Saffron info

James Waddick via pbs pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
Fri, 03 Jul 2020 10:06:08 PDT
Dear PBS Friends,

	Surprised that no one has mentioned that the world’s biggest producer of saffron is Iran. They sell through out most of the world, but not in the US. If you have friends in Europe you may be able to coerce them to send you a sample by mail.

	Although it is a bit early to dig and move Crocus sativus bulbs they are readily available in the US in late summer and fall. They are almost always less than $1 per bulb and can be bought in a small-ish quantity (25-50 bulbs) for as low as 50¢ each. I have seen them bagged and for sale in WalMart.

	The best saffron I ever bought was purchased years ago in E. Tibet, high in the Himalayas.  There was a modest size store selling Chinese and Tibetan medicinal herbs.  My English was of no use, but a smile and finger pointing worked well. The owner had a huge scientific dehydrator ( those old thick walled glass chambers) piled with deep rich red saffron. When he opened the lid to sell me I was almost overcome by the rich odor.  I bought as much as I could afford (not that big a volume) then and shared with close friends. A memorable event for me.  I have heard that saffron grown in the Himalayas of China, Tibet, India and Nepal is the finest in the world.

	The store was very modest and somewhat primitive, but the owner had a state of the art ‘high tech’ digital scale to weigh his precious goods. Priorities.

			Best  Jim


Dr. James Waddick
8871 NW Brostrom Rd
Kansas City, MO 64152-2711
USA
Phone     816-746-1949





_______________________________________________
pbs mailing list
pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…


More information about the pbs mailing list