the kind of flavor you're looking for saffron to impart.

The culinary benefits of this hard-to-harvest spice, however, are worth every penny. A little saffron goes a long way—just a few crushed threads can completely elevate a dish. Bloom the threads in warm water or broth, or lightly crush and sprinkle them into soups, sauces, batters, etc.

The retail price range in Euro for saffron is between EUR 25.99 and EUR 27.66 per kilogram or between EUR 11.79 and EUR 12.54 per pound(lb) in Dublin and Cork.

Buy bulk quantity at per-kilo order: buying wholesale can sometimes make the difference, with the November, 2023 per-kilo price clocking around 1,100 Sterling Pounds.

These seeds are avialable from June1st week to October. You should expect between 1 to 3 flowers per bulbs and a 180 flowers for 1g of dried saffron. The number of bulbs will multiply by two each year. Approximately 80 to 90 Bulbs per kg.