Saffron is the most valued and treasured spice on the planet. The word saffron comes from the French word Safrana, which comes from the Latin word Safranum. Safranum comes from the Arabic word which means YELLOW
Kashmiri Saffron is among the most requested in the world. The main cultivation area in Kashmir is spread around the town of Pampore. It is considered a spice that originated from a flower whose scientific name is Crocus sativus. It is a flimsy purple-colored flower whose stigmas are dried to bring out the spice.
Kashmiri saffron is renowned universally as a spice. It revitalizes health and is used for medical purposes & in cosmetics. The unmatched features of Kashmiri kesar are its longer and thicker stigmas, natural deep red color, bitter flavor, high quantity of crocin, safranal, and picrocrocin.
There are several types of saffron namely
- Kashmiri,
- Iranian,
- Spanish,
- Greek,
- Italian.
It has many names: zafran in Urdu, Kesar in Hindi, Kongposh in Kashmiri.
TYPES OF KASHMIRI SAFFRON:
The saffron available in Kashmir is of three types
- Lacha kesar, with stigmas just separated from the flowers and dried without further processing;
- Mongra kesar, in which stigmas are detached from the flower, dried in the sun, and processed traditionally;
- Guchhi kesar, which is the same as Lachha, except that the latter’s dried stigmas are packed loosely in air-tight containers while the previous has stigmas joined together during a bundle tied with a cloth thread.
KNOW YOUR KESAR:
Many fake products are being colored to imitate saffron. To find out whether yours is pure or not, dip a small amount of product in warm water or milk & if it changes its color right away, then it is an imitation. The real one will leach its color but will remain crimson.