Saffron is a spice produced from the dried flower stigmas of Crocus sativus, commonly known as wild crocus. Although it is commercially grown in several European and Asian countries today, saffron was first domesticated by the ancient Minoans that inhabited the island of Crete in the late Bronze Age.
Harvesting saffron is a laborious task because the delicate thread-like strands must be hand-picked from each flower. It takes an estimated 210,000 flower stigmas to obtain a single pound of saffron. When you consider the fact that each crocus flower only produces three threads, it’s easy to understand why saffron remains one of most expensive spices in the world sold by weight.
