You may have heard of saffron, which is a very precious spice and medicinal herb, as well as a very expensive commodity. In foreign countries, a pound of saffron is as high as 70,000 yuan, but in China, there are people with 99 yuan free shipping** sold. What's going on?Why is the same saffron, the gap between foreign and domestic ** so big?What are the secrets and stories behind this?
Saffron, also known as saffron, saffron,It is a bulbous plant that is native to the Mediterranean region and later introduced to Asia and Africa. The flowers of saffron are purplish-red in color, have six petals, and have three red stigmas in the middle, which is the precious part of saffron.
The stigma of saffron is rich in pigments, spices and pharmaceutical components, and has strong physiological activity, which can be used in many fields such as food, beverages, cosmetics, perfumes, dyes, and medicines. The effects of saffron include blood circulation and menstruation, dissipation of stasis and pain relief, anti-cancer and anti-oxidation, anti-depressant and anti-inflammatory, improving immunity, improving eyesight and so on.
There are two main reasons why saffron is so precious: one is the extremely low yield, and the other is the extremely high labor cost. Saffron is very difficult to grow and pickSpecific climatic and soil conditions are required and flowering can only occur for a few days from October to November each year.
Each saffron flower blooms for only one day and can only be picked early in the morning, otherwise it will lose its aroma and color. Each saffron flower has only three stigmas, weighs less than 30 milligrams, and can only be picked by hand and cannot be machined. According to statistics, it takes 100,000 saffron flowers to pick a pound of dried saffron. As a result, saffron is known as "the most expensive spice in the world" and "the most expensive medicinal plant in the world".
Due to the extremely low production of saffron and the high demand, the ** of saffron has always been high. In foreign countries, the ** of saffron has exceeded 10,000 US dollars per kilogram, which is equivalent to more than 70,000 yuan. In some European countries, saffron is even as high as 20,000 US dollars, which is equivalent to more than 140,000 yuan.
Such a ** made saffron a luxury that only a few rich and nobles could enjoy. Moreover, due to the limited amount of saffron, there are still many fake and shoddy saffron on the market, making it difficult for consumers to distinguish the real from the fake.
The main source of saffron is Iran, which accounts for more than 90% of the global market share. Iran produces about 4 tons of saffron per year, most of which is exported, and the main export countries are Spain, France, Italy, India, the United Arab Emirates, etc.
In addition to Iran, saffron is also cultivated in some other countries, such as Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Afghanistan, India, China, etc., but the production is very small and the quality is not as good as that of Iranian saffron. Therefore, the saffron market abroad is basically dominated by Iran, and it is difficult for other countries to compete with it.
Compared to the saffron market abroad, the domestic saffron market looks very strange. In China, the ** of saffron is very cheap, and some people even use 99 yuan free shipping** sold. What's going on?Could it be that the domestic saffron is fake?Or is there any special advantage to domestic saffron?
In fact, there are two problems in the domestic saffron market:One is the proliferation of fakes, and the other is the confusion of varieties.
First of all, the problem of the proliferation of fakes is a serious problem in the domestic saffron market. Due to the high cost of saffron, and the shape and color are very special, it is easy to be faked. Some unscrupulous merchants, in order to make huge profits, will use some cheap materials, such as safflower, beetroot, red pepper, brown sugar, etc., to imitate the appearance and color of saffron, and then deceive consumers at low prices.
These fake saffron not only do not have the aroma and medicinal effects of saffron, but also may contain harmful additives and dyes, which are harmful to human health. Thus, 9The "saffron" with free shipping of 9 yuan is likely to be a fake.
Secondly, the problem of variety confusion is also a common problem in the domestic saffron market. Because saffron is very difficult to grow and pick, the domestic production of saffron is very small, far from meeting the needs of the market. In order to make up for the gap between supply and demand, some merchants will import some other varieties of saffron from abroad, such as saffron from Spain, saffron from Greece, saffron from Turkey, etc., and then use the name of domestic saffron ** to confuse the public.
These other varieties of saffron, although also real saffron,But the quality and effect are not as good as domestic saffron, and ** is also much cheaper than domestic saffron. Therefore, the low-priced "saffron" in the domestic market is likely to be other varieties of saffron.
So, as consumers, how can we tell the difference between real and fake saffron?In fact, there are some simple methods that can help us identify the authenticity of saffron. Here are some commonly used methods:
1. Observe the appearance and color of saffron
True saffron with a red stigma,At the top there is a yellow stigma disc with three small holes in the stigma disc, which is characteristic of saffron. Fake saffron, the stigma may be orange or brown in color, there is no stigma disk, or there are no small holes in the stigma disc, which is a sign of a fake.
In addition, the length and thickness of the stigma of real saffron are different, some are long and some are short, some are thick and some are fineThis is because saffron is hand-picked and cannot be exactly consistent. Fake saffron, the length and thickness of the stigma are very similar, and some are even cut into the same, this is because the fake is machine-processed, and there can be no difference.
2. Smell the aroma and taste of saffron
Real saffron, with a unique aroma similar to a mixture of hay and honey, with a slightly bitter taste, but not pungent. Fake saffron has no aroma or has a pungent smell, similar to the smell of chemicals or dyes, with a slightly sweet taste, but not natural. If you're not sure, you can gently lick the saffron with the tip of your tongue, real saffron will have a little bitter taste, and fake saffron will have a little sweet or tasteless.
3. Test the pigment and water solubility of saffron
Real saffron, rich in pigments, can dye food and drinks. You can use a glass of warm water, put saffron in it, stir gently, and observe the color change of the water. Real saffron will make the water turn golden yellow, and the surface of the water will have an oil filmThis is the spice ingredient of saffron.
Fake saffron, which will turn the water red or orange, and there is no oil film on the surface of the water, which is the dye component of the fake. In addition, with real saffron, the color of the stigma will not fadeIn the case of fake saffron, the color of the stigma will fade because the pigment of the genuine product is not easily soluble in water, while the pigment of the fake product is easily soluble in water.
Through the above methods, we can roughly identify the authenticity of saffron. Of course, these methods are not absolute, nor are they professional, if you want to more accurately identify the authenticity of saffronYou can also use some professional instruments and institutions to carry out more rigorous testing and identification. In short, when we buy saffron, we must keep our eyes open, don't be greedy for cheap, and choose regular channels and brands to avoid being deceived and buying fakes.