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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

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Is Saffron Worth the Price?

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I just read an interesting article about saffron from the new issue of WSJ., The Wall Street Journal magazine. The story profiles the "Saffron King" (a saffron dealer who sells to chefs like Daniel Boulud) and talks about the difficulties of growing, harvesting, and distributing the spice, all of which accounts for the $3,000-per-pound price of the spice these days. There's no doubt that saffron is expensive: The least expensive saffron available from Penzeys Spices costs $13.99 for 1 gram (two teaspoons). But then again, a little saffron goes a long way.  Epicurious has more than 200 recipes with saffron and most of them only call for a pinch of the spice. I think it's worth it for dishes such as the bouillabaisse recipe we featured in our Around the World in 80 Dishes cooking video series. What about you? Are you willing to shell out for saffron?

by Megan O. Steintrager

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Comments 1-10 of 24
  • Debbie Demrest's Avatar
    Posted by Debbie Demrest Fri Sep 11, 2009 3:57pm PDT

    When I don't have the budget for Saffron, I use Mexican Saffron. You have to at least double the quantity, but for a fraction of the price, it's still worth it.

    Report Abuse
  • Halia876's Avatar
    Posted by Halia876 Sat Sep 12, 2009 3:37am PDT

    Heck yeah! I would marry the man who brought me spice instead of flower!! but then that's me. . .

    Report Abuse
  • Kikki's Avatar
    Posted by Kikki Sat Sep 12, 2009 1:53pm PDT

    Totally. It's so distinctive. I got my honey saffron threads for christmas, the first dish was excellent, can't wait for more.

    Report Abuse
  • Saph's Avatar
    Posted by Saph Sun Sep 13, 2009 7:07pm PDT

    If you have to ask...you're not a good enough cook to even be thinking about buying saffron!

    Report Abuse
Comments 1-10 of 24

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