How to use Saffron, Recipes and Drinks

Many experts prescribe to add a safe amount of this spice to your diet.

There are many different drinks and foods, which this spice is one of their main ingredients. We gathered a list of them and how to use saffron in these beverages and foods.

The method of using differs depending on the region. The most common use is to brew it in hot or cold water and then add it to your recipes, but there are so many various methods to use the golden spice.

These are some of the top beverages and foods that saffron can be used in.

Drinks

You can add or brew saffron (grinded or threads) in any kinds of hot and cold drinks you like or just drink it in water. This article gathers some recipes to great and recommended beverages.

Saffron tea

There are many different recipes to make saffron tea, tow of them are more common.

Add a pinch of grinded golden spice or threads, about 2 or 3) to a boiling mineral water. Keep them on the heat about tow minutes, then remove your pot from the heat and wait between three to four minutes. Now you can serve or drink your tea.  

The other way to make this tea is adding your spice to one to three ice cubes and gives it time to brew. Then add this brewed spice to hot water.

This tea could drink or serve cold too. After brewing the spice wait till the mixture come to the room temperature, then pour it into the cup and add some ice cubes. Enjoy your healthy delicious tea.  

You can also add ingredients like cinnamon, cardamom, lemon, honey or ginger to this tea, it is up to you.

You can add brewed spice to any kinds of tea, like green, white or black tea.

Saffron latte

Latte is the great mixture of milk and espresso. A great mixture of espresso, milk and milk foam make a wonderful latte. In order to have saffron latte, you should add your spice to the milk.

You can brew this spice in hot milk. Due to this, add a pinch of powder or 3 threads to the hot milk and wait, after 3 minutes use this milk to make your latte.

Saffron lemonade

In order to make lemonade, you need fresh lemon, soda, water and sugar or honey. Peel the lemons, add them to mineral water and put them on the heat, while boiling and sugar or honey, let it boil for almost 10 minutes, till the lemons squash. The amount of sugar or honey is up to you and your taste, but if you avoid overweight, use honey.

When the lemons squash, remove the heat and give it time to come to the room temperature, you can filter the mixture hot or cold. After filtering the mixture, add soda. Your lemonade is ready, wait, if you want to have saffron lemonade, add the spice to the boiling mixture. Do not forget to add ice cubes to your glass!

The amazing aroma and flavor of the sunshine spice will make you a different and wonderful drink.

Saffron martini

There are many different ways to make martini cocktails. You can mix different material like soda, vodka, fruits and even ginger to make a wonderful martini cocktail. These cocktails are served cold and with ice. That means due to make a saffron martini cocktail you can brew the golden spice in ice cubes and then add these cubes to your beloved cocktail.

This cocktail is one of the best drinks that you can serve on the parties and enjoy with friends and family.

Saffron margarita

Margarita is one of the most popular and favourable alcoholic drinks. In most of the gatherings, bars and restaurants, the margarita cocktails served. These cocktails are made by different kinds of juice that the lemon juice is the most common of them.

It is common and more desired to serve the margarita cocktails cold and with ice. Like the martini, you can brew the sunshine spice in ice cubes and pour your margarita cocktail on the cubes. Here you are, your great saffron margarita cocktail. In my opinion, bars and restaurants should add this drink to their menus.

Saffron mojito

Do you know how to make mojito? It is not hard. You need mint leaves, fresh lemons, ice cubes and of course a mixer. It is better to use ice crushes instead of ice cubes.

Peel one or tow lemons and crushes some ice cubes, then add ice crushes and these peeled lemons to the mixer, the amount of lemon and ice depends on you and your taste. You need to add some mint leaves. Do not add too much, they can destroy the flavor of your drink. Three or five leaves could be great. Turn on your mixer for 2 minutes. Your mojito is ready.

There is a secret in making this drink; you cannot believe what is the secret ingredient. If you add a celery stalk to the mixer, the mojito you make is just like restaurant ones.

In addition, you can make saffron mojito. Infuse some spice with ice cubes. Add the iced brewed spice to the mixer and allow it to mix with the ingredients. It would be a luxury to serve this beverage at the party.

Foods

There are many different dishes all around the world in which saffron is one of the most ingredients. You can find different recipes to use saffron in different dishes. We are going to write about some of them, especially the most popular ones.

Saffron rice

The saffron rice is one of the most beautiful rice you can see. Imagine the fragrant aroma of the spice and golden yellow color that adds to the dreamy flavor of rice.

There are different saffron rice recipes and flavor; also there are different ways to add this spice to your rice. To illustrate that, consider the differences between Risotto and Tahchin.

How to use saffron in Iranian rice?

Iranian use saffron in rice recipes in different ways, we explain tow of them here. In some food, this spice is used just to a make more beautiful view, while in many others this is one of the main ingredients.

In Tahchin and Morasaa Polo, this spice is listed in the main ingredients. First you should brew it, hot or cold, it said that in cold brewing the color is better. When you add the rice to the boiling water to cook it, you should add the brewed spice. The rice is cooked in saffron water.

In Iran, color and aroma of the golden spice are really popular. They used this spice to decorate the food, especially rice. Again, you should brew the spice first. When the rice is ready, take some of it, add brewed spice and some butter and if you like some barberry to, mix them together. Now put the rice in the serving dish and add this mixture on it. It looks amazing, isn’t it?

Imagine the view of the Iranian rice, White rice under the golden yellow color of the red gold and the great red dots of barberry.

How use saffron in Italian Risotto?

One of the most important ingredients of Risotto is saffron. They brew this spice in broth, and add this saffron broth to the rice on the heat. This method gives the spice taste to the rice, make its color orange-yellow, and of course the aroma of the final dish is fantastic.

Saffron chicken

In order to make saffron chicken, you should make a mixture and put the raw chicken pieces in it for 5 to 8 hours. The material of this mixture could make a great flavor and smell for your chicken.

You should add yogurt, chopped onion, turmeric, salt, cinnamon, lemon or lemon juice, pepper, and of course brewed saffron. You can also add other spices to this mixture based on your taste.

After about 8 hours, you can grill, fry, roast or barbecued the chickens. Try this method the flavor is awesome.

Saffron fish

Almost all of us know about the great benefits of fish and seafood, but most of us have problems with the smell of them. Each person uses especial recipes to remove or change, or even decrease it. The most common way to do this is using spices. One of these spices is saffron, due to its fragrant aroma this spice could help a lot. There are various methods to use spices with fish, we explain three of them here.

The first method

Make a mixture of spices like turmeric, salt, pepper, ginger, cinnamon and saffron powder. The amount of each spice depends on your taste, you can add another or remove one of these, but do not add lots of red gold, just a pinch is enough. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons flour to this mixture. Soak the fish spices in this mixture and fry them.

The second method

Make a mixture of above spices and egg, chopped onion, chopped lemon or lemon juice, garlic powder and brewed saffron. Mix them well, and then put the fish spices in it for 5 to 8 hours. After that you can fry or roasts the fishes.

The third method

Did you hear about Bailobae? It is a very famous seafood soup. Fishes and shrimps are cooked in brewed saffron and other ingredients. It is very delicious and popular all around the word.

Saffron lamb

In cooking lamp or any kinds of meat you can add the golden spice to the broth. If you want to grill or roast your meat, rub the brewed fragrant spice on the meat and roast or grill it as you wish.

Saffron vegetables

Do you use raw vegetables or cooked? You can add saffron to both of them.

Cook vegetables

Brewed you magical spice, hot or cold, then add it to the vegetable and water mixture and put them on the heat.

In this method, your cooked vegetables smell like the sunshine spice.

Raw vegetables

You can spare a pinch of golden spice powder on your vegetables. In addition, you can brew the red gold first and then spray it on the vegetables.

Desserts

One of the most delicious parts of food is dessert; you can add the exotic color, fragrant aroma and great flavour of the magical red gold to your dessert.

Saffron cake

Most cakes have milk or water in their ingredients. You can brew your sunshine spice in one of them and then add it to your recipes, enjoy your saffron cake.

Saffron ice cream

The base material of all kinds of ice creams is milk. You cannot find any ice cream that makes without milk.

Grind your spice first. In making saffron ice cream, it is not great to use threads. Add the powder to hot milk, and then wait for 5 to 19 minutes. After that you should put the milk in the fridge, you should use cold milk to make ice cream. When you use this milk you would have a light fragrant yellow ice cream.

Saffron pudding

The most common ingredients of puddings are milk and sugar. Again, we have milk and the sunshine spice! Brew the spice in milk and then use this spicy milk in your puddings.

Here are some specific recipes

There are many recipes to use this aromatic spice in the foods or beverages. We write some of them here, you can use them or based on your taste change them or find the better ones.

Saffron tea

Ingredients:

• Hot water
• Saffron threads

Instructions:

1. Boil the water, add a cup of water to your put for each person
2. Grind your spice or use the threads. Use 2 to 4 threads for each person.
3. Wait for 5 to 10 minutes. Then serve your tea.

Point 1: you can add honey or sugar to make your tea sweet. You also can add cinnamon, cardamom, lemon, ginger and mint.

Point 2: you can brew your spice in any kind of tea. It means that you can make white, black or green saffron tea. 

Saffron rice

As we mentioned above, there are various recipes to cook saffron rice. You can find some of them on Queen of Flowers web page. Here we mention Iranian Morasaa Polo.

Ingredients:

• Rice, 1 cup for each person
• Pistachio slices
• Almond slice
• Carrot slices
• Barberry
• Torn chicken
• Brewed saffron
• Oil
• Butter
• Sugar

Instructions:

1. Boil a pot of water
2. Add rice to the boiling water, when the rice becomes soft, that you can squish it between your fingers, remove heat and filter the rice
3. Put the empty pot on the heat; add oil and the filtered rice. Then pour brewed saffron into the rice pot and mixed it to all rice. Wait for 30 t0 45 minutes.
4. In the waiting time, put a pan on the heat add butter and let it melt
5. Add all slices (carrot, almond, and pistachios), barberry and sugar
6. Add 2 teaspoons of the brewed sunshine spice and roast 2 or 3 minutes, then remove the heat
7. Put the cooked yellow rice in the serving dish adds the torn chicken and the roasted mixture on it

Point 1: The amount of sugar depends on your taste, but do not use too much.

Point 2: You can change chicken with meat it depends on you.

Point 3: Your slices should be thin and small.

Saffron Kebab

There are many different kinds of kebab all around the world. The most famous kebabs are Iranian ones. One of the most popular Iranian kebabs is called kebab Kobide. In order to cook saffron kebab Kobide follow the instruction below.

Ingredients:

• Mince meat, 100 t0 200 grams for each person
• Brewed saffron powder
• Chopped onion, a big one for 250 grams meat
• Desired spice (salt, pepper, turmeric…)

Instructions:

1. Add all the ingredients to a big pot
2. Kneading all together for 20 to 30 minutes
3. Skewering the mixture and barbecue them

Point 1: You can eat this kebab by bread or rice.

Point 2: The standard amount of each skewer is 100 to 200 grams.

The sunshine spice is an especial ingredient in most foods, beverages and desserts. Use it in your own way. If you do not like the existing recipes, make your own. Write us the best method you find!

Conclusion

There are many different ways to use saffron in your diet, actually it depends on various conditions, and the most important of them is your diet and your taste. You can use it in combination or just it. You can add it to your beverages, foods and desserts or pour it into water and drink it itself.

The important point is that the experts prescribe its daily usage. The one who chooses how to use saffron is you yourself.