Taliouine saffron

Saffron is a unique spice, made from the pistils of the saffron crocus. Our saffron is from small-scale, organic cultivation in Morocco and is of unparalleled quality, colorful, fragrant and full of flavor. Class 1, crocin value: average 240.

From India to Portugal, from North Africa to Sweden, there is virtually no cuisine where saffron is not a key ingredient. In Spanish paella, in Italian risotto, in Scandinavian cinnamon buns, in French bouillabaisse and Indian biryani, and so on.

Saffron consists of the red pistils of the saffron crocus, a crocus species cultivated in Iran thousands of years ago. Because of their delicate appearance, they are called 'threads'. Although they are also perfectly edible, an infusion is made with them for cooking, in the same way as you make tea. Just a few threads in some hot, not boiling water, are enough for your dish.

For a saffron of a quality like ours, 0.1 gram is usually sufficient. The ISO 3632-2 report shows how high that quality is. The saffron is assessed, among other things, on the content of the colouring and aromatic substances crocin, crocetin, pricocrocin and safranal. The crocin content determines the class in which the saffron may be offered. For class I saffron, a crocin value of 190 is required.

Every year our saffron is tested to determine the quality. It is of course a natural product and the circumstances can vary from year to year. This saffron scores an average of 240 and is therefore allowed to carry class I. These are our measurement results according to ISO 3632-2:

What are saffron threads anyway? They are the pistils (stigmas) of the flower. Equipped to be pollinated by insects  to become hence the powerful sweet alluring scent. However, the saffron crocus is sterile, and cannot reproduce by pollination. For that, the human hand is needed. The only way to reproduce the annual crocus is to harvest the bulbs at the end of a cycle to plant them again in the new season. 

This happens quite late in the season, in early summer. Many crocus species bloom in spring, but the saffron crocus is a real late bloomer, hence. The first flowers appear in the course of October. Within two weeks all other crocuses follow. The flower opens early in the morning, and would already wilt later in the day. It is important to harvest the flowers before that happens, the wilted flower is useless.

Our saffron is grown on a small family farm in Taliouine, a village in the heart of the Sirwa in the province of Taroudant, with a centuries-old saffron tradition. The saffron from Taliouine is not for nothing included in the Ark of Taste of Slowfood, and also has European protection (PGI) Taliouine is located at 1300-1500 altitude in the Souss-Massa-Draa region, south of Marrakech. In addition to saffron, argan oil is an important regional product.

The flowers are picked with a gentle hand so that no stigma is lost. After picking, the deep red stigmas are cut from the orange-yellow style, three stigmas per flower. In Spanish saffron, the style and stigmas are not separated, which makes the saffron more voluminous.Our Taliouine saffron is dried in special drying rooms, not in full sun.

For every gram of dried saffron, the leaves, styles and stigmas of no less than one hundred and fifty flowers have to be separated. A huge task that requires the family to work with all their might. 

Usage

As befits saffron, our saffron does not taste sweet, all the flavour power is united in the safranal. To capture the flavour in your dish, an infusion is first made of just a few threads of saffron (around 0.1 gram is usually sufficient) in a little hot, but not boiling, water. In the same way as you make your saffron tea. Take the time to make the infusion as strong as possible, let it stand for at least five minutes, but a quarter of an hour is also good. The liquid is used as a flavouring or tea. In some dishes, the pistils are also used, this is mainly to show that real saffron has been used.

Add saffron only at the end of the preparation process of a dish to allow the flavour palette to come into its own. Expose the saffron to heat for as short a time as possible, also in your Risotto Milanese. Give the flavours time to integrate.

Use a maximum of 1 gram of saffron per day (per person). 

Features:

• 100% stigmas of Crocus sativus
• origin: Morocco, Taliouine

Assortment

• glass jars (1, 2 and 5 grams) and (refill) bags
• while stocks last (ask for availability)
• larger quantities on request
• now: volume discount: when purchasing two or more sachets in a refill bag:
• two or more sachets at €14.50 per sachet of 1 gram, 5 or more sachets €13.75 each; your discount will be processed in the shopping cart

Gift wrapping

• The jar is available in a tasteful gift packaging, consisting of a cube box filled with black tissue paper
• For an overview of our gift packaging, please refer to the gift packaging section 
  

Save:

• store saffron in a closed container
• preferably store in a dark, dry and cool place
• at least good until November 2026 (11/26)
• This expiration date is an indication

Stock item

We keep a limited stock of this delicious saffron. If you are interested in larger quantities, please ask us about availability and delivery time.

Batch number

The batch number helps us trace which supply an item originates from. It is stated on the packing slip and the invoice