Saffron

Saffron is not a powder someone invented in a lab. It is the dried stigma of a crocus flower, picked by hand, three thin threads per bloom. That is why it costs what it costs, and why a little goes a long way. The color comes out slowly, in warm water or warm milk, not in oil — give it ten minutes before you add it to rice or broth, and you will see the liquid turn deep gold, almost orange. That is the sign it is working.

Choose saffron by look first: whole threads, deep red, with a lighter, almost orange tip at one end. Crush one between your fingers — it should be brittle, not soft or dusty. Smell it: hay, honey, a little bitterness, never a flat, dull nothing.

Some people say more saffron means more flavor. No! Past a certain point it turns bitter and medicinal, not floral. That misconception leads cooks to dump in a heavy pinch “to be safe,” and ruin a pot of rice that only needed a few threads and patience.