Saffron is a very precious spice.
As every valuable material, attempts of adulteration and frauds are possible and also frequent.
The main risks for you are:
-to pay for something that it's not
-to eat substances you don't know the effects (some substances although teorically are safe, can give you dangerous allergic reaction)
How to recognize an adulteration? It's really not always simple.
If Saffron has been mixed with artificial colourants, it's quite easy to recognize through water test.
Otherwise, if Saffron has been mixed with other less valuable flowers, like Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), that has coloring properties similar to Saffron itself, you should bring a sample to an equipped laboratory in order to do some tests.
But there is another more simple way to solve this problem, the most simple: NEVER buy Saffron in powder.
Because powder is the quickiest way to hide foreign substances in Saffron.
Because powder is the quickiest way to hide foreign substances in Saffron.
Buy only Saffron in threads!
If you buy Saffron only in whole threads, it's really simple to check what are you buying.
Another really effective and simple way to buy safely is to buy only from trusted and certified producers.
Check where the product has been harvested.
Check if the producer is available to give you all informations you ask.
Check the price.
Check if the producer is available to give you all informations you ask.
Check the price.
Never trust in low price Saffron!
As I previously wrote in this article, a low price for Saffron is the first signal that should catch your attention.
In conclusion, to evaluate if your Saffron is authentic, check the 3 P:
See you soon,
Andrea
In conclusion, to evaluate if your Saffron is authentic, check the 3 P:
PRICE
POWDER
PRODUCER
See you soon,
Andrea
Comments
Post a Comment