Saffron also known as Kesar or Kumkumapoo (in India) is one of the costliest spice available today. This spice is recognized as a new golden spice as it not only doubles while cooking by providing a delicious smell to the meals, turning just about any dish directly into an unique one, it is also beneficial to a number of health problems.
It is used as a remedy from the ancient times. This saffron tart is a special spice because it has numerous benefits which may help in enhancing your overall well-being.
Health benefits of Saffron / Kesar / Kumkumapoo
Digestive function
Saffron is helpful in improving your digestion along with appetite, since it helps in improving circulation for the organs associated with digestion. It coats the membranes of belly and colon that really help in relaxing gastrointestinal colic and acidity, kidney and liver problem. Thus saffron tart is found to be extremely helpful in treating kidney, bladder and liver diseases. Saffron is recognized as a new blood cleaner
Gas and acidity
Saffron is beneficial for providing rest from gas and acidity connected problems.
Arthritis
It assists in reducing inflammation associated with arthritis. Saffron in addition provides rest from joint pains. It can be quite helpful for athletes as it eases weakness and muscle inflammation by simply helping your tissues to lose lactic acidity which gets piled up after intense workout.
Insomnia
It is said that saffron is a slight sedative and thus can be used for insomnia and even treat depressive disorder. Taking a small pinch of saffron with milk just before bed helps in curbing sleep disorders.
Fever
Saffron also provides the compound “crocin”, which according to the scientists, helps in reducing nausea. Crocin with saffron in addition promotes understanding, memory preservation, and recall capacity.
Eyes problem
Saffron boosts eye and vision health. In a recent research, every participator who had taken saffron acquired vision improvements. Notably, saffron continues to be reported as a component that significantly helps in combating vision related issues like muscular degeneration, cataracts etc
Gums
Massaging your gums with saffron helps in reducing soreness and inflammation from the mouth and tongue.
Other Benefits
Apart from the above mentioned benefits Saffron also helps in treating asthma, menstrual soreness, atherosclerosis, depressive disorder, whooping cough and a number of other health problems.
It also allows you lower the amounts of bad cholesterol and triglycerides. Saffron can be applied topically as a paste to help remedy dryness and skin ailments. It helps in combating health problem like headache, cough and cold. Pregnant women are advised to take saffron because it is believed to improve the color of the to-be born child.
How Indians use it?
Saffron is utilized to increase taste along with smell in numerous food items. You may use saffron in kheer, various sweets, in dishes like biryani, risotto, paella, fabada or pote gallego and so forth. You could add a small pinch of saffron to your glass of milk. Applying paste of milk mixed with saffron on the skin would help in enhancing your skin tone.
Test for Real Saffron / Kesar
Saffron can be quite expensive. There’s also many adulterated and fake items being colored to look like saffron. To learn whether you are purchasing pure saffron or not, immerse a bit of the the product in hot water.
If the color of the liquid immediately changes then the saffron is fake. Pure saffron after being soaked in either hot or cold water will at least take 10 to 15 minutes before it turns deep red-gold color and also the saffron aroma begin to develop.
How to use Saffron
Saffron is considered to be a versatile spice which is capable of adding a new flavor to the sweet and savory dishes. But the flavor and aroma is not the only thing which is added to dish but it also makes the dish more presentable.
Based on the dish’s recipe, saffron is used either in ground form or thread form. If want saffron just to garnish your dish then use saffron thread but if you want to blend saffron to your dish that it cannot be seen by the naked eye then go for the powdered form of saffron. The tips given below will help you to get the maximum advantages from this amazing spice.
- If you are interested then you can make your own powdered saffron rather than buying it from outside. You can do it by grinding the threads of saffron using mortar and pestle. If it is hard for you to grind it due to presence of moisture in it then you can add a pinch of sugar grains and then grind it. This will help you grind the threads without affecting the taste of your dish.
- If you want to make liquid saffron then you can do it by adding powdered saffron to boiling or warm water of 3 to 5 teaspoons and let the saffron infuse for about 5 to 10 minutes. You can then store it in a jar so that you can use it whenever it is needed by you. Instead of water milk, vinegar or wine can also be used to make liquid saffron. Liquid saffron is added towards the end of the dish so that it brings out the color and also lets the flavor to be dispersed in the whole dish.
- In making of saffron rice.
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- – Soak rice for 30 minutes in cold water.
- – In two teaspoons of boiling soak the saffron threads.
- – In a saucepan melt some butter keeping the heat medium.
- – Adding cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon then fry for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- – Then stir in onion and sauté.
- – A few minutes later stir in the rice too but at a low heat.
- – Let it cook for at least 5 minutes and stir it continuously.
- – Add the boiling the saffron and cook it along with salt and rice.
- Cover the saucepan and let it cook until the liquid gets absorbed.- 40 minutes of time will be needed.
- Saffron can again be used to make saffron cream sauce to prepare chicken in it
- – Using salt and pepper season the fried chicken.
- – Look into that it is fully fried in butter and is brown from all sides.
- – Sprinkle little bit of thyme and bay leaf.
- – Then add the saffron along with cream.
- – Until the chicken is tender cover the skillet and simmer for the 25 to 30 minutes.
- – Taste the sauce to check if more salt or pepper is needed.
- Other than savor dishes, saffron can be added to the desserts also. In India, strands of saffron are added in the kheer, rasmalai and lassi too so that the aroma and the flavor gets imparted. In the making of gulab jamun saffron is used as an ingredient.
- You can make saffron tea also if you add 5 to 10 strands of saffron in boiling water while making tea. This tea will have the aroma of saffron.
