11. Saffron: Three Red Threads From a Purple Flower
A patch of saffron crocuses could pass for a decorative flower bed. The purple petals are attractive, but the valuable part is much smaller: the three red stigmas inside each flower. These are harvested and dried to make saffron.
The familiar spice does not come from grinding the whole flower. Workers collect the flowers and carefully separate those tiny red parts by hand. When you compare a blossom with the small amount it contributes, the reason saffron is expensive becomes much easier to understand.
The contrast is especially striking because the threads can give food a rich golden color, even though they start out red against purple petals. A little container of saffron represents the collected centers of many flowers. It is one of those ingredients whose appearance in the kitchen reveals almost nothing about the patience involved in producing it.
