Food News – Saffron
Warm milk with saffron and honey has been popping up in my house after meeting with Parya Zaghand from Saffron Only. She’s quite the ambassador for Iranian saffron, telling me the country produces 300 tonnes a year. “Don’t be scared by saffron, just a little pinch will go a long way,” she said. And before you baulk at the cost of my warm milky addiction, you only use six or seven strands to turn a cup of milk a beautiful yellow, meaning a two-gram container ($20.95) will produce about forty cups. Now if you want it in a fancy container to wow your dinner party guests, it’s a little more expensive. After you’ve gotten a taste for “liquid sunshine”- as saffron is known due to its antidepressant qualities – try teaming it with fish, seafood, chicken, or rice in risotto Milanese or Spanish paella. You could also use saffron to jazz up desserts from rice pudding to panna cotta, as it harmonises well with cinnamon, almonds, pistachios, cardamom, ginger, mango and passionfruit. And let’s not forget it’s soluble in alcohol, meaning vodka and gin martinis could benefit from saffron too! If you find these ideas intriguing, you’ll find Parya at the Grounds of Alexandria on Sunday 7th September (8am-3pm), or you can buy saffron and check out recipe ideas at the website:
www.saffrononly.com.au
