Saffron from farm to lab
Follow saffron from the purple fields of Khorasan to the laboratory: the harvest, its history, the grades and the science of ISO 3632.
- Intermediate
- Lessons: 5
- About 14 min of reading
- Test: 9 questions
Your progress is kept in your account and the certificate is issued in your name. Signing up is free.
In this course you’ll learn to
- Know how saffron is grown, picked and dried
- Explain why saffron costs what it does
- Understand crocin, picrocrocin and safranal
- Read the ISO 3632 categories like a professional
Lessons
- 1
Lesson 1 · 2 min read
From flower to spice: the saffron harvest in KhorasanA kilo of saffron takes around 150,000 flowers, picked by hand before sunrise. The story of the world’s most expensive spice, from field to jar.
- 2
Lesson 2 · 2 min read
Saffron through history: from Aegean frescoes to the Persian tableThree thousand years of saffron — from Bronze Age wall paintings and the Silk Road to Persian festive dishes and one of Europe’s first food-quality laws.
- 3
Lesson 3 · 4 min read
Negin, Sargol or Pushal? The complete guide to saffron gradesHow saffron grades differ in look, quality, use and price — and which one to buy for each purpose.
- 4
Lesson 4 · 3 min read
Crocin, safranal and picrocrocin: the science of saffron’s colour, aroma and tasteThe three molecules that make saffron’s quality, how they are measured, and how to read a saffron lab report.
- 5
Lesson 5 · 3 min read
What determines the price of saffron?The commodity exchange, the dollar rate, the harvest season, the weather and export demand — five forces that move the price of saffron.
Final test
9 questions; 75% right answers pass.
The test opens once you have read every lesson.