Moroccan spice - Saffron
Saffron is the archetypal Moroccan spice, known to be the most expensive spice and rarest in the world. Saffron comes from a flower, more precisely, the pistil of Crocus sativus.
Its harvest is very difficult, it is done manually for a short period of time, it takes about 200,000 flowers to produce 1kg of saffron.
Morocco is a producer of Saffron, particularly in the region of the High Atlas, saffron from the Taliouine region is very popular: in fact it has the peculiarity of having a high content safranal (substance that gives the taste of saffron) up to 10 times more safranal than Italy and Spain and up to 3 times more than in Iran.
EtymologyThe word "saffron" comes from the Arabic word "Asfar" which means yellow, in Arabic Saffron is called "Za'faran"
Its useIt is often used with tagines to base of chicken or veal, impregnates his yellowish sauce tagine and gives it a flavor particularly sought, it is also used for the development of traditional Moroccan soup "harira" . In some parts of Morocco, it can be found as an ingredient used in the preparation of mint tea.
Health BenefitsAntiseptic and a powerful antioxidant, He possesses also digestive and sedative virtues.
- It is not necessary to use a lot, take about one pistil per person and infuse in a glass of warm water for a few minutes.
- As all spices, it should be stored in an airtight container and away from heat to maintain its freshness longer.
Still hungry for more? Ok! some others spices used in moroccan cuisine :
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The Arabic word za'farān comes from the Persian word zarparan meaning "flower with golden petals".
Iran ranks first in the world production of saffron,responsible for around 94% of global production