Turkey has started harvesting the world's most expensive spice - saffron!

People have been using saffron for thousands of years. In Iran, for example, a saffron-based pigment was found 50,000 years old. Both then and now saffron is used not only as a spice, but also as a cosmetic and medicinal remedy. Saffron contains vitamins A, C, B6, as well as zinc, iron, phosphorus, manganese, potassium, calcium and copper, essential oils, flavonoids and riboflavin. 

Getting a good harvest of saffron is not easy. Only three thin threads (stigmas) of red or orange color are harvested from one small bud. 1 kg of spice is extracted from 440 thousand buds! And they bloom within 3-4 days. Not without reason saffron is called "golden spice". The price for 1 kg of dried raw materials of the highest quality can reach 20 thousand dollars.

Saffron of proper quality is very fragrant, has a pleasant bitterness and sweet honey taste. Good saffron sinks quickly in water.