Why is saffron so expensive?

scottietwenty3

- It takes hundreds of flowers to produce a commercially useful amount. - Saffron is hand harvested so you can understand why it is so prized and so expensive.(labour intesive) - Most saffron is imported from Iran (southern Khorason) and Spain which are recognised as producing the best quality, but it can also be found in Egypt, Kashmir, Morocco and Turkey.(grown in very few places in the world) Mar 02 09, 7:37 PM

poshprice

Saffron is harvested by hand, and there are only 3 saffron strands per flower, which results in it costing so much: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/saffron.htm Mar 02 09, 7:39 PM

jordandog

Each purple crocus flower produces three stigmas, which are hand-picked from the blossom, dried, and permitted to ferment slightly to produce saffron. It is estimated that it takes some 14,000 stigmas to produce only one ounce of saffron threads. Although the majority of the world's saffron is produced in Iran, Spain is the world's largest exporter of saffron. http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodhistory/a/saffronhistory.htm Mar 03 09, 9:28 AM