Spice route november 2016 issue

SPICE TALK ||||| SAFFRON
EACH SPICEJET AIRCRAFT HAS BEEN NAMED AFTER
A PARTICULAR SPICE. IN THIS ISSUE WE TALK ABOUT
THE BENEFITS AND USAGE OF SAFFRON
THE
ENIGMATIC
STRANDS
CULTIVATED AND USED BY MANKIND
FOR OVER 4,000 YEARS, THIS ROYAL
SPICE SIMPLY AMAZES YOU WITH ITS
ONE-OF-A-KIND AROMA, TASTE AND
ADAPTABILITY
BY: MADHULIKA DASH
Dum Ki Chicken Biryani
THE GREAT ROMAN DICTATOR, Julius
Caesar, famously said, “I came, I saw, I
conquered”. By the same token, if we
were to pick one spice in the world that
could say it with as much aplomb, it
would have to be saffron. There are
stories aplenty about its origin and
history but the fact remains that saffron
cultivation and usage goes back more
than 4,000 years and traverses multiple
civilizations, cultures, and countries.
According to a popular Greek myth,
Crocus, a handsome mortal, fell in love
with Smilax, a beautiful nymph, only to
be spurned by her and turned into the
purple Crocus Sativus flower that would
go on to yield saffron. Ancient Egypt and
Rome found use for the spice as dye,
perfume, drug and culinary agent.
Roman Emperor Nero had the streets of
Rome sprinkled with saffron before he
made an official entry. Egyptian Queen
Cleopatra swore by baths infused with
the spice to increase her allure.
Some historians believe that saffron
originated in the Zargos Mountains of
Iran, where nearly a kilogram of the
spice was used every day in the royal
kitchen, not to mention the king rubbing
his body with oil containing it. Indeed,
saffron derives from the Arabic word
zaffran and is said to have travelled
outwards from the Middle East. Legend
has it that the Mughals brought it to
India from Persia. A second version says
that after ancient Persia conquered
Kashmir, the Persian variety of Crocus
Sativus was transplanted on the local
soil. According to a third account, two
Sufi ascetics, Khwaja Masood Wali and
Sheikh Sharif-u-din Wali, wandered into
Kashmir, bringing with them the exotic
spice.
The Arabs first introduced saffron to
Spain by 960 and from there, it made its
way to Italy, France, Germany and
England by the 13th and 14th centuries.
According to popular lore, a pilgrim
travelling from Arabia to England
carried a bulb of Crocus Sativus hidden
in his hollow staff which was then
planted on English soil. By the 16th
century, the North Essex town of
Walden had gained popularity as a
saffron growing and trading centre and
was rechristened Saffron Walden. As to
how the spice made inroads into China
and the rest of Asia, there are again
varying accounts.
Today, Iran produces more than 80
per cent of the 250 tons of saffron
produced worldwide every year; it is also
a leading exporter of the spice. Spain too
is known for its high quality saffron. In
MADE IN PUNJAB
114 ||||| NOVEMBER 2016