Crocus Sativus ... Saffron Crocus .....

Beautiful ... and useful too :o)

Is this out now Amy?

Very useful TT I use it in cooking .... Yes Sticki they flower at this time of the year , I grow a small bed 4 x 4 ft. for the Saffron spice , I hope to double that size next year when I split them up .

I was given some saffron crocus this year but told they wouldnt flower till the following year ~ i wasnt expecting them as soon as this?
good luck with the doubling!

Good topic for chat :) Amy.
Saffron is very healthy for liver and I like to do (and eat) saffrin rizotto. It is wonderful! There is a valley in Slovakia, from which originated famous herbalists in 19th century. They travelled all over Europe, for instance, they travelled to Turkey, Russia Italy and France. They were good in folk remedies and languages. Their saffron, known as Hungarian saffron, was sold for a lot of money :))

But I know from Indian friend that the best saffron is from India :))

Fantastic Amy....you could make a nice little earner here, they cost the earth to buy don't they? I think you ought to have a whole field of these, then I can come and help harvest......:))))

How much is it in the UK?

Sticki mine didn't flower the first year they flowered for the first time last year this is my second crop .
Saffron is very expensive to buy here Kat , there is a town called Saffron Waldon in Essex where growing Saffron many years ago was big business the town was built on the wealth of it .. I like Rissotto very much ( we spell it differently to you ) I like all herbs and spices and use them a lot ... I didn't know that the best Saffron came from India !

That sounds a brillliant idea Janey , I'm not sure how my poor old knees would stand up to crawling round a field LOL .. but with your help !!! Kat we went to a food fair at this time last year where they had stall selling Saffron ,they had some tiny little glass jars with only a few threads in each one you could almost count them for £ 6.00 each , I was shocked and thought the same as Janey that it would be worth going into it and would have thought seriously about it if I had been much younger .......

its around £3 for 4 grams in the supermarkets!!! i sometimes use turmeric when possible instead!!

Yes I use to do that Sticki it's a good substitute and makes a genuine colour ......

thanks for the info on the bulbs amy, i shall go and look tomorrow to see if anything is happening but i dont think the leaves have even appeared!

Amy@Risotto is Italian spelling :)

The best Saffron in the world is from Kashmere.

Very nice Amy, I planted 10 of these but only 3 have come up, I expect the wood mice have been busy :o(

oh! woodmice?? that could explain a lot!

Its lovely Amy

It is expensive in Canada as well . I paid $17.00 for a few stigmas. I use it in paella which is free-style combination of meat, sausage, seafood, vegetables and rice.
I thought that it originated in Greece. Mine is the Spanish variety which is not as potent as the Iranian .
Beautiful picture, Amy

I love paella :)

I had noticed you spell Rizotto different to our Risotto Kat doesn't matter it's an education to see how we both spell it ! Ph Don't give up on them , mine didn't come the first year and not all of them the second year they don't like to be wet I put sheets of glass over mine in very wet weather .. thanks 6p , I love Paella as well Klahanie , a Spanish restaurant has opened up this month near us I'm looking forward to trying it out :o)

Now, I saw a prog on telly..might have been countryfile as I love that prog. It was some time ago now and they were showing Saffron Waldon etc. I also read in a magazine article that this bulb is not reliable in northerly climes, but obviously that doesn't mean Norfolk Amy. No, I was thinking I might grow some myself before I found out it didn't like the North!....I love Saffron and although Turmeric has a good colour, the taste is totally different. Having said that, Turmeric is a protection against Cancer I believe, so just as good for you! No, I think I'll keep buying it very occasionally and save the Turmeric for the Biryani! ;) Lovely photo Amy....I'm very hungry now!

Oh, and I think, I might be wrong, but I think I read that Saffron is the most expensive substance on the planet per gram? I don't know if that's true as there are some pretty important and rare heavy metals etc, but certainly for food, and it is more expensive than gold I believe.

beautifull amy :o)

Very pretty, hope you've got an electric fence round this Amy ;-)

I've been looking it up and although they say Saffron is worth it's weight in gold it isn't quite, gold has the slight edge ! I gave my son a few bulbs he has been successful in growing them in pots in Lancashire in a sheltered spot it might be worth a try Karen ! Thanks San , Not quite Kathy I do have retaining boards with chicken wire over them ;o))

Lol Country File Karen, it's a standing joke in our house, Ian is quite envious of Adam......I always shout him through as Adam's Farm comes on......all I hear is ....grrrr.....ha,ha!

Country file is a must in our house to ! Tell Ian I bet Adam can't make bread like him Janey thats a winner in my book :o))

Country File is a winner in ours too....