The CookingBites Spice Challenge - Spice of the Month (September 2017): Saffron

Elawin said:
My neck was rather pink and warm after my cup of saffron tea, but I think that may have been the green tea rather than the saffron. I haven't had green tea before (or maybe not for many years), and I'm not really supposed to drink it with one of my meds, but I must say it tasted rather nice.
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I think it was probably the green tea effect. But what a left field recipe! I certainly didn't expect a tea. :)
 
Elawin said:
My neck was rather pink and warm after my cup of saffron tea, but I think that may have been the green tea rather than the saffron. I haven't had green tea before (or maybe not for many years), and I'm not really supposed to drink it with one of my meds, but I must say it tasted rather nice.
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Green tea is virtually mandatory at meetings in China. I'm not a tea drinker and found it very difficult even get near to the liquid without getting a mouth full of leaves. Usually I managed to drink a little then leave the rest to go cold which I don't believe offended anyone.
 
Yorky said:
Green tea is virtually mandatory at meetings in China. I'm not a tea drinker and found it very difficult even get near to the liquid without getting a mouth full of leaves. Usually I managed to drink a little then leave the rest to go cold which I don't believe offended anyone.
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My old boss used to make tea for me in the afternoon - Sri Lankan tea, where it was made with boiling milk instead of water. Absolutely delicious, and a good pick-me-up when it was a long time until we finished work.
 
Getting this in just in time...

Venison and butternut squash tagine. I've been planning this since I got a butternut squash in my vegetable box. Usually I would roast it or make a soup so fancied a change. Checking the recipe this morning to make my shopping list, I saw it used saffron ! So this is a mistake :D I would not usually buy saffron due to the cost, but thought you guys were worth it :okay:.

https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/venison-and-squash-tagine.10937/

It was delicious and very warming (it is a very cold, wet day here). I have two portions waiting to go in the freezer and the leftover quinoa I think I will make into a stuffing for the roast chicken tomorrow,

Awful, blurred photo
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Scrambled eggs with saffron. Inspired by another thread about scrambled eggs I came up with this. A quick bit of research revealed that it has been done before - infused some threads of saffron in a drop of hot water then added to the usual egg mixture.

To be honest I couldn't really taste much difference. I suspect the saffron was not authentic. I bought it in Cyprus and it was suspiciously cheap. Produced in Egypt:
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epicuric said:
To be honest I couldn't really taste much difference. I suspect the saffron was not authentic. I bought it in Cyprus and it was suspiciously cheap. Produced in Egypt:
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The last saffron I bought in the UK was in a jar which I guess was about that size. It was a quid and there were 4 strands in the bottom.
 
Yorky said:
The last saffron I bought in the UK was in a jar which I guess was about that size. It was a quid and there were 4 strands in the bottom.
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This jar is full, andi think it cost €2-3. As they say, if it seems too good to be true...
 
epicuric said:
View attachment 10708

Scrambled eggs with saffron. Inspired by another thread about scrambled eggs I came up with this. A quick bit of research revealed that it has been done before - infused some threads of saffron in a drop of hot water then added to the usual egg mixture.

To be honest I couldn't really taste much difference. I suspect the saffron was not authentic. I bought it in Cyprus and it was suspiciously cheap. Produced in Egypt:
View attachment 10709
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I'd say that was most unlikely to be saffron. Cheapest I can get is £2.75 for a gram (Amazon). It could be safflower.
 
Real saffron will colour water yellow but the strands will retain their colour. The aroma is inimitable.
 
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Thank you everyone for your lovely entries. There were some great last minute entries too! There were 5 entries in all which were:

Moroccan Cauliflower-Apple Saffron Soup With Mushrooms from @The Late Night Gourmet - an unusual and bold combination of flavours.
Saffron Tea from @Elawin - I can see that this would be a sure fire way of benefitting from the medicinal properties contained in saffron.
Venison and squash tagine from @Herbie - I like this very much and its on a future menu.
Cornish Saffron Buns from @Herbie - A very pretty bun which looks like a scone! I've made saffron scones before and know how good they taste.
Saffron Scrambled egg from @epicuric - I've made this before and its quite delicious.

And the winner is....

@The Late Night Gourmet with an inspired and original recipe: Moroccan Cauliflower-Apple Saffron Soup With Mushrooms. I chose this because it is so unexpected and original, exploiting the flavours of a tagine (which often include fruit and saffron) in a vegetable soup.

@The Late Night Gourmet, you need to choose one of the prizes which I will post up shortly, and the PM me an address to send it to. :D

P.S. There is an unexpected but apt consolation prize for all other entrants. Watch your post boxes!
 
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