Saffron Flowers at Last!

A week ago I went down to the potager to dig fartichokes, pull carrots, beetroot and leeks and pick a bunch of parsley. On arrival I discovered that some of the saffron was at last flowering after all.

An unfurling saffron flower in our potager.

I carefully picked all the flowers into a little paper cup that I happened to have in the car and took them home to dismember and dry the precious saffron strands.

Saffron strands laid out to dry on kitchen paper.

I think the recent rain we've had has triggered the flowering. The saffron got a little wet from the rain, so won't be top quality, but even the tiny quantity I got from half a dozen flowers will be enough to flavour a paella or a saffron cake, and I was surprised to find that I got a whiff of the iodine-like scent as I put the plate of stigmas up on the mantelpiece to dry.

Susan