Anyone know where I can get Saffron seeds for real?

[lucknow]

Do you realize that it takes like an acre of crocus' to make 1 oz. of saffron?

[J&Em]

Originally Posted by lucknow

Do you realize that it takes like an acre of crocus' to make 1 oz. of saffron?

Where did you get that number? I looked all over for yields before I posted and didn't come across that. Before I looked it up I had only heard from friends who have them and they grow on average around 50-75 bulbs and have plenty for home use and the occasional gift. Here are quotes of the only numbers I did find:


From the article I posted a link to: "As to how many bulbs to plant: You should get three threads from each saffron plant. Experienced cooks will generally know how many threads they're likely to use in an average year, but for a rule of thumb figure on three threads per person for a main dish flavored with saffron (so, as an example, a family of four having a saffron-spiced dish on average once every couple of months, 24 plants would be needed: 3 threads x 4 persons x 6 meals a year / 3 threads a plant)."

From one of the recommended retailer's website: "Herb gardeners who revel in growing their own tasty seasonings delight in having that most dear of spices at a price that doesn't require a second mortgage. Saffron, the deep red threads that flavor rice dishes like Spanish paella, is actually the dried stamen of the sativus crocus. This spice is so expensive because of the labor involved with hand picking the small flower parts, but if your recipe calls for only 6-8 threads (not the 4,000 needed for an ounce) you can complete the "harvest" in less than a minute. Indulge in a luxury that's very affordable when you provide the growing site and the labor. Remember your gourmet friends with a bag of bulbs, too. (Don't worry, they can plant the whole works in less than 15 minutes with our instructions.)"


From Wikipediea: "A pound (454 grams) of dry saffron requires 50,000–75,000 flowers, the equivalent of a football field's area of cultivation (110,000-170,000 flowers or two football fields for a kilogram)"

Evilnewbie let us know if you do plant them and how it turns out. After looking up the cost of the bulbs I think I may have a good spot in the garden for a few.

[tarragon]

Does Saffron taste like curry?

[keepportlandweird]

You can buy them, and learn how to grow meadow saffron seeds here.

[url]www.westseedfarm.com/blog[/url]

[oregonwoodsmoke]

There are no saffron seeds. You buy saffron crocus bulbs. There is a homesteading gardener nursery in Oregon that sells good ones. Nichols Garden Nursery in Albany, Oregon.

They are much bigger than standard crocus bulbs and a lot fussier to grow. I tried it, spent a lot of money, wasted a lot of time, and barely got enough saffron to flavor a cup of rice. The saffron crocus is very fussy about where it lives and blooms. Which, I am sure, one of the reasons that saffron costs so much. That and it is backbreaking work to harvest it.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

PS: I have some sort of vague memory that regular crocus stamens are poisonous, so you must use the specialized plant.

[TheDragonslayer]

Originally Posted by _redbird_

We bought ours at a Pet store. We asked what do cardinals like to eat and the guy gave us saffron seeds.

They really do love that stuff! It's cheap too. I never thought about it sprouting beneath the bird feeder, which is right on our porch!

Those are safflower seeds, not a bulb.

[LoriNJ]

Saffron bulbs are readily available in the fall, but at this time of year, it would be hard to find them for sale. I know Eden Brothers usually carries them in the fall. Saffron Crocus Sativus Bulbs | Buy Saffron Crocus Bulbs in Bulk at EdenBrothers.com

I grew them once. Just put them in a pot in a very sunny location. It was a lot of fun harvesting the threads. And yes, I did use the threads to flavor a dish. It only takes a relatively few threads to give a dish that saffron flavor. I recommend trying to grow them if you are interested. Unfortunately, mine didn't come back after that one year.