Is Saffron actually worth it?

[00:00] In this video, we are doing a deep dive

[00:01] into saffron, which I think a lot of us

[00:04] know is by far the most expensive spice

[00:07] in the world. But beyond that, I have a

[00:09] lot of other questions I want the answer

[00:12] to. First, what is the flavor of

[00:14] saffron? For example, what types of

[00:15] dishes is it used in? And what does it

[00:17] actually contribute to those dishes? Is

[00:20] it mainly the color or is there

[00:21] something special about the aroma or

[00:23] taste as well? Then my second big

[00:25] question is there a flavor difference

[00:26] between cheap and expensive saffron? So

[00:30] I bought two different tins at very

[00:32] different price points and I want to

[00:33] know whether spending more money on what

[00:35] is already the most expensive spice

[00:38] actually makes a difference. And finally

[00:40] my last big question is how do you get

[00:43] the most out of your saffron when

[00:45] cooking? And really what I want to know

[00:47] is how much do you need to add before it

[00:49] becomes overpowering? and also what is

[00:51] the best way to extract the flavor

[00:54] whether keeping them as whole threads or

[00:55] grinding them up first. So in this video

[00:58] we're going to answer those three

[00:59] questions through a series of

[01:01] experiments and taste test. And by the

[01:03] end I don't know if we'll quite have a

[01:04] PhD in saffron but we will definitely

[01:07] have our master's degree. Now before we

[01:09] hop into the first test I need to tell

[01:11] you about the Cookwell app that my team

[01:13] and I have been building based on the

[01:15] past eight years of experience and

[01:17] listening to all of you. And really,

[01:19] there are four key things we've built so

[01:21] far. And first is simple recipes that

[01:24] don't suck to use. There are no ads, no

[01:27] stories. You can save, organize, and

[01:29] edit them. Add ingredients directly to

[01:31] grocery list, and use our Let's Cook

[01:33] mode, which lets you swipe left and

[01:34] right between steps instead of doom

[01:36] scrolling up and down between the

[01:37] ingredients and instructions. Then the

[01:39] second piece are frameworks. And this is

[01:41] where it gets a lot more exciting for

[01:43] me. If you followed the channel for a

[01:45] while, you know I'm a huge believer in

[01:47] framework-based cooking because they're

[01:49] designed to help you cook with what you

[01:50] already have. For example, in this

[01:52] canned curry framework, you can choose

[01:54] the curry paste, aromatics, protein, and

[01:55] vegetables you already have on hand,

[01:57] then save this version to your profile

[01:59] to cook from. Then the third piece are

[02:01] guides, which helps you learn about

[02:03] specific ingredients, techniques, and

[02:05] cooking concepts. Alongside this video,

[02:07] for example, we're publishing a saffron

[02:09] guide that covers what we learned here,

[02:11] plus a few additional recipes and

[02:13] frameworks you can try yourself. And

[02:15] finally, all of this lives inside a

[02:17] complete home cooking system. You can

[02:20] plan meals, build grocery lists, log

[02:22] what you've cooked, and just keep

[02:23] everything organized in one place. And

[02:27] our goal here is simple. We just want to

[02:29] build the tools that help you cook and

[02:31] create more at home. So, you can check

[02:33] out the Cookwell app using the link

[02:34] below and save 30% off the yearly plan.

[02:38] But now, let's get back to saffron and

[02:40] dive into our first test. So, for our

[02:43] first test, we're going to be blooming

[02:45] saffron in three different liquids:

[02:47] water, milk, and oil that I've heated to

[02:50] 150° F. And the reason is that many

[02:52] recipes will call for blooming saffron

[02:55] before you use it, but they don't always

[02:57] explain the food science behind it. And

[02:59] it turns out that saffron contains a

[03:01] variety of compounds that contribute to

[03:03] its flavor. However, some of these

[03:05] compounds are thought to dissolve more

[03:06] readily in water, while others may be

[03:09] extracted differently in the presence of

[03:11] fat. And milk is interesting because

[03:14] it's essentially a combination of both.

[03:17] So, I'm going to get these liquids

[03:18] heated up and then weigh out the exact

[03:20] same amount of saffron for each one. And

[03:23] while I let them steep, I want to break

[03:25] down the flavor properties of saffron so

[03:27] we can start to learn how it's actually

[03:28] used in cooking. And then I'll meet you

[03:30] back here for the taste test because I'm

[03:33] kind of curious to see if there are any

[03:35] noticeable differences in kind of the

[03:36] color or aromatic intensity.

[03:40] Starting with taste, saffron isn't a

[03:43] strong tasting ingredient. Technically,

[03:45] if you steeped a bunch of saffron into

[03:47] some plain water, you could detect a

[03:48] slight bitterness from a compound called

[03:50] picroin. However, because saffron is

[03:53] typically used in very small amounts and

[03:55] alongside other strong tasting and

[03:57] smelling ingredients like salt, sugar,

[03:59] aromatics, and fats, taste is not what

[04:02] makes saffron special. Like many other

[04:04] herbs and spices, it's the unique aroma.

[04:07] The primary aroma compound in saffron is

[04:10] saffronol, and this develops during the

[04:11] drying process. Now, while saffronol is

[04:14] considered the primary aroma compound,

[04:16] it's not working alone. Researchers have

[04:18] identified more than 100 volatile

[04:20] compounds including tarpen, fennel

[04:22] propenoids, benzonoids, and other aroma

[04:25] active molecules that contribute to

[04:27] saffron's unique aroma profile. And this

[04:30] is one reason why the smell of saffron

[04:32] can be difficult to describe. Unlike

[04:34] vanilla, for example, which is heavily

[04:36] dominated by a single compound called

[04:37] vanoline, saffron's aroma comes from a

[04:40] collection of compounds working

[04:41] together. And the aroma of saffron is

[04:43] often described as floral, honeylike,

[04:45] earthy, grassy, or even slightly

[04:48] medicinal. Now, whether those aroma

[04:50] compounds are extractively different in

[04:52] water versus milk or oil is something

[04:54] we'll see in just a second. But there is

[04:56] another flavor property where we have a

[04:58] much clearer answer. The next flavor

[05:00] property is sight. And this is a

[05:02] reminder that we eat with our eyes

[05:03] first. And when it comes to saffron, the

[05:06] color it provides is arguably just as

[05:08] important as its aroma. Saffron gives

[05:11] foods that signature golden yellow color

[05:13] you'll see in dishes like paella,

[05:15] biryani, and risoto melanise. And this

[05:18] color comes naturally from compounds

[05:20] called croins, which belong to a family

[05:22] of pigments called the keratenoids. And

[05:23] this is the same class of compounds

[05:25] responsible for the orange color in

[05:27] foods like carrots. Now, what's unique

[05:29] about croin is that it's highly water

[05:32] soluble, which is important because the

[05:34] croin in saffron needs to be extracted

[05:37] from the threads before they can color a

[05:39] dish. And this is why many recipes that

[05:42] use saffron will tell you to bloom it in

[05:44] a small amount of water, milk stock, or

[05:46] another liquid before using it. Now, if

[05:49] croen is mainly water- soluble and not

[05:51] fat soluble, we should expect to see a

[05:53] clear difference in this first test. But

[05:56] before we check in on those, let's

[05:57] briefly touch on the last three flavor

[06:00] properties. Fourth is texture. And as

[06:02] you can guess, saffron doesn't really

[06:04] contribute much here. It's typically

[06:06] steeped and will soften before being

[06:08] dispersed throughout a dish. And it's

[06:09] used in such small quantities that

[06:11] texture isn't a meaningful part of the

[06:13] experience. Next are physical sensation.

[06:16] And this would include things like the

[06:17] heat from chili peppers, the cooling

[06:19] sensation of mint, or the aringency of a

[06:21] strong tea. And saffron doesn't really

[06:23] contribute much in this category either.

[06:25] Its impact primarily comes from the

[06:27] aroma and color. And finally, we have

[06:30] the human element. And this is the idea

[06:32] that flavor isn't just determined by

[06:35] what's happening on our tongue or in our

[06:36] nose. It's also influenced by culture,

[06:39] nostalgia, expectations, and the stories

[06:41] we attach to food. And saffron is one of

[06:44] the best examples of this because it's

[06:46] rare and very expensive. It's often

[06:49] associated with things like luxury,

[06:51] celebration, and special occasion. So

[06:53] whether it's a paella, biryani, Persian

[06:55] rice dishes, or risoto melanise, saffron

[06:58] tends to show up in foods that people

[06:59] really care about. Now, this doesn't

[07:01] actually change the chemistry of

[07:03] saffron, but it can absolutely change

[07:05] the way we experience it. So, this is

[07:07] one bias worth keeping in mind as we go

[07:10] through our tests. Okay, so visually, we

[07:14] can all see a difference. And to me,

[07:16] this is just really cool when the theory

[07:17] matches up with what you actually see in

[07:20] practice. And right away, I mean, the

[07:22] oil didn't change color at all because

[07:24] as we just talked about, you know, the

[07:25] croin is water soluble. And as soon as I

[07:29] dropped in the saffron to the water,

[07:31] this started changing color right away.

[07:33] You could see it start leaking out and

[07:34] and getting into that water. And I think

[07:36] what's interesting to me here is I can

[07:39] still see um the milk starting to seep

[07:42] away, but it's going much much slower

[07:44] compared to just the pure water.

[07:46] Obviously, there's some opakqueness

[07:47] there, too, that I'm able to see. But to

[07:49] me, this really goes to show that in a

[07:51] dish where the color of saffron is very

[07:53] important, you have to make sure that

[07:55] there is a water component in there, you

[07:57] know, you wouldn't want to bloom your

[07:59] saffron in oil like you do in a lot of

[08:01] other Indian dishes. You know, the

[08:03] spices, you have to do it in some kind

[08:05] of water-based solution. Now, so

[08:07] visually, very cool difference to see,

[08:09] but I'm kind of interested to see what

[08:11] these kind of what it smells like when I

[08:12] give them a sip because I really only

[08:14] cooked with saffron a few times and

[08:16] never in isolation. So, Let's see.

[08:21] Right away, you get that kind of floral

[08:25] quality.

[08:29] It really is such a unique aroma that it

[08:32] has. It is kind of floral and like a

[08:35] little medicinal. It feels right as a

[08:37] tea. Like this this tastes very normal

[08:39] and and is very enjoyable. Like I could

[08:41] totally just sit down and and have that

[08:43] on like a nice, I don't know, rainy

[08:45] afternoon. Um, but it is a it is a very

[08:48] distinct um aroma that it has and I'm

[08:52] I'm curious to see how it's going to

[08:53] show up in the cooking. Um, but let's go

[08:55] through and at least taste the milk and

[08:57] the oil as well.

[09:02] So, the milky aromomas and also there's

[09:04] sugar and milk as well is definitely

[09:06] kind of competing with the flavor a

[09:08] little bit. It is still very delicious

[09:10] and you can clearly tell there's saffron

[09:12] in it, but with just the plain water,

[09:14] it's way more obvious than the milk

[09:16] because again, we're starting to compete

[09:18] because there's sugars, there's our own

[09:20] molecules in the milk. So, saffron, it's

[09:22] fairly subtle. Um, it it's very obvious

[09:25] in just the water, but when you get to

[09:26] the milk, it is pretty subtle. And

[09:28] lastly, um, let's see if we really get

[09:30] anything from just the oil. Obviously,

[09:33] no color, but there should be some

[09:35] aroma. This feels weird sipping oil, but

[09:38] it is what it is.

[09:42] Way less aroma in this one. It's And I I

[09:46] wonder too if a lot of the aroma

[09:47] molecules that make up uh saffron are

[09:50] also water soluble. The aroma and flavor

[09:53] you get from just the water is feels way

[09:56] stronger than the oil. Just the oil

[09:59] 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.