How to Tell If Saffron Is Real Or Fake: 8 Tests

Having the taste of real saffron in your food and beverages is the most exotic feeling you could experience, but when it comes to buying real saffron and avoiding fake saffron there is a challenge with the variety of brands that supply saffron.

How to Buy Real Saffron And Avoid Fake Saffron

Because saffron is super expensive. To save money, some dishonest manufacturers would blend a little amount of actual saffron with fillers such as safflower, a plant often produced for cooking oil, or corn silk threads tinted red with food coloring and sell the product as saffron.

• Price: Real saffron has a high price tag. Spending at least $10 for one gram could be your first sign of a good purchase.
• Smell: Pure saffron has beautiful honey-like, floral aroma with a soft sweetness. Once you mix external additives to it, the smell becomes metallic or tobacco-like as time passes by.
• Color: At first sight saffron threads should look dark red with a bit of yellow depending on the different types saffron.a quick way to test your saffron is to add a pinch of saffron threads to some hot water and wait, if the saffron loses its colors in a matter of seconds it’s a sign of fake saffron; because real saffron take about 3 to 5 minutes to dye the water yellow. Also authentic saffron will keep its dark red color unlike fake saffron that will lose its color and in some cases turns into powder after dipping in water.

So how to identify fake saffron?

The flower of saffron is purple flower called autumn crocus, and it has a red stigma which we use as the saffron spice.
the crocus bulb only produces one flower and each flower has 3 saffron stigmas. this is why saffron is so expensive and difficult to harvest.

so you bought your saffron from a store wondering how can it be fake? Saffron can be entirely fake, or it can be real saffron but mixed with other substances.

corn silk threads commonly used as fake saffron, coconut filaments or even dyed meat shreds and shredded paper is other examples. doing a water test will make the dye used to color fake saffron come off easily.

Real saffron mixed with fake materials and fillers or even sprayed with water will make it heavier and have more mass resulting in higher cost.

8 tests to identify real saffron and avoid fake saffron at home

1.Distinguish saffron by sight

Difference of price in saffron is effected by the cut of the Saffron stigma or thread/filament.

• Saffron Grade 1 or A+ or All Red (Sargol or Negin): All red Saffron containing only stigmas. This grade of saffron is 100%, Premium Saffron. This is also natively known as Super-Negin or Sargol Saffron. It is the top 1/3 or 2/3 part of the Saffron filament. It is highly priced due to its rich color & aroma. It is the purest and finest quality saffron.
• Saffron Grade 2 or Thread (Pushal) : Saffron Grade 2 or Thread contains the red stigmas and the yellow/white style end. This category of saffron is also costly and mainly used for daily cooking.
• Saffron grade 3 or B or Tied bunch (Dasteh): Contains the red stigmas connected to the entire style. This is typically low cost and low quality and available in all major local grocery stores. The overall weight of the thread contains more floral matter (Style). Its typical use is in perfumes (attars), fragrances, and incense & aromatic flavors.

Saffron threads are trumpet-shaped. If a thread does not bulge at one end, it’s a fake. If you rub real saffron between your fingers, your skin will turn yellow/orange.

2.Distinguish saffron by smell

To put it in simple words real saffron smells like honey and hay mixed together. the smell of saffron is described to be sweet.

3.Distinguish saffron by taste

Despite the sweet smell, Saffron is bitter, and its flavor is quite distinctive.

To determine if the saffron is authentic, all you need to do is ask the seller for 1 or 2 threads of saffron which you put on your tongue and chew on for a few seconds. You will experience a sharp, bitter taste in your taste buds. Then spit the threads onto a clean paper tissue and rub them inside. You know you buy genuine saffron if the paper tissue color appears yellow. If the color appears red, you are being sold colored threads.

4.Distinguish saffron by color release

Place the threads in a small container filled with tepid water. Wait at least 15 minutes.

Genuine saffron gradually turns the water yellow. It could take up to an hour for the color to change. The red tint of the saffron strands remains. The substance is not saffron if the water changes color immediately, turns red, or does not change color, or if the threads lose their color.

Real saffron threads will also remain intact after soaking if rubbed between your fingers. Fakes, on the other hand, tend to disintegrate.

5.Distinguish saffron by floating in water

The Float Test is another way to determine whether or not saffron is genuine. When immersed in water, real saffron threads do not drown. Instead, they would float. Because of the weight of the colored dye or floral debris on them, fake saffron threads would partially or completely drown in water.

Other uncommon methods are mentioned below to tell real saffron from fake saffron.

6.Distinguish saffron by baking soda

Mix in a pinch of baking soda to the water. Then, stir in the saffron. If the water/baking soda mixture contains pure saffron, it will turn yellow, whereas a fake one would turn dull red.

7.Distinguish saffron by paper

Profiteers may often spray saffron with salt or greasy water to increase its weight. Pour some saffron on white paper and press it with your finger for a few seconds to detect fake saffron that has been tainted with oil. If there are signs of oil on the paper, you have phony saffron on your hands.

8.Distinguish saffron by petrol

Saffron does not dissolve in petrol. To detect real saffron, you can put some saffron in petrol. If the petrol gets colored, it indicates that your saffron is not real.

Tips for buying saffron

• Never buy saffron powder. Although your recipe may ask for powder, buying it in threads allows you to determine if it is genuine. Once the drug has been ground, it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between real and fake or contaminated. Furthermore, even if it is genuine, ground saffron may contain fillers such as coloured rice flour, starch, or other spices such as turmeric or paprika.
• It may seem obvious, but it never hurts to remember to buy from a reputable source. That source could be a store you know and trust, or an online seller you’ve checked out.

Tips on saffron storage

• Store saffron threads in glass in a cool, dark place.
• Saffron should not be stored in a plastic container or bag.