The rarity of the saffron flower and the process that goes into harvesting it makes saffron the most expensive spice in the world. But, nowadays finding original saffron has become quite difficult. To fill in the production and demand gap, people are making a business out of selling fakes of the spice. Hence, you must be very careful while buying it as you wouldn't want to spend your hard-earned money on it only to find out that it turned out to be fake.
With no way to tell whether the saffron is real or not just by looking at it, it can be difficult to identify its authenticity. But, worry not, as in this article we share with you some ways on how to tell whether the spice you buy is real or not.
How to tell authentic saffron from fake saffron:
The Water Test: Take some water in a small bowl and پک خوراکی عید نوروز add a few kesar strands to it. If it starts releasing a reddish color immediately, then the product is not real. Real saffron also gives out some color, but it does so slowly. Also, the color given out by real kesar is not red but it is goldish-yellow.
Similarly, when you take the strand out of the water, the real kesar will retain its color and look the same as it did before. Whereas, unauthentic/ adulterated zafran will have lost a bit of its original color. Real saffron tends to retain its original shape and not break apart if you rub between your fingers.
The taste test: Another way of identifying pure saffron is simply by tasting it. Just put a strand in your mouth and if it has a sweet taste and the kesar is not real. Pure zaffran tends to have a bit of a bitter test.
Test by Smell: You can also check whether the saffron is pure or not by smelling it. Impure/ fake kesar will not have any smell at all. Whereas, pure and real saffron has a sweet smell to it. If honey and hay are combined, that's what zaffron smells like.
Rub in-between fingers test: Take a strand or two of saffron and rub it between your fingers. If the strands start releasing any kind of oil or fat then the kesar is not authentic. This may also leave your fingers with some of a red/orange color. Again, it is an indication that the zaffran is not real.
Fake kesar is made with corn silk and then colored to make it look real. So, next time, while buying saffron, you know how to distinguish real saffron from the adulterated version of it.
Since a lot of companies only focus on marketing their brand, they do not really give value to checking the purity of the saffron they sell. And this is a big menace. With more brands vowing to sell pure saffron, cheap fakes in the market are expected to reduce.
Conclusion
Saying all this, you should be ready to pay higher for some authentic saffron as otherwise, it doesn't make sense to receive a premium variety of saffron. Be willing to pay more, but be more skeptical about the kind of saffron you will buy.
Mir Saeid is a Marketing Consultant who is also the Co-Founder of Kashmirica, an Online Store selling premium products from Kashmir. You can buy saffron online from their portal apart from some awesome attar online . You can also check out their collection of antique jewellery online .