ANNA BRIZZI
Italy is rich of enogastronomic (wine and food) regional food tastings called Sagras held in the summer all over the country. In Arcille, Tuscany at the Saffron Sagra I met Mrs. Anna Brizzi, who represents the association of 45 local saffron farms.
Since the Middle Ages in the area of Campagnatico, Maremma saffron has been cultivated “piñata tintoria” dying, but due to the intensive labor of this process the activity was abandoned over time. A few years ago, however, a group of local farmers decided to start revisit this cultivation.
I asked Anna a bit about this precious spice. She tells me that the cultivation and harvesting methods of the Crocus Sativus flower, from which the saffron is extracted, are still the same as the methods used in the Middle Ages.
This wonderful azure-purple flower blooms in autumn and is harvested in the month of November, at dawn, before the flowers open, by skilled and gentle female hands.
The entire process must happen in the same day: harvest, drying, and jarring. In one day about 10 – 12,000 of flowers are harvested. To obtain 1 kg of saffron roughly 125,000 flowers are needed, since a single flower yields only three stems. This is why saffron is so expensive and also known as red gold. In fact a 0.01g bag sells for EUR 3, a little over $ 4.
Saffron is known to have therapeutic properties, is rich in carotenoids and natural antioxidants, and it is used in the kitchen for its taste and golden color that renders so many dishes special. Who doesn’t know “Risotto alla Milanese”?
Saffron, like everything precious, should be used in small doses, and never forget … it’s an aphrodisiac!
ItalyPoint
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P.O. BOX 590616
Newton Center, MA 02459 USA
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