smogs Posted November 17, 2003 Can you grow it in the sydney region? all i know about this plant is that its damn expensive... more expensive than gold per weight and it tastes great. Will it grow in the sydney region? anyone got any experience growing it? would be nice to add this spice to my herb garden. i believe the species name is crocus sativus. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr b.caapi Posted November 18, 2003 it is produced from the krokus flower i think! isnt it more of a colour than a flavour?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mason Posted November 18, 2003 I'd also like to grow my own saffron but read propagation is only by corms, a bulb-like stem. The mother bulb produces several baby corms which can be dug up, seperated and replanted. Curious to know where I can find a fresh saffron corm.... I like to drink a glass of saffron infused water whenever I cook with it, would make an expensive habbit though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterdragon Posted November 18, 2003 tasmania has a thriving saffron industry, i believe there are some contracted growers in victoria too. i see no reason why the saffron crocus wouldn't grow somewhere about sydney. very fiddly work extracting the filaments as there aren't many per flower. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skulking Lurker Posted November 18, 2003 Landline on the ABC did a story on the Tasmanian industry a while back. Read story here And the Tas-saff site. You may be able to email Terry for info on availabilty of rootstocks? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted November 18, 2003 yes, it will grow well in sydney. I was going to offer them for sale this year, but rodents dug them all up and I am left with less than I had 3 years ago Saffron isn't just a colur, but definitely also a flavour. Not to mention also being psychoactive ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smogs Posted November 18, 2003 oldfart: I'd also like to grow my own saffron but read propagation is only by corms, a bulb-like stem. The mother bulb produces several baby corms which can be dug up, seperated and replanted. Curious to know where I can find a fresh saffron corm.... yeah thats what i read...you can propgate from seed but takes ahh 2-3years to flower from memory. which i dont think is that bad considering alot of fruit bearing plants tage 5 years... and vanilla takes over 15 i heard. and yes it is very fiddly and thats why its expensive but i dont really want comercial quantities (although i bought 6 buks worth and it wasnt much!!) just something to have every now and then. no ideas where to get some? i might ask nursery tomorrow psychoactive? thats good means this post is in the right place. i read it was used for medicine? but it didnt specify what exactly for. and yes its a flavour... if u want colour tumeric is cheap and nothing stains yellow better than tumeric. its got a wonderful aroma, are the flowers like this too? [ 17. November 2003, 21:20: Message edited by: smogs ] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nabraxas Posted November 18, 2003 the flavour ov saffron.... get a bag & smell it, to me that's THE smell ov India, where you can pick up 10gms ov the stuff for $1.50. here its too expensive to buy(vanilla pods are getting bloody expensive too) & too fiddly to grow/collect---your best bet for value & satisfaction--steal it from a supermarket--joking [ 18. November 2003, 04:36: Message edited by: nabraxas ] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted November 18, 2003 it certainly is the most expensive psychoactive substance, and it seems to have be in high favor by the traders of santorini hundreds of years ago. the stuff i found in the shops comes from iran, a warning tho (auxin hasn't been here to help out{let's hope he's father is ok}) saffron is lethal even in small amounts! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coin Posted November 18, 2003 http://www.riverhouse.com.au/factsheets/saffron.html saffron corms available in december Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Auxin Posted November 18, 2003 planthelper:a warning tho (auxin hasn't been here to help out{let's hope he's father is ok}) saffron is lethal even in small amounts! I'm still here almost every day- just havent been posting quite as much. My dads hanging in there, thanks Historically saffron has been used as a poison now and then but I think thats in pretty big doses- its also been used for an array of other things including a narcotic. I dont think its lethal in small amounts. I lost all my notes on this in a computer crash but much of it should be posted to the archives. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smogs Posted November 19, 2003 i was watching Iron Chef as i always do (excelent tv show) and in one episode the guy used a shitload of saffron to flavour some rice. How much do you need to feel psychoactive effects? he may have been cheating... drugging the judges heh heh. i highly recomend that tv show... chefs battle in the kitchen stadium 7:30 sat on sbs well worth a laugh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted November 19, 2003 great to hear @auxin. that iron chef what a show, i started acting it out in my kitchen now. instead of "oh, what a drag i have to cook", it's: iron master chef (insert your name here) aproaches the gallery and so on... i often act like a tv cook at home it's fun, pretending an audiance! and i tell you japanese knive and tool blades are made by ancient (samurai sword, laminated hand/cottage work) technics, making them the best in the world. wasabi, tamari and raw salmon- good enough reason just to "be". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smogs Posted November 19, 2003 yeah and its good when u dont have much food in the fridge "and todays theme ingredient is.... last nights roast!... oha tricky one for the challenger" "as i seem to recall when i was in london once a local man said to me... the key to left overs is in the sue of a microwave" that show is such a hoot the comentory is so awful heh heh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theobromos Posted November 26, 2003 The saffron was flowering here in Andalusia up to a week ago. The flower has an intense lily and cocoa butter smell quite different from the prepared stigmas. Here they often take the flowers after removing the stamens and float them in a bowl of water to perfume their rooms. I prepared some saffron for my goddessdaughter and sent it then was too busy hitting almond trees to collect any more. Just a handful of flowers in the room was enough to send me. So I spent some time with my nose buried in them to be sent further. Have a look in Mrs Grieve's online ( http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/mgmh.html ) for dosage. And buy Spanish for quality as the English don't grow it commercially anymore (no problem in Australia, even far south, I imagine.) Not sure what the toxic dose is, but it is said to be dangerous in excess. As a medicine it is antidepressant and inebriating, not narcotic except in the drug-political sense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
