Fruit, vegetables and pulses

Zafferano dell'Aquila saffron

Zafferano dell'Aquila PDO, scarlet threads from the Navelli plateau

Every morning at dawn from mid-October into early November, Crocus sativus flowers are picked by hand before the sun can open them. Their stigmas are separated one by one and toasted the same day over oak or almond embers, and it takes about 200,000 flowers to make a kilo. The result is a purple-red spice of intense fragrance, protected as a PDO.

• Purple-red threads after toasting, with an intense scent and a bold flavour
• Crocins give the yellow colour, safranal and picrocrocin the taste and aroma
• Packed in paper or glass, never plastic, and good for years kept dry and dark

How to enjoy it. Use it sparingly, about ten centigrams for four people: steep the threads in a splash of warm stock for some hours, or stir in the powder near the end of cooking.

Production areas

Abruzzo

Season

[object Object]

The full story, sources and places on apulica.com →