Where to buy saffron threads in Australia ?

Where can I buy saffron threads in Australia ?

 

Believe it or not this question is typed into Google around 10 times per day.  As we couldn’t find a really good answer online we’ve decided to try and answer it in this article.

 For a retail buyer good saffron is surprisingly hard to find in Australia, there are really only 2 options, you can buy saffron in a shop, or you can buy it online.

 The major supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths do stock saffron.  In Coles we found Masterfoods saffron ½ gram for around $7, and in Woolworths we found Hoyts brand saffron 100mg (1/10 gram) for around $14. 

 Both packs contained saffron threads and not powder which at least was good.  You never want to purchase saffron powder it is just to risky as you really don’t know what is in it.

 Of the two brands I would definitely choose Hoyts brand, and even though it is far more expensive it is a much better quality saffron.  We bought a pack of each to compare the difference.

 The first thing we noticed about the Masterfoods saffron is that it had been repackaged.  On the label it says packed in Singapore from imported ingredients. 

 There is actually no country of origin on the label so we are guessing Spanish saffron as it tends to be the cheapest saffron around, and it is not hard to obtain in quantity.  There is also no grading on the label so again we are assuming it is probably Mancha grade Spanish saffron (otherwise known as Superior) which is actually grade 2.

 This is evident from the high yellow thread count observable in the Masterfoods saffron, and the fact that the threads are actually quite long indicating a cheaper harvest as they have plucked the saffron threads all the way down to the style, rather than just taking the tips of the saffron (which is a far more costly exercise).

 We put the Masterfoods saffron in water and it didn’t lose its colour straightaway indicating at least that it probably does not have artificial colourings added.

 Lastly the Masterfoods saffron really seemed to be missing an aroma, it did smell of saffron but when we compared it to our own Sahar Khiz Persian saffron the aroma was noticeably less.  We are guessing that it has probably staled during the repackaging process in Singapore. 

 Singapore is a humid climate and it seemed to have taken on some moisture feeling a little spongy, and having absorbed some moisture it had lost a lot of its fresh aroma.  The other problem of course with repackaging is that we really don’t know when the saffron was originally harvested and packed so it may well be a few years old.

 The Hoyts saffron we found in Woolworths is actually made by Tas-saff and is grown and harvested in Australia in Tasmania.  I have heard good things about Tas-saff and though the pack size of 100mg is very small and only good for 1 recipe the quality is much better than the Masterfoods saffron.

 The yellow thread count was less although we did still find yellow threads in it, and when we placed it in water we were satisfied to see that it didn’t leach any artificial colours.  The Hoyts / Tas-saff saffron at least has been packed by the grower and it had a reasonable aroma given that the pack size is very small. 

 I would definitely use it and if I were in a hurry to get saffron and couldn’t afford to wait a few days to order online I would purchase the Hoyts saffron from Woolworths.

 I can’t say anything bad about the Tas-saff saffron other than that it is frightfully expensive at $14 / 100mg.   You can buy almost 2g for the same price on Saffrondust.com.au making it almost 20 times more expensive than our saffron.

 The other thing you will find in the supermarkets is artificial saffron powder.  Please please stay away from artificial saffron it is basically just food colouring, and if all you want is yellow food I would recommend turmeric, or simply red food colouring.   It will turn your food yellow, it is much cheaper than the artificial saffron powder, and at least you can use it in some other dishes later. 

 Artificial saffron powder became popular several years ago when the saffron price skyrocketed to around $35 per gram, and people were searching for cheaper substitutes.  It looks like the manufacturers are still trying to get rid of their stock and are supplying it into the supermarkets to sell to unsuspecting consumers.

 Moving away from the supermarkets you will find good saffron in specialty shops.  I would recommend looking in Persian shops, Indian shops, and Arabic shops. 

 The Persian and Indian shops will typically carry better quality saffron because saffron is grown in Iran and India and not so much in the Arab nations. 

 I am not so familiar with the Indian brands, but if you are buying Indian saffron at least try to buy Kashmiri saffron as Kashmir is where the best saffron in India is grown.  Talk to the shopkeeper and ask them where they get it from , and be sure of a couple of things; firstly make sure it is packed and sealed in Kashmir and has not been bought in bulk and repackaged. 

 This will ensure a better quality saffron as it has not been exposed to moisture and contamination since it was first packed.  Secondly check the yellow thread count, you can generally see the saffron inside the package, and if you can count any more than a few yellow threads then you know it is not a high grade saffron.  In the Indian shops I have visited a lot of them stocked Baby Saffron brand.  The packaging was sealed and the saffron had quite a red colour and aroma, but unfortunately the saffron when I bought it was damp, and the dampness had been sealed into the package which I thought was strange, normally you would seal the dryness in.

 Next if you are fortunate enough to live near a Persian shop I would almost guarantee that they would stock a good quality saffron.  Iranians, or Persians, know saffron better than Australians know a meat pie.  Saffron is used in just about every traditional Persian dish, and Iranians grow up cooking with saffron from when they are very young.

 A Persian shopkeeper would not risk his or her reputation in the local community by stocking poor quality saffron, so ask them about it I am sure they would love to talk to you about their saffron.  You might also be surprised to find Sahar Khiz brand saffron in the Persian shop.

 Sahar Khiz is the top Persian saffron brand having been established for 80 years in Iran, and it carries a great reputation for quality.  Ensure that the grade is sarghol which basically means no yellow threads, and means that only the tips of the saffron filaments are plucked to make the saffron and that any yellow threads have been handsorted out.

 Of course Sahar Khiz is just one of the brands we stock at Saffrondust.  Our other brands are a little more boutique, but still meet our high benchmark for quality which is the reason that we stock them.  Abbaszadeh for example is less well known in Iran, being a smaller manufacturer but has a loyal following.

 The world of saffron is intriguing and saffron has an amazing history as a spice.  Our mission at Saffrondust is to take the hard work out of buying saffron.  We buy the best quality grade 1 (sarghol) Persian saffron in the world direct from the manufacturers in Iran, and we guarantee quality because we know saffron.

 Please browse our range at Saffrondust.com.au and when you are ready to buy persian saffron you can be assured that we have sourced the top quality saffron in the world and you are buying highest grade saffron for a lower price than you would pay for lesser quality saffron in the supermarket.