Save our dinner, please!
August 8, 2007 4:41 PM   Subscribe

Save our dinner! Please help a cooking n00b figure out how to use the saffron we just bought.

So the recipe I'm making tonight calls for two teaspoons of saffron, which I've never cooked with before. Aside from stating two teaspoons of the stuff, the recipe doesn't specify the form. I bought threads because that's all I could find. However, I'm having trouble finding a reliable measurement chart online, and don't know how to make two teaspoons' worth of saffron out of the teeny tiny threads I bought. I've seen notes on some sites about steeping the saffron, but this is confusing to me. Another cooking demonstration I watched online said just to use a "good pinch" of the threads. So much contradiction...what to do?

I had to drive a long way and pay a fair amount of money for the clams and saffron I bought tonight, so I really don't want to screw up this meal! Any advice from cooks more experienced than myself is deeply appreciated.
posted by justonegirl to Food & Drink (14 answers total)
 
I'm not a chef, but 2 teaspoons of saffron seems like an awful lot. Try adding half a teaspoon, then taste the mixture, and see what you think. You can always add more, but you can't take it out.

Take my advice with a pinch of saffron, though. ;D
posted by Solomon at 4:48 PM on August 8, 2007


Best answer: You'll steep the saffron threads in the milk.

This page says to drop it loosely into the half or quarter teaspoon measure and don't pack it down.
posted by sugarfish at 4:53 PM on August 8, 2007


I agree-- 2 teapsons seems like an awful lot of saffron.

It seems from reading saffron.com that saffron does need to be steeped or powderized before adding it to your dish (in order to release the flavors). Though this is probably adds 1 more complicated step to your recipe, it'll be easier to measure 2 teaspons of powdered or steeped saffron than it will be to throw a few threads in and wish for the best.

Further research into how to powder saffron seems simple-- just heat it in a dry pan until you smell its aroma and then grind it up. Add one pinch at a time till you get the right taste.

This might be way safer than just throwing a few threads in... especially since you have no idea how potent the are just yet. Potency varies with each plant.
posted by modernsquid at 4:53 PM on August 8, 2007


wow, that's a lot of saffron!

fortunately, cooking is not baking--you can fudge. two good pinches should do you just fine. you do not need to do anything to the saffron--it's already dried and very fragile, so it'll dissolve in the sauce.
posted by thinkingwoman at 4:59 PM on August 8, 2007


From watching Lee Anne make it in that video, it does seem to be more like 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of saffron. It looks like Lee Anne added the saffron threads directly to the sauteeing aromatics (onion and garlic), while the written directions instruct you to put them in the heavy cream and salt mixture first. I'd go with the written way so the saffron has more time to infuse the mixture. Good luck!
posted by rmless at 4:59 PM on August 8, 2007


yes, 2 teaspoons does sound like a LOT.

I prefer soaking the threads, before adding -- toasting is problematic as even a low setting can easily burn it (in fact it's recommended to toast it over the pilot light...)

the recipe seems to have a video link, did you try watching it? 2t powdered is also a LOT, that's like 4t of threads. 2t of "tea", however, would not be excessive...
posted by dorian at 5:00 PM on August 8, 2007


Response by poster: I did watch the video clip of Lee Anne, but it looks like she changes up the recipe pretty significantly (tomatoes? no cream?) so I didn't really consider her methods, in spite of my love for her :) I guess I could just try starting very small with the threads, but since I'm not sure what taste I'm going for, I don't want to under-do it or overdo it!
posted by justonegirl at 5:04 PM on August 8, 2007


2 teaspoons will completely overwhelm a dish, and also taste slightly bitter. We use it a lot in Moroccan cooking - for example, taking a tiny pinch of it (4-5 threads), than pulverizing it with some salt - and that gives a nice flavor to an entire chicken tagine.
posted by Liosliath at 5:07 PM on August 8, 2007


Best answer: Two teaspoons of saffron sounds like a fast way to ruin a pan full of ingredients. A pinch should equal several strands, which is plenty unless you're cooking for a dozen people. Too much saffron will infuse your dish with a bitter flavor.

If you feel compelled to measure more precisely than "a pinch," I urge you not to compress the strands when you measure; let the springy tangle of stamens perch in the measuring spoon. But really, as everyone has said, a pinch should be plenty.

Incidentally, this is one way I rationalize splurging to buy the stuff: you don't need much to produce a big, full flavor.

In that recipe, whisking it in heating cream should extract all the gorgeous fat-soluble flavors from the saffron into the sauce. Don't worry.

Be glad you could only find the strands! That's the nicest way to use it, with the little stamen fully intact so you ge the first fresh hit of flavor when the volative flavors are coaxed out.

Your dinner sounds wonderful. Enjoy!
posted by Elsa at 5:31 PM on August 8, 2007


nb: the volatiles and colors in fresh saffron are soluble in water not fat.
posted by dorian at 5:39 PM on August 8, 2007


Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I'm off to the kitchen now...I'll post again when I see how it all comes out!
posted by justonegirl at 5:39 PM on August 8, 2007


Ah, thanks, dorian. I stand corrected.
posted by Elsa at 5:46 PM on August 8, 2007


Elsa -- no worries, of course cream will work quite fine! just meant to point out that while many spices (e.g. indian seeds and various whatnot) are best tempered in oil, others (actually saffron is the only one I know that does!) need water.

also, once crystallized/preserved/whatever -->> powdered, crocin (the carotenoid in saffron that creates the beautiful color and perfum) devolves into something that is better soluble in oils than water.

but in either case alcohol works pretty well. the more you know!
posted by dorian at 5:59 PM on August 8, 2007


Response by poster: Thanks again everyone...I started with just a tiny pinch of the saffron in the cream, added a little more as it simmered, and the dish turned out really well. I really appreciate the last-minute advice!
posted by justonegirl at 8:09 PM on August 8, 2007


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