How to treat your saffron right?

Question

Similar to this question, but not the same (by the way, I like Hobodave's answer).

What's the correct way to treat saffron to get most of the flavor?

I've seen the following methods:

• Let the stems soak in a cup of lukewarm water.
• Warm the stems in oil on a slow flame.
• Wrap the stems in aluminum paper and put it close to a heat source (so it can warm up).
• Fry the stems.
• Soak in white wine for 20' (as per Peter Taylor's comment).

I'm talking about expensive (stem only) saffron. Should the stems be crushed (before or after soaking)?

The method I usually use is the first one.

Answer

one Italian trick to extract as much as possible from saffron for risotto alla milanese is to fill a ladle with hot stock, add the saffron "threads" and then mash them into stock with a spoon. The stock will become a beautiful golden color. Of course stock contains water and fat...

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How to make saffron really color my risotto?

Question

So I've recently bought some saffron (stems, not ground), then tried to make some Risotto with it. I got my water boiling and added about 5 stems to it. I didn't really measure the water because I can just eyeball it, I was making about a cup and a half of rice.

The saffron made the water just barely yellow. As I kept adding the water to the rice, I didn't really notice a change in color. So I added 5 more stems directly to the rice, and kept stirring. The thing never got as yellow as I wished or had seen in pictures. It actually almost didn't change in color by the time the risotto was done. So I gave up on making the classic milanaese risotto and added sun dried tomatoes and some mushrooms to it. It turned out really good, but by far not the color I wanted.

What did I do wrong?

Answer

How yellow were you expecting it? How much saffron did your recipe call for?

Generally, when a recipe calls for a "pinch" of saffron that can be anywhere from 15-20 stems (expensive, I know).

Saffron can take time to impart it's yellow coloring, and the depth of that yellow can vary based on the quality, age, or phase of the moon (not really). Some things you can try include:

• Soaking the saffron in hot water/stock for 20 minutes to an hour prior to adding.
• Grinding the saffron with a mortar/pestle
• Using more or a higher quality

Another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of images aren't purely saffron induced coloring. Often turmeric is used for an additional punch, or even food coloring. Here is an example of an accurate image of a saffron risotto.

Finally, your primary reason for using saffron should be for it's remarkable and unique flavor. The yellow is just a bonus. If you want more than what your batch can give you, well... cheat. :)

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