"In the land of saffron, the twilight is dark, and the fields are floating with the dark fragrance of roses." This is a verse written by the poet Yesenin in praise of saffron.
The name saffron is a bit unfamiliar to many people, just sounds like a flower, in fact, eighty percent of people do not know, saffron is known as "a sacred herb that can cure all diseases".
What is saffron
Saffron, also known as saffron or crocus, comes from the dry stigma of the iris family saffron, in which the word "Tibetan" is not what everyone thinks of as Tibet, but refers to the European saffron introduced to the mainland through Tibet.
True saffron is loosely linear, about three centimeters long dark red, the upper part is wider and slightly flattened, the apex edge is unevenly toothed, and sometimes a small yellow flower column remains at the lower end.
Good saffron texture is soft and dull, dry texture can be easily broken, if it looks oily and shiny, it should be added to add grease to gain weight.
The main production areas of saffron are in Spain, Iran, India and other countries, and there are also a small amount of cultivation in the mainland, mainly concentrated in Tibet, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai and other places, of which the largest domestic saffron production area is in Chongming Island.
Why saffron is so expensive
Those familiar with saffron should know that its price is expensive, ranging from tens of thousands of yuan to hundreds of thousands of yuan per kilogram, so it is usually sold according to "grams" comparable to gold.
So why the price of saffron is so high, the main reason is that things are rare and expensive, and saffron is not the whole flower can be used.
Saffron is medicated with the red pistils of the flower, the dark red stigma at the top is the most valuable, and the yellow part below is generally discarded, and there are only three on a flower.
Generally, it can only be collected by hand, and the flowering period is particularly short, only ten days, so it is necessary to carefully pick one flower by one.
Each saffron dehydrated weight of less than 0.005 grams, an average of 200 flowers to produce 1 gram of saffron, the yield is very low, coupled with transportation costs, labor costs and other consumption, these factors make saffron expensive.
Benefits of saffron
The expensive saffron effect is also absolutely worthy of this price, and poor blood circulation in the human body will cause many diseases, such as stagnant and weak qi.
Saffron has the effect of activating blood stasis, dispersing depression and opening knots, and modern research has proved that saffron also has an impact on the circulatory system and has the effect of promoting blood circulation.
In addition, saffron smells fragrant, often drink saffron can adjust the heart, relieve depression and calm the spirit, to ensure that women and the elderly have a peaceful mood and quick thinking.
Although saffron has a good medicinal value, bringing a lot of effects to the body, but when taking saffron must pay attention to, must not be overdose, each time the dosage of 5 to 10, can not be taken every day, take saffron excessively, easy to appear on fire, skin ulcers and other issues.
"Smear thousands of rouge blush, it is better to drink a cup of saffron" The benefits of saffron for women are self-evident, but the effect of small saffron is very large, worthy of "making women beautiful flowers".