Saffron

The extraordinary story of saffron’s history, health benefits, and recipes

Image credit: Marlik saffron on Unsplash

Saffron—the most expensive spice in the world—is priced as gold, between $50-60 per gram for the Australian species, among 80 different varieties. Despite the price, the use in different cuisines is enjoyed, from Persian rice to chicken and potato dishes. In my personal opinion, I love the flavor in rice. I’ve tried it once, and I remember having it in my cupboard for a very long time.

Before we talk about recipes, or anything else. It’s a good start to delve into the origins, and history of this interesting spice. The origins are uncertain, but records show spice trade for centuries, dating back to Assyrian civilization during the 7th century BC. Other uses of saffron include religious rituals, cosmetics, and textiles during the bronze age and ancient Greece. An interesting fact, spice wars occurred due to this spice leading to the fall and rise of many cultures, making it the longest produced commodity till today.

The word saffron comes from the Persian word—Zaafaran—which means yellow flowers, or gold strung. Depending on your description, and eyesight. I’m not surprised with the name because when you dissolve one thread in water, it gives a red-yellowish, or golden color. The production is found all over the world from Asia, Europe, with 80-90% of production coming from Iran. The fascinating thing is that the only part used is the stigma, inside part, which makes up 7% of the flower. Lastly, the agricultural process is labor intensive for one gram.

Injera

Toasted injera bread

Toasted injera bread has been an addiction as a snack, bread or crouton substitution, or an addition to a meal such as a salad. Also, great substitute for crackers with cheese. There is an Ethiopian store next to where I live, and I buy two to three bags. The energy it gives me to get through the day is great. The grain is healthy and is high in iron. The following article gives more information on this grain:

Teff Flour: Uses, Nutrients, and Benefits (healthline.com)

Gluten free Sourdough

Love this gluten free sourdough recipe:
https://lnkd.in/gzhQqMt

Fermentation

Do you recognize the pictures below? If you go back to my previous post; Polish soup (Zurek), you’ll find the fermentation of rye flour occurring. This brings us to the topic today which is fermentation. Funny how ideas pop up in your head while you’re doing something or cooking. In my case, I was waiting for the fermentation process to finish. I thought to myself; fermentation would be an interesting topic to research for my next blog.

Polish soup (Zurek)

This polish soup is so good. You can find the recipe on page 124 in Antoni in the kitchen book by Antoni Porowski. He calls it “The polish hangover soup”. The fermentation of the rye helps you recover from a long night of partying, called Zakwas in Polish. Also, don’t forget to thank the factory workers who are putting food on our tables during this pandemic ❤️.

Vanilla pots de crème with mango coulis

This recipe is from Antoni in the kitchen by Antoni Porowski; it’s on page 249 if you have the book.

Gluten Free Bread attempt # 2

Gluten free bread is interesting to work with. I’m new to baking, and it’s my second time to try this product out. The first time was not successful at all. The middle part of the bread was uncooked. I tried placing the bread in the oven based on online suggestions, helped a little but still raw.

Poached egg and stay at home

What better time to cook egg than when you are stuck at home. I think egg can be eaten any time during the day; it’s easy and convenient. I used Salt, Fat, Acid, and Heat book suggestion on how to poach an egg. I’m not great at poaching egg, but it worked this time. If you have the book, it’s on page 304. I was limited on ingredients, so I had to get creative. I used spinach, hummus, sliced avocado, and Sauerkraut. I didn’t have the ingredients to make the sauce. I just used a little mustard on the egg. I’m a big fan of mustard vs. Mayonnaise. So, get your creative juices going. You’ll surprise yourself 😊

Salt, fat, Acid, and Heat By Samin Nosrat

I’m sure everyone is stuck at home, and what a better way than to spend it watching a documentary about food, especially if you’re food person etc. 🙂

Plant-based foods

Image credit: health.com

Vegan and vegetarian diets are on the rise in the U.S. as more people are looking for alternative ways to eat healthier. This, in turn, leads to a change in food manufacturing formulations such as clean label ingredients, listing only a few ingredients, and using more plant protein. As Malochleb mentions in ift.org,”The plant-based protein market, estimated at $18.5 billion in 2019, is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.0% from 2019 to 2025, to reach $40.6 billion by 2025, according to research by MarketsandMarkets. Public awareness regarding obesity caused by unhealthy food consumption has led to the demand for plant-based protein products.” Villines from Medical News today provides a list of 15 plant-based foods that provide high protein content and nutrients. These include, tofu and its derivatives, chia seeds, mycoprotein, Ezekiel bread, nuts & lentils, Spirulina, Quinoa, chickpea, beans & rice, potatoes, protein rich vegetables like kale, mushrooms, and broccoli.