[0:00] In this video, we are doing a deep dive
[0:01] into saffron, which I think a lot of us
[0:04] know is by far the most expensive spice
[0:07] in the world. But beyond that, I have a
[0:09] lot of other questions I want the answer
[0:12] to. First, what is the flavor of
[0:14] saffron? For example, what types of
[0:15] dishes is it used in? And what does it
[0:17] actually contribute to those dishes? Is
[0:20] it mainly the color or is there
[0:21] something special about the aroma or
[0:23] taste as well? Then my second big
[0:25] question is there a flavor difference
[0:26] between cheap and expensive saffron? So
[0:30] I bought two different tins at very
[0:32] different price points and I want to
[0:33] know whether spending more money on what
[0:35] is already the most expensive spice
[0:38] actually makes a difference. And finally
[0:40] my last big question is how do you get
[0:43] the most out of your saffron when
[0:45] cooking? And really what I want to know
[0:47] is how much do you need to add before it
[0:49] becomes overpowering? and also what is
[0:51] the best way to extract the flavor
[0:54] whether keeping them as whole threads or
[0:55] grinding them up first. So in this video
[0:58] we're going to answer those three
[0:59] questions through a series of
[1:01] experiments and taste test. And by the
[1:03] end I don't know if we'll quite have a
[1:04] PhD in saffron but we will definitely
[1:07] have our master's degree. Now before we
[1:09] hop into the first test I need to tell
[1:11] you about the Cookwell app that my team
[1:13] and I have been building based on the
[1:15] past eight years of experience and
[1:17] listening to all of you. And really,
[1:19] there are four key things we've built so
[1:21] far. And first is simple recipes that
[1:24] don't suck to use. There are no ads, no
[1:27] stories. You can save, organize, and
[1:29] edit them. Add ingredients directly to
[1:31] grocery list, and use our Let's Cook
[1:33] mode, which lets you swipe left and
[1:34] right between steps instead of doom
[1:36] scrolling up and down between the
[1:37] ingredients and instructions. Then the
[1:39] second piece are frameworks. And this is
[1:41] where it gets a lot more exciting for
[1:43] me. If you followed the channel for a
[1:45] while, you know I'm a huge believer in
[1:47] framework-based cooking because they're
[1:49] designed to help you cook with what you
[1:50] already have. For example, in this
[1:52] canned curry framework, you can choose
[1:54] the curry paste, aromatics, protein, and
[1:55] vegetables you already have on hand,
[1:57] then save this version to your profile
[1:59] to cook from. Then the third piece are
[2:01] guides, which helps you learn about
[2:03] specific ingredients, techniques, and
[2:05] cooking concepts. Alongside this video,
[2:07] for example, we're publishing a saffron
[2:09] guide that covers what we learned here,
[2:11] plus a few additional recipes and
[2:13] frameworks you can try yourself. And
[2:15] finally, all of this lives inside a
[2:17] complete home cooking system. You can
[2:20] plan meals, build grocery lists, log
[2:22] what you've cooked, and just keep
[2:23] everything organized in one place. And
[2:27] our goal here is simple. We just want to
[2:29] build the tools that help you cook and
[2:31] create more at home. So, you can check
[2:33] out the Cookwell app using the link
[2:34] below and save 30% off the yearly plan.
[2:38] But now, let's get back to saffron and
[2:40] dive into our first test. So, for our
[2:43] first test, we're going to be blooming
[2:45] saffron in three different liquids:
[2:47] water, milk, and oil that I've heated to
[2:50] 150° F. And the reason is that many
[2:52] recipes will call for blooming saffron
[2:55] before you use it, but they don't always
[2:57] explain the food science behind it. And
[2:59] it turns out that saffron contains a
[3:01] variety of compounds that contribute to
[3:03] its flavor. However, some of these
[3:05] compounds are thought to dissolve more
[3:06] readily in water, while others may be
[3:09] extracted differently in the presence of
[3:11] fat. And milk is interesting because
[3:14] it's essentially a combination of both.
[3:17] So, I'm going to get these liquids
[3:18] heated up and then weigh out the exact
[3:20] same amount of saffron for each one. And
[3:23] while I let them steep, I want to break
[3:25] down the flavor properties of saffron so
[3:27] we can start to learn how it's actually
[3:28] used in cooking. And then I'll meet you
[3:30] back here for the taste test because I'm
[3:33] kind of curious to see if there are any
[3:35] noticeable differences in kind of the
[3:36] color or aromatic intensity.
[3:40] Starting with taste, saffron isn't a
[3:43] strong tasting ingredient. Technically,
[3:45] if you steeped a bunch of saffron into
[3:47] some plain water, you could detect a
[3:48] slight bitterness from a compound called
[3:50] picroin. However, because saffron is
[3:53] typically used in very small amounts and
[3:55] alongside other strong tasting and
[3:57] smelling ingredients like salt, sugar,
[3:59] aromatics, and fats, taste is not what
[4:02] makes saffron special. Like many other
[4:04] herbs and spices, it's the unique aroma.
[4:07] The primary aroma compound in saffron is
[4:10] saffronol, and this develops during the
[4:11] drying process. Now, while saffronol is
[4:14] considered the primary aroma compound,
[4:16] it's not working alone. Researchers have
[4:18] identified more than 100 volatile
[4:20] compounds including tarpen, fennel
[4:22] propenoids, benzonoids, and other aroma
[4:25] active molecules that contribute to
[4:27] saffron's unique aroma profile. And this
[4:30] is one reason why the smell of saffron
[4:32] can be difficult to describe. Unlike
[4:34] vanilla, for example, which is heavily
[4:36] dominated by a single compound called
[4:37] vanoline, saffron's aroma comes from a
[4:40] collection of compounds working
[4:41] together. And the aroma of saffron is
[4:43] often described as floral, honeylike,
[4:45] earthy, grassy, or even slightly
[4:48] medicinal. Now, whether those aroma
[4:50] compounds are extractively different in
[4:52] water versus milk or oil is something
[4:54] we'll see in just a second. But there is
[4:56] another flavor property where we have a
[4:58] much clearer answer. The next flavor
[5:00] property is sight. And this is a
[5:02] reminder that we eat with our eyes
[5:03] first. And when it comes to saffron, the
[5:06] color it provides is arguably just as
[5:08] important as its aroma. Saffron gives
[5:11] foods that signature golden yellow color
[5:13] you'll see in dishes like paella,
[5:15] biryani, and risoto melanise. And this
[5:18] color comes naturally from compounds
[5:20] called croins, which belong to a family
[5:22] of pigments called the keratenoids. And
[5:23] this is the same class of compounds
[5:25] responsible for the orange color in
[5:27] foods like carrots. Now, what's unique
[5:29] about croin is that it's highly water
[5:32] soluble, which is important because the
[5:34] croin in saffron needs to be extracted
[5:37] from the threads before they can color a
[5:39] dish. And this is why many recipes that
[5:42] use saffron will tell you to bloom it in
[5:44] a small amount of water, milk stock, or
[5:46] another liquid before using it. Now, if
[5:49] croen is mainly water- soluble and not
[5:51] fat soluble, we should expect to see a
[5:53] clear difference in this first test. But
[5:56] before we check in on those, let's
[5:57] briefly touch on the last three flavor
[6:00] properties. Fourth is texture. And as
[6:02] you can guess, saffron doesn't really
[6:04] contribute much here. It's typically
[6:06] steeped and will soften before being
[6:08] dispersed throughout a dish. And it's
[6:09] used in such small quantities that
[6:11] texture isn't a meaningful part of the
[6:13] experience. Next are physical sensation.
[6:16] And this would include things like the
[6:17] heat from chili peppers, the cooling
[6:19] sensation of mint, or the aringency of a
[6:21] strong tea. And saffron doesn't really
[6:23] contribute much in this category either.
[6:25] Its impact primarily comes from the
[6:27] aroma and color. And finally, we have
[6:30] the human element. And this is the idea
[6:32] that flavor isn't just determined by
[6:35] what's happening on our tongue or in our
[6:36] nose. It's also influenced by culture,
[6:39] nostalgia, expectations, and the stories
[6:41] we attach to food. And saffron is one of
[6:44] the best examples of this because it's
[6:46] rare and very expensive. It's often
[6:49] associated with things like luxury,
[6:51] celebration, and special occasion. So
[6:53] whether it's a paella, biryani, Persian
[6:55] rice dishes, or risoto melanise, saffron
[6:58] tends to show up in foods that people
[6:59] really care about. Now, this doesn't
[7:01] actually change the chemistry of
[7:03] saffron, but it can absolutely change
[7:05] the way we experience it. So, this is
[7:07] one bias worth keeping in mind as we go
[7:10] through our tests. Okay, so visually, we
[7:14] can all see a difference. And to me,
[7:16] this is just really cool when the theory
[7:17] matches up with what you actually see in
[7:20] practice. And right away, I mean, the
[7:22] oil didn't change color at all because
[7:24] as we just talked about, you know, the
[7:25] croin is water soluble. And as soon as I
[7:29] dropped in the saffron to the water,
[7:31] this started changing color right away.
[7:33] You could see it start leaking out and
[7:34] and getting into that water. And I think
[7:36] what's interesting to me here is I can
[7:39] still see um the milk starting to seep
[7:42] away, but it's going much much slower
[7:44] compared to just the pure water.
[7:46] Obviously, there's some opakqueness
[7:47] there, too, that I'm able to see. But to
[7:49] me, this really goes to show that in a
[7:51] dish where the color of saffron is very
[7:53] important, you have to make sure that
[7:55] there is a water component in there, you
[7:57] know, you wouldn't want to bloom your
[7:59] saffron in oil like you do in a lot of
[8:01] other Indian dishes. You know, the
[8:03] spices, you have to do it in some kind
[8:05] of water-based solution. Now, so
[8:07] visually, very cool difference to see,
[8:09] but I'm kind of interested to see what
[8:11] these kind of what it smells like when I
[8:12] give them a sip because I really only
[8:14] cooked with saffron a few times and
[8:16] never in isolation. So, Let's see.
[8:21] Right away, you get that kind of floral
[8:25] quality.
[8:29] It really is such a unique aroma that it
[8:32] has. It is kind of floral and like a
[8:35] little medicinal. It feels right as a
[8:37] tea. Like this this tastes very normal
[8:39] and and is very enjoyable. Like I could
[8:41] totally just sit down and and have that
[8:43] on like a nice, I don't know, rainy
[8:45] afternoon. Um, but it is a it is a very
[8:48] distinct um aroma that it has and I'm
[8:52] I'm curious to see how it's going to
[8:53] show up in the cooking. Um, but let's go
[8:55] through and at least taste the milk and
[8:57] the oil as well.
[9:02] So, the milky aromomas and also there's
[9:04] sugar and milk as well is definitely
[9:06] kind of competing with the flavor a
[9:08] little bit. It is still very delicious
[9:10] and you can clearly tell there's saffron
[9:12] in it, but with just the plain water,
[9:14] it's way more obvious than the milk
[9:16] because again, we're starting to compete
[9:18] because there's sugars, there's our own
[9:20] molecules in the milk. So, saffron, it's
[9:22] fairly subtle. Um, it it's very obvious
[9:25] in just the water, but when you get to
[9:26] the milk, it is pretty subtle. And
[9:28] lastly, um, let's see if we really get
[9:30] anything from just the oil. Obviously,
[9:33] no color, but there should be some
[9:35] aroma. This feels weird sipping oil, but
[9:38] it is what it is.
[9:42] Way less aroma in this one. It's And I I
[9:46] wonder too if a lot of the aroma
[9:47] molecules that make up uh saffron are
[9:50] also water soluble. The aroma and flavor
[9:53] you get from just the water is feels way
[9:56] stronger than the oil. Just the oil
[9:59] alone, it it really it it's like there's
[10:01] like a hint of it in there, but this
[10:03] almost feels like it might be five times
[10:05] as strong in terms of aroma.
[10:09] Yeah, that's super interesting.
[10:12] So, this first taste test absolutely
[10:14] fascinating. And I think the big
[10:15] takeaway is the importance of water
[10:17] solubility when it comes to both the
[10:19] color and aroma that you get in saffron.
[10:22] And this is going to be really important
[10:24] as we move throughout the video and kind
[10:25] of talk about different grades of
[10:27] saffron and also start using it in some
[10:30] different cooking applications. So let's
[10:32] break it down. So now that we understand
[10:34] the general flavor properties of
[10:36] saffron, I think it's time to start
[10:38] cooking with it in an actual dish and
[10:40] let's tackle that second big question.
[10:43] Because what I want to know is there a
[10:45] flavor difference between cheap and
[10:47] expensive saffron. Because while saffron
[10:50] is already the most expensive spice in
[10:52] the world, there are still significant
[10:54] differences in price and grading within
[10:56] the category itself. So for this next
[10:58] test, I bought two saffron tins at very
[11:01] different price point. One cost about
[11:03] $79 per ounce, while the other cost
[11:05] about $141
[11:07] per ounce, and I'm going to use the
[11:09] exact same amount of saffron to make two
[11:11] batches of saffron rice, then put them
[11:13] through a blind taste test to see if
[11:15] that higher price is actually worth it.
[11:18] So, we can clearly see there's a
[11:20] difference in the color of the saffron
[11:21] threads in the budget versus the more
[11:23] expensive option. But I have no idea if
[11:26] this is actually going to show up once
[11:28] we cook them in the rice. So, while I
[11:30] get this going, let me quickly explain
[11:32] how saffron is grown, how it's harvested
[11:33] and graded, and why some saffron can end
[11:36] up looking different from one another.
[11:38] and then I'll meet you back here and
[11:39] we'll find out whether those color
[11:41] differences actually make a difference
[11:43] in some saffron rice which I am very
[11:46] excited to eat. To understand why
[11:48] saffron is so expensive, we first need
[11:51] to understand what it is. And saffron
[11:53] comes from the red stigmas of the crocus
[11:55] sativis flower. And these are the thin
[11:57] red threads that grow from the center of
[11:59] the flower. And they're what eventually
[12:00] get harvested, dried, and sold as
[12:03] saffron. Now the challenge isn't growing
[12:05] the flower. As Kevin from Epic Gardening
[12:07] has shown us, you can grow it at home if
[12:09] you really want to. The challenge is
[12:11] harvesting those threads. Each flower
[12:14] only produces three stigmas, and all of
[12:16] them have to be harvested by hand. On
[12:18] top of that, the harvest season is
[12:19] relatively short, which means growers
[12:21] have a limited window to pick thousands
[12:22] of flowers before they begin to
[12:24] deteriorate. And that's really the main
[12:26] reason why saffron is so expensive. It's
[12:29] not necessarily rare or limited in the
[12:31] same way something like truffles are.
[12:33] It's more driven by the cost of
[12:35] production. And today around 90% of the
[12:37] world's saffron comes from Iran with
[12:39] smaller amounts produced in Kashmir,
[12:40] India Afghanistan Morocco Greece and
[12:43] Spain among others. Now, this got me to
[12:46] wondering if saffron is so expensive, is
[12:48] there actually a difference between the
[12:49] cheaper and more expensive options. And
[12:52] the answer is yes, at least on paper.
[12:55] There's an international ISO grading
[12:57] system that evaluates saffron quality
[12:59] based on things like its coloring
[13:01] strength, aroma, and flavor compounds,
[13:03] but you rarely see those grades listed
[13:06] on the consumer packaging. Instead,
[13:08] you'll typically see names like Super
[13:09] Neggan, Negan, Coupe, Mcha, Grade 1,
[13:12] among others. And in general, higher
[13:14] grade saffron is going to contain more
[13:16] of the deep red stigma and less of the
[13:19] yellow style, which is the lower value
[13:21] portion of the flower. And you could
[13:23] actually see this difference clearly in
[13:25] the two saffron I bought. The first one
[13:28] is a grade one premium saffron from
[13:30] Afghanistan that cost $141 per ounce.
[13:33] And the second one was packaged and
[13:35] exported from Spain which cost just $78
[13:38] per ounce. And visually you can see the
[13:41] cheaper saffron contains noticeably more
[13:43] yellow mixed in with those dark red
[13:46] threads from the more expensive option.
[13:49] And according to the grading standards,
[13:51] the higher grade saffron should in
[13:52] theory produce a stronger color and
[13:54] potentially a more intense aroma. But
[13:57] the real question is whether any of that
[13:59] actually shows up in a finished dish.
[14:02] And this is why I thought saffron rice
[14:05] would be a perfect test. So to test
[14:07] this, I made two identical batches of
[14:10] saffron rice. For each batch, I weighed
[14:12] out the exact same amount of basmati
[14:14] rice and vegetable stock. then added 0.5
[14:17] grams of either the Afghan and Spanish
[14:19] saffron. And everything went into
[14:21] identical rice cookers. So the only
[14:23] variable here was the saffron itself.
[14:26] And once they finished cooking and
[14:27] steaming, I opened them up and stirred
[14:29] in about 10 g of butter just to make
[14:31] everything nice and glossy. So let's
[14:33] give these a taste and see if there are
[14:35] any differences. Okay, so I have all the
[14:38] saffron rice samples ready. And the
[14:40] first thing I got to say, smells
[14:42] absolutely incredible. If you've never
[14:44] had saffron rice, you got to try it.
[14:46] I've got some chicken in the fridge. I
[14:48] think I'm going to cook up, make a
[14:48] little spicy, and pair it with this with
[14:50] a little maybe ranch style sauce. Um,
[14:52] but right away, let's cover the color
[14:54] first. So, you guys can let me know. But
[14:57] I think when I first opened up the rice,
[14:59] the one did look a little bit paler.
[15:01] However, after I added the butter and
[15:03] kind of stirred everything together, I'm
[15:05] not really seeing much of any color
[15:08] difference here. I think it probably
[15:09] matters just the total amount you use
[15:11] rather than if you're using the same
[15:13] amount. And I used a good bit in these.
[15:15] There's just not a big color difference.
[15:17] But let's blindfold up and see if
[15:19] there's any kind of aroma and flavor
[15:21] difference when I get into these.
[15:24] Pallet cleanser ready.
[15:29] All right. Man, this is going to be a
[15:31] delicious taste test. One,
[15:35] two,
[15:37] and three. And one,
[15:41] two,
[15:44] three.
[15:47] Okay, let's do saffron rice number one.
[15:53] Oh,
[15:56] the aroma is just h so good.
[16:01] Butter, rice, saffron. O.
[16:10] clear the nostrils with the root beer.
[16:15] Let's go to number two.
[16:19] Feel like I'm getting rice everywhere.
[16:24] I don't know if that was just a bite,
[16:26] but I felt maybe a little less strong.
[16:30] Still phenomenal, man. I'm not sure if
[16:33] there's a difference between one and
[16:34] two.
[16:41] All right,
[16:45] man. This is just
[16:49] so good.
[16:52] Let me go back through one more time.
[16:54] Two.
[17:01] Okay, so all three were delicious. And I
[17:04] could be off base here. One to me tasted
[17:06] the best. Two tasted a little bit less
[17:09] strong. And then three, I think, may be
[17:11] the same as one. So, I'm going to guess
[17:14] one and three are the same and two is
[17:15] different. But let's see.
[17:20] Nope. Okay, never mind. I I don't know.
[17:23] Maybe it was just I got a stronger bite
[17:25] with like some extra saffron threads in.
[17:28] So, one and two are the same and three
[17:30] is different. So, I was wrong. All three
[17:32] absolutely delicious.
[17:38] Yeah, maybe that first bite I got just
[17:40] had like a couple extra threads in it
[17:41] and it made me think there was more kind
[17:44] of aroma to it.
[17:46] Okay, so I wasn't able to tell a clear
[17:49] difference between these, at least in
[17:50] this particular test. So, if you did
[17:51] want to save some money, you know,
[17:53] looking for a budget saffron that's
[17:54] whole thread might be a good way to go.
[17:57] And now I want to switch gears for the
[17:59] last part of the video because what I'm
[18:01] curious in now is what happens when I
[18:03] use different amounts of saffron in a
[18:05] dish and also if I use the same amount
[18:08] but keep some as whole threads and some
[18:10] as grounds. And that's exactly what
[18:12] we're going to get into in part three.
[18:17] Also, I'll say it again. You got to make
[18:19] some saffron rice. So, after testing
[18:22] this, while there may be some minor
[18:23] visual differences, I just don't think
[18:25] the more expensive saffron is going to
[18:27] be worth the upgrade for most people.
[18:29] And this brings us to what I think is
[18:31] the most important question of the
[18:33] video. How do you get the most out of
[18:35] the saffron you buy when you're cooking
[18:38] with it? And really, there are two
[18:40] questions I want to test here. First is,
[18:42] how much saffron do you actually need to
[18:44] use? Because recommendations are all
[18:46] over the place. And since saffron is
[18:48] sold by the gram, even using a little
[18:50] too much can get expensive quickly. And
[18:53] secondly, what's the best way to extract
[18:55] the flavor? Does grinding the saffron
[18:57] before cooking make a difference? Or can
[18:59] you simply throw the threads directly
[19:00] into the dish and get the same result?
[19:03] So to find out, we're going to use one
[19:04] of the most famous saffron dishes as our
[19:07] test subject. Risoto Milan. So I started
[19:11] by making a large batch of plain risoto.
[19:14] So, I measured out some arboro rice,
[19:15] heated up my chicken stock, poured out a
[19:17] little white wine for acidity, and
[19:18] finally diced a shallot for some nice
[19:20] background aromatics. Then, I just set a
[19:23] pan over medium heat on the stove, added
[19:25] some butter, and started sweating down
[19:26] the shallots. Now, I'm not looking for
[19:28] any color here. I just want those
[19:29] softer, sweeter kind of shallot
[19:31] aromomas. The saffron is really going to
[19:33] be the star of this dish, so I want
[19:34] everything else to stay in the
[19:36] background. And after about three to
[19:38] four minutes, I added in the arboria
[19:39] rice and toasted that briefly before
[19:41] pouring in the white wine and cooking it
[19:43] until it was mostly evaporated. Then I
[19:46] just start adding the stock and cooking
[19:47] the risoto in the classic way. Add some
[19:50] stock, stir it, let it absorb, then
[19:52] repeat. And while I was continuing to
[19:54] cook the risoto for about 20 to 30
[19:56] minutes, I got the saffron samples ready
[19:58] and essentially doubled it each time. So
[20:01] after weighing out the saffron, I
[20:02] grabbed out four shot glasses and added
[20:04] hot water to each of them before
[20:05] dropping in the saffron. 05 g in the
[20:08] first one, followed by.1 g,2 g, and
[20:12] finally all the way up to 04 g of
[20:14] saffron, which is obviously a ton in
[20:17] that last glass. And I'm just going to
[20:19] let these bloom for about 20 minutes
[20:21] while I continue to cook the risoto. So
[20:24] after that stock had fully absorbed and
[20:26] the rice had softened nicely to finish
[20:27] the risoto I tossed in a little more
[20:29] butter and freshly grated parm and
[20:31] emulsified that all together before
[20:33] portioning them into four identical 150
[20:36] g servings of risoto. So from there I
[20:39] added in the entire saffron infusion to
[20:42] each bowl and stirred everything
[20:43] together. Now this isn't exactly how you
[20:46] would make traditional risoto melanise.
[20:48] Normally, the saffron would be infused
[20:49] into the cooking liquid itself, but for
[20:51] testing purposes, this approach lets us
[20:53] isolate the effect of the saffron much
[20:56] more clearly. And once I line them up
[20:58] side by side, the first thing that
[21:00] really jumped out was the color
[21:02] difference. There's this very obvious
[21:03] progression from one bowl to the next,
[21:05] which is kind of satisfying to see. But
[21:07] let's see which one tastes the best.
[21:11] Okay, so I've got all the risotos ready.
[21:13] Let's dive in. And again, visually very
[21:16] clear um difference in in here as you
[21:18] would expect. I mean, I I literally used
[21:21] more. I kind of just doubled it each
[21:22] time. And to me, I would say the first
[21:24] one, this looks a little pale for my
[21:27] liking. Um again, this is just like
[21:29] colors preference. The fourth one looks
[21:31] striking. It's like very dark and deep,
[21:34] but honestly for me, I think visually
[21:37] number two looks quite good. It It looks
[21:40] Yeah. Yeah, I mean it's a little less
[21:41] dark than three, obviously, but I think
[21:44] two is where I'd like to be color-wise.
[21:46] The first one looks a little little too
[21:48] pale. But let's see how these actually
[21:50] taste. And these up here should be way
[21:53] too much uh saffron most likely because
[21:56] I find you learn the most when you go to
[21:58] kind of the opposite ends of the
[21:59] extreme. And normally the happy medium,
[22:01] the Goldilock zone is somewhere in the
[22:03] middle. But let's just give these a
[22:04] taste and kind of see what the
[22:05] differences are. All right, number one.
[22:13] Man, I've not had risoto in a long time.
[22:15] It's good.
[22:18] Just a very simple
[22:21] nice aroma to it. Not overpowering at
[22:23] all. Nice balance of the salt, butter. I
[22:26] mean, it's good. Yeah, I I definitely
[22:29] think I mean, number two just visually
[22:32] looks way better. Like if I was served
[22:33] number two, I'd be like, "Yeah,
[22:36] definitely smells a little stronger."
[22:38] Um, let's see.
[22:41] I definitely like this one better than
[22:43] number one. Just feels a little bit more
[22:46] richer and aromatic. And then obviously
[22:48] just looking at it.
[22:51] Now, let's move on. And this might start
[22:54] being a little overpowering, but we'll
[22:56] see. Man, the color on this just looks
[22:58] so cool.
[23:01] It's still good, but I do think I am
[23:04] getting a little bit of that bitterness
[23:05] because if you remember from the first
[23:07] part of the video, it does have bitter
[23:10] in the pico croen if you use enough of
[23:12] it. And this is a pretty high amount
[23:14] here. So, I'm thinking this last one's
[23:15] probably going to be pretty bitter, but
[23:17] this one's still good.
[23:20] If you made this one, you would probably
[23:22] want to add maybe a little more acidity
[23:23] and a little more salt to it can help
[23:24] balance out um the the bitterness,
[23:28] but still quite delicious. And then the
[23:31] last one, which you can see there's just
[23:33] threads everywhere. Man, the visuals are
[23:36] just so cool for this dish.
[23:40] Let's get it.
[23:46] way too much saffron in that because and
[23:48] this is something I've talked about in a
[23:50] spice video before, but our perception
[23:52] of aroma kind of like has a diminishing
[23:56] returns where it kind of tapers off. And
[23:57] even though I think this is four times
[23:59] the amount of saffron as this this one,
[24:03] it doesn't smell four times as strong,
[24:05] but it definitely tastes kind of four
[24:07] times as strong because taste, at least
[24:10] for our perception, tends to work a
[24:11] little bit more linearly. And yeah, this
[24:14] is just it's it's it's not the aroma
[24:16] that's making it bad. It's it's
[24:18] definitely kind of the bitter taste. So,
[24:19] of these, again, very interesting test.
[24:22] I think number two is definitely my
[24:24] clear favorite of these. There's enough
[24:26] where it visually looks very nice
[24:28] compared to the first one, but it
[24:30] doesn't have so much saffron in it that
[24:32] it starts getting a little bit of
[24:33] bitterness. It's still very nicely
[24:34] balanced. And then this one, I would
[24:36] probably want to add a little salt or
[24:38] acidity to it to just help balance it
[24:39] out. But the color, I think, looks a
[24:41] little deeper, obviously. So all in all,
[24:43] very interesting test and just goes to
[24:45] show you don't really need to use that
[24:47] much saffron, which is great because it
[24:49] is really expensive. So you don't need
[24:50] to use a lot to get kind of the effect
[24:53] of the color and aroma. But now we have
[24:55] one last test to do and I want to see
[24:58] different extraction methods if we use
[25:00] the same amount of saffron but just
[25:03] change how we're extracting it whether
[25:05] it's ground up or as whole threads. So,
[25:08] for the final test of this video, I
[25:10] decided to compare whole saffron threads
[25:12] against saffron that have been ground
[25:13] into a fine powder. And the reason I'm
[25:16] testing this is pretty simple. If
[25:17] grinding can help extract the flavor and
[25:19] color compounds more efficiently, then
[25:21] we might be able to get a similar result
[25:23] while using less saffron, which means
[25:26] the saffron you buy will last a lot
[25:28] longer. And the theory is similar to
[25:30] brewing coffee. The more surface area
[25:32] you expose, the easier it is for
[25:34] compounds to move from the ingredient
[25:35] into the liquid. So, by grinding the
[25:38] saffron into a finer powder, we should
[25:40] be able to release those compounds
[25:42] faster and potentially more completely
[25:44] than leaving the threads whole. So, to
[25:46] test this, I poured the same amount of
[25:48] hot water into two shot glasses and
[25:50] added.1 g of saffron to each. One left
[25:54] as whole threads and then one grind into
[25:55] a powder. And right away, you can see a
[25:58] difference. As soon as that ground
[26:00] saffron hits the water, the color starts
[26:02] spreading almost immediately while the
[26:05] whole threads are releasing their color
[26:06] much more gradually. And that's really
[26:09] the power of that added surface area.
[26:12] And after about 15 minutes of steeping,
[26:14] the difference becomes even more
[26:16] obvious. Both samples have released
[26:18] plenty of color, but the ground saffron
[26:20] produces a noticeably darker and more
[26:22] intensely colored infusions. Then just
[26:24] like in the prior test, I poured each
[26:26] saffron infusion over identical portions
[26:28] of risoto and mixed them in. And we can
[26:30] again see there is a clear visual
[26:32] difference between the two. But what I
[26:34] want to know is there an actual
[26:36] difference in the flavor as well. So
[26:38] it's time for one final blind taste
[26:41] test. Okay, so again, visual difference,
[26:44] but now I'm really interested to see if
[26:45] I blindfold up if we're going to taste
[26:47] the difference. Because remember in the
[26:49] prior test, it was a little bit more
[26:50] bitter. So, I'm kind of curious if
[26:52] that's also going to hold up here and if
[26:54] I can actually tell a difference between
[26:56] them. So, let's give these a taste.
[27:03] One two three
[27:09] three.
[27:11] Okay, number one.
[27:16] First one's good. Maybe a touch more
[27:18] bitterness in that one. And I'm just
[27:19] remembering from the prior test. Let's
[27:22] go to number two. Also, another thing
[27:24] I'll note, even when I was pouring out
[27:25] the color, I think the threads were
[27:27] still giving off color even though it
[27:29] had been, you know, 15 minutes, but they
[27:30] kind of sat while I was getting stuff
[27:32] set up. Number two,
[27:37] a little le I think a little less
[27:38] bitter. I'm going to need to go to the
[27:41] third one, but I think one and two
[27:44] are different. And it's mainly the
[27:47] aftertaste that I'm picking up on.
[27:53] I think that's the same as number two.
[27:57] The aroma is there, but I I think it I
[27:59] think I'm just getting a little bit more
[28:00] bitterness in number one.
[28:05] Mhm. Okay. I definitely think one is
[28:09] different. Two and three are the same.
[28:11] And I'm going to assume that one is the
[28:13] ground up saffron as well. But let's
[28:15] see. Yeah. Okay. So, this was really
[28:19] cool to see kind of the effect of
[28:21] grinding versus threads. And I think the
[28:24] big takeaway that I'm getting is it you
[28:26] need to if you're going to grind it or
[28:27] keep them as whole threads. It kind of
[28:29] influences how you're going to balance
[28:30] the rest of the dish. So, I probably
[28:32] could have ground up this and used half
[28:34] the amount and gotten a deeper color
[28:36] than this one. Or additionally, what I
[28:39] could do to kind of balance that extra
[28:40] little bitterness I'm getting is just
[28:41] add some more salt, add some more
[28:43] vinegar or acidity to it, and that
[28:45] should help it balance nicely. And I
[28:47] think for a lot of dishes, the best of
[28:49] both worlds might be grinding a small
[28:51] amount and incorporating it into the
[28:53] dish and then maybe adding a couple
[28:55] threads as a garnish just to give you
[28:56] that nice little visual appeal. Um, but
[28:59] overall, this was a very, very
[29:00] fascinating and satisfying test. Um, and
[29:03] overall, this video has been too. So, to
[29:06] round out this video, let's do a quick
[29:08] summary of everything we've learned. So,
[29:10] if you do go out and get some saffron,
[29:12] you'll know exactly what to do with it.
[29:15] So, in conclusion, while saffron is
[29:17] still the most expensive spice in the
[29:20] world, the one thing that I've learned
[29:21] throughout this video is that a little
[29:23] really can go quite a long way. And I do
[29:26] think that picking up 5 to 10 grams
[29:28] worth of a reasonably priced whole
[29:30] thread saffron is worth it if you're
[29:32] curious and want to experiment in your
[29:35] own kitchen. And as a quick recap,
[29:37] saffron is primarily valued for its
[29:39] unique aroma and that golden yellow
[29:41] color it can bring to dishes, but it can
[29:43] also contribute some bitterness if used
[29:45] in larger amounts. Now, when it comes to
[29:48] cheaper versus more expensive saffron,
[29:50] there are visually some differences that
[29:53] might matter in like a garnish. But for
[29:55] most home cooks looking to just flavor
[29:57] and color a dish, I think the lowerc
[29:59] cost whole thread options is a great
[30:01] place to start. And if you want to get
[30:03] the most out of your saffron when
[30:04] cooking, grinding the threads before
[30:06] using them is one of the simplest way to
[30:08] improve extraction and make every gram
[30:11] go just a little bit further. And now is
[30:14] where I would love to hear from you.
[30:16] Have you ever used saffron? Or if you
[30:18] have, what are your favorite ways to use
[30:19] it? Is it paella, biryani? Is it just
[30:22] tea? Something like that? Because I've
[30:24] certainly got a lot of saffron. I don't
[30:26] think I'll literally ever need to buy
[30:28] any more for the next several years at
[30:30] least. So, I would love to know down in
[30:32] the comments what surprised you or what
[30:34] ways you like to use saffron at home.
[30:37] But anyway, that is going to wrap it up
[30:39] for me in this video. Just a reminder,
[30:42] if you guys do want to check out the
[30:43] Cookwell app, we're going to have that
[30:44] saffron guide on there as well at the
[30:46] end of this video. But that's going to
[30:47] wrap it up for me in this one. I
[30:49] hopefully you have all enjoyed. I know I
[30:51] have. So, that's going to wrap it up for
[30:52] me in this one. I'll catch you all in
[30:53] the next one. Peace y'all.