Most of us who cook know that saffron is one of the rarest and definitely the most expensive seasoning in the world. We also know that the reason saffron is so expensive and rare is that the threads are actually the stigmas of a specific crocus flower, Crocus sativa, grown primarily in the Mediterranean region and parts of the Middle East, and must be harvested carefully by hand. Cooks use saffron for the concentrated carotine that turns anything it touches bright yellow, as well as its slightly bitter flavor and aroma.

If you want to know more, then let me point you to these three links from 3QuarksDaily, where Elatia Harris has been writing about saffron intermittently since 2007. In these articles, Harris not only writes about the culinary aspect, but also the history of saffron as medicine, luxury, cultural artifact, and more. If these articles aren’t the chapters of a book-in-progress I’ll eat my hat (seasoned with saffron, of course).