Saffron originates from a flower called “Crocus Flower”. It takes 150,000 flowers to obtain 1 kilo of saffron … which easily explains the price of it.

Saffron has a pleasant strong aroma and taste. This very particular spice is used to color and flavor many Mediterranean and also Asian dishes, especially rice and fish. It comes as no surprise that saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, is used in European kitchen and is commonly used as an important ingredient in English, Balkan, and Scandinavian breads.

NFG’s Saffron come from the most acclaimed saffron farms in Northeastern Iran, presented in all grades of Iranian Saffron and various cuts illustrated in the below picture. To guarantee the quality of the products, we conduct very precise tests in our state-of-the-art laboratories.

For more info please see the Available Grades section below.

There are different ways to measure the quality of saffron, but the most accepted standard is ISO 3632 which released by International Standards Organization in 1980 for the first time, adjusted on a regular basis, and the latest version released in 2011. According to this standard, saffron quality depends on three important factors: color, flavor, and aroma. Each of these factors can be inspected by measuring important components of saffron through photospectroscopy.

Color: The coloring strength of saffron depends on its “crocin”; a substance which is the most important indicator of the saffron quality, as the other chemicals are corelated closely to its proportion. Iso 3632 prescribes 4 grades which is measured as follows based on proportion of crocin absorbance for a 1g/100 ml solution of test sample: Grade I > 190 nm, 150 nm < Grade II < 190 nm, 110 nm < Grade III < 150 nm, Grade IV < 110 nm

Aroma: The aroma agent for saffron is a chemical substance which is called Safranal. According to ISO 3632 standard, premium quality saffron must have aroma reading between 20 to 50.

Flavor: Picrocrocin is responsible for the bitterness of the saffron. A flavor reading above 70 is considered as an indicator of good quality.