Food - Drink
How To Spot The Difference Between Real And Fake Saffron
By MEGGAN ROBINSON
Sometimes, the spice labeled as saffron is not the fragrant spice that's been traded and sought after for thousands of years. It takes roughly 170,000 flowers to create a pound of saffron, which sets the stage for people to pass off less costly materials as the precious spice, but there’s an easy way to check if it’s genuine.
Placing a few threads in hot water is the best way to test your saffron, since fake saffron will give up its color quickly as red dye leaches from the substance, and the threads will often disintegrate. Real saffron will color the water slowly, taking as long as 20 or even 60 minutes to create a golden hue from genuine saffron.
Actual saffron threads will stay intact in water, retain their red hue, and produce an even yellow color in the water. Another giveaway is that when infused into hot water, the real deal will have the classic earthy, floral notes you expect, while fake saffron will either lack flavor and aroma, smell and taste bitter, or have a metallic flavor.