Forums > Specific Focus > Mexican Kitchen

mazbook1

Jul 24, 2013, 2:11 AM

Post #1 of 6 (2635 views)

Shortcut

Saffron - azafran

Can't Post | Private Reply

I have lived and cooked in México full-time now for 16 years and there is one puzzle I still haven't solved. The spice saffron - azafran - is probably the world's most expensive spice, as it is just the dried stigmas of the purple flowers of the crocus sativa. Expensive since only the dried stigmas of the flowers must be harvested by hand and the yield from any one crocus plant is tiny. Sooo…

Mexican cooks most usually use some other, much cheaper substitute (for its color only since none have the flavor of true saffron). Although I finally found a reliable source of true saffron here (Sam's Club), I have only identified two of the three common, far cheaper substitutes I have seen called and sold as azafran here (one is what appears to be a very, very low grade of saffron or some other flower with dark red stigmas - ¿possibly the entire flower dried and crushed? - labeled as coming from China and the other is definitely ground up, dried tumeric root - cucuma), I haven't been able to identify a third that is the most common "azafran" sold here in Mazatlán. It is a small, globular, gray seed that when broken open proves to have a very thin, brittle, gray shell and a bright yellow, almost crystalline appearing, solid interior. The whole seed can be ground up and added to dishes (while cooking) where the yellow color (resembling saffron) is desired. The size of these seeds is close to what I would call small, petit pois, green peas (and yes, I know that's redundant) rather than the larger, ordinary green dinner peas.

Try as I might to discover just what this "grey pea azafran" is, I have completely struck out. Do any of you more savvy cooks have any idea as to just what these seeds are? Wikipedia has a picture of a small, grey dried pea called the Austrian pea but doesn't show the interior or give any details about it (Google "types of peas" to see the photo.)

(This post was edited by mazbook1 on Jul 24, 2013, 2:26 AM)

GringoCArlos

Jul 25, 2013, 9:55 AM

Post #2 of 6 (2592 views)

Shortcut

Re: [mazbook1] Saffron - azafran

Can't Post | Private Reply

Is this it?:

http://www.latinmerchant.com/....asp?ProductID=H0013

and a description:

http://www.bioone.org/...3B2?journalCode=ebot

(This post was edited by tonyburton on Jul 25, 2013, 11:15 AM)

yucatandreamer

Jul 25, 2013, 10:04 AM

Post #3 of 6 (2584 views)

Shortcut

Re: [GringoCArlos] Saffron - azafran

Can't Post | Private Reply

Wow! Thank you. I was interested when I read the original post and now I have an answer. I had never heard of this plant or its seed. Good research.

esperanza

Jul 25, 2013, 11:57 AM

Post #4 of 6 (2567 views)

Shortcut

Re: [GringoCArlos] Saffron - azafran

Can't Post | Private Reply

Carlos, thanks so much for posting this. I've been wracking my brain--and wracking Google!--and hadn't come up with anything yet. I often use cúrcuma, but have never noticed this little bolita for sale at my tianguis. I think 'noticed' is the operative word, because the minute I look for it, I will surely find it! The spice guy at our Tuesday neighborhood tianguis is sure to have it--he has everything else.

Thanks again.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

mazbook1

Jul 25, 2013, 4:01 PM

Post #5 of 6 (2542 views)

Shortcut

Re: [esperanza] Saffron - azafran

Can't Post | Private Reply

Carlos, ¡muchísimas gracias! You seem to have hit on just what I never seemed to find. That is certainly what I was describing, but here in Mazatlán it is called simply "azafrán". Maybe if I had known the rest of the mexican Spanish name I might have found it.

Now for the dedicated cooks here on the forum, I am going to prepare two batches of saffron rice (with no other spices or flavoring), one using true azafrán and the other using azafrán de bolito just to compare the flavors, since your article says that the flavor of the azafrán de bolito is also desirable. I'll report back on the results of this "taste test" soon.

esperanza, Sorry about the lack of accent marks in my original post, but I typed it in a hurry and didn't think to check. I know that azafrán has one and that cúrcuma (when spelled correctly :-( ) should also, but posted without proofreading.

(This post was edited by mazbook1 on Jul 25, 2013, 7:43 PM)

yucatandreamer

Aug 25, 2013, 9:19 AM

Post #6 of 6 (1487 views)

Shortcut

Re: [mazbook1] Saffron - azafran

Can't Post | Private Reply

I have been wondering about the results of your experiment. Have you had a chance to do the taste test?