Saffron is an expensive ingredient and obviously, people see money by selling fake saffron. With no machines to check the genuineness, how would you differentiate Pure Saffron from the fake?
Many are aware of the health advantages of saffron. However, recognising pure saffron threads and their many forms of them can be difficult. Given its cost, it’s critical to understand what you are spending for and to ensure you are getting a top-quality product with the best scent, taste, and colour.
Here are several easy methods to determine if it is pure saffron:
If you take a saffron strand to your tongue and it feels sweet, it’s phoney.
The scent is another highly unique means of recognising if the saffron is genuine. What about the fragrance, though? It is necessary to be familiar with the fragrance to determine if the saffron is genuine. The aroma of pure saffron is quite appealing. If you understand what honey smells like, you know the aroma of pure saffron as well. It actually smells like a combination of Hay and Honey.
Another way is the water test: Put the saffron in the water. It will eventually colour the water. But what is the deal-breaker? The phoney one can do the same thing. However, when you remove the thread from the water, it will retain its natural colour, but if it is fake, it will have entirely lost its extra colour.
An interesting experiment is to dissolve a small amount of baking soda in water and mix it. After that, add the saffron to the liquid. If the water-baking soda mixture contains pure saffron, it will turn yellow. The fake will become a pale crimson.
One of the most amazing saffron mantras is to utilise the word sweet appropriately. Saffron must always smell sweet, but it should not taste sweet.
