Description

Saffron — the world’s most valuable, fragrant, and renowned spice — is a hallmark ingredient in gourmet cuisine, luxury cosmetics, and wellness traditions.

Iran is considered by most sources to be the birthplace of saffron and is responsible for over 99% of the global harvest, making it the largest exporter. China holds the position as the largest importer of Iranian saffron worldwide.

Its unmistakable aroma and flavor are due to Safranal, while its radiant golden hue comes from Crocin. Counterfeit detection relies on sophisticated techniques such as mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Key Components of Saffron

Botanical Profile

The saffron plant (Crocus sativus) is a small perennial herb, standing 10–30 cm tall. From its bulb, slender green leaves sprout alongside a flowering stem bearing 1–3 blossoms.

Flowers have six violet petals (sometimes pink or deep purple), three yellow stamens, and a pistil ending in a three-branched red-orange stigma.

The commercial spice comes from the dried stigmas and style tip — aromatic, subtly bitter, and treasured worldwide.

Sargol Saffron

Sargol Saffron is composed entirely of pure deep-red stigmas without any yellow or white style segments. The threads are fully separated, producing a clean, uniform, and premium appearance.

It is superior in quality to Dasteh (Bunch) and Pushal, making it a favored choice for both domestic and export markets.

Internationally, it is one of the most recognized saffron varieties and is also referred to as Mumtaz Saffron, Ghaenat Saffron, Sar-Risheh, or Sar-Ghalam.

In this grade, the style (root) is completely removed, leaving only separate, fragrant stigmas. Quality is evaluated by:

1. Length of the stigmas
2. Absence of dyed white fragments

Sargol saffron has a coloring strength of 200–240 units and enjoys the highest popularity among saffron types for its purity, aroma, and culinary performance.