What saffron is

Saffron is not a powder and not a dye. It is the dried stigmas of a crocus, Crocus sativus, three per flower, picked by hand. A single gram takes hundreds of blooms. That is why it is the most expensive spice in the world, and why it is also the most faked.

What you find in cheap little jars is often safflower, dyed corn silk, or ground remnants that can no longer be checked at all. So you never buy ground saffron. You buy whole threads, and those you can judge for yourself.

Real or fake

Real saffron is deep red, with a slightly trumpet-shaped end on one side. The smell is warm and hay-like, never sweet. The most reliable test is water. Put a few threads in lukewarm water and wait. Real saffron releases its colour slowly, over minutes, and the thread itself stays red. Fakes turn the water orange or red at once, because the dye runs off immediately.

This is exactly the kind of knowledge Nourishment wants to keep. Small, concrete, and taken for granted for generations. Once you know it, you are never robbed at the saffron jar again. And if you do not, you pay gold for dyed straw.