Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world: Here is why 

The word saffron not only reminds us of the distinct colour of the top-most band of the Indian flag. We also associate it with an exotic Indian spice. In fact, if sources are to be believed, saffron is even costlier than gold. Surprised? So were we.  

 Also known as ‘kesar,’ in India, saffron is not only a spice but also a natural colouring agent made from the stigma of the saffron flower. In fact, throughout history, saffron has also been used as a dye, an insect repellent as well as a healing agent. Perhaps that’s why it is believed that Alexander the Great used to add this spice to his bath water to help heal battle wounds. Similarly, Queen Cleopatra is said to have used it as a key ingredient in her milk bath, which, it is presumed, added to her legendary beauty. Whatever the case may be, saffron, as you can understand has always been in much demand. 

As a matter of fact, in today’s times, it is one of the most sought-after seasonings (real saffron smells sweet but tastes bitter), used to flavour food and to scent perfumes, and is by far the most expensive spice in the world. But why is saffron so heavy on our pocket? Let’s find out.  

Hundreds of saffron flowers needed for a bit of saffron  
Saffron has very plausible reasons for being so highly priced. To understand this, let’s understand how saffron is produced. 

You may not know, but what is sold in the market as saffron (imagine the reddish orange gratings) are better known as saffron threads. They are actually the delicate stigmas found in the centre of a purple flower (Crocus sativus), called saffron crocus. Each of these flowers contain only three (yes, just three) of the saffron threads. It takes hundreds of flowers to even collect a little bit of saffron. In fact, each pound of saffron is collected from around 75000 saffron flowers! 

Labour-intensive collection  
Saffron is also ultra-costly as the saffron flowers are too delicate, and need a lot of care and precision to pluck the saffron threads by hand, one by one. In fact, the plucking process is tedious as the flowers only grow up to a height of six inches. Furthermore, this plucking can only be done immediately after the flowers have bloomed, before they wilt or become unusable. As a result, it takes approximately 350 to 450 man hours to harvest even a single pound of saffron. 

Infrequent Production 
For those of you who didn’t know, saffron also grows rarely and is only native to the Mediterranean parts of Kashmir and Iran (first grown here almost 3000 years back). However, to keep up with its never-ending demand, it is now also artificially grown in parts of Greece, Spain, Italy and France. Considering how tedious producing a little bit of saffron is, it’s insufficient for the world. Moreover, saffron can’t bear extreme temperature, or overexposure to sun or water. In fact, saffron can neither grow in severe cold not during summers. That is why they are planted in spring in temperate climates and harvested in late autumn.  

So now you know why this delicate spice costs such a bomb!