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Saffron
The dried stigmas of a sterile autumn crocus, hand-picked at roughly 440,000 threads to the kilogram.
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Saffron vs Mayonnaise
Compare Saffron (Iran) and Mayonnaise (Spain) side by side — origin, maker, price, materials and what the difference actually means.
The short answer
- Country Iran Spain
- Region Khorasan, Iran Mahón, Menorca, Spain
- Made since Cultivated since at least the 7th century BC 1756
- Verified record Yes No
- Source Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew France and USA lead commercial production
Side by side
Download as PDF| Field | Saffron | Mayonnaise |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Iran | Spain |
| Type | food | food |
| Maker | — | French chef of the Duke of Richelieu |
| Region | Khorasan, Iran | Mahón, Menorca, Spain |
| Made since | Cultivated since at least the 7th century BC | 1756 |
| Verified record | Yes | No |
| Market trend | $934/kg (−33.6% since 2016) | — |
| Source | Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew | France and USA lead commercial production |
Saffron
Saffron is the dried crimson stigma of Crocus sativus, a plant that cannot reproduce without human hands. Around 440,000 stigmas make one kilogram, every one of them picked by hand during a few October mornings, which is why it has been the world's most expensive spice for most of recorded history. Iran produces around 90 per cent of the global crop, most of it in Khorasan.
- Three stigmas are cut from each flower, by hand.
- About 440,000 dried stigmas make one kilogram, from roughly 150,000 flowers.
- Around forty hours of picking go into a single kilogram.
- The flowers open only in autumn, and are gathered in the early morning.
- Crocus sativus is sterile and has no wild population; every plant is propagated by dividing corms.
Mayonnaise
Legend says a French chef created the sauce during the Duke of Richelieu’s siege of Port Mahón, improvising with the
- France remains one of the world's largest producers of commercial mayonnaise.
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