The Grading School
Speak saffronfluently.
Ten minutes here and no one will ever sell you dyed safflower again. This is the language the trade speaks — grades, tests, and tells — in plain words.
Chapter 01 · The grades
What do saffron grades actually mean?
Saffron grades describe which part of the thread you're buying. Each crocus stigma is deep red at the tip and fades to a pale yellow base called the style. The style weighs something and colours nothing — so the more of it in your jar, the more you're paying for filler. The grade names are simply an honest (or dishonest) account of that ratio.
Only the red stigma, cut clean above the style, threads long and unbroken. The highest colouring strength per gram and the grade serious houses bottle. This is what we sell — and what our certificate describes.
What we bottleWhole red stigmas with a whisper of style left at the base. Excellent saffron, honestly named — just a shade less potent per gram than Super Negin.
One belowPersian for “top of the flower” — red tips cut short, potent but fragmented. Fine for cooking; the problem is the mislabelling, because broken Sargol is routinely passed off as a premium grade.
Know the differenceStigmas with the pale style attached, or whole threads tied in bundles. More weight, less colour — you're buying the part of the flower that does nothing. Never sold under our roof.
The filler gradesChapter 02 · The instrument
What is ISO 3632?
ISO 3632 is the international laboratory standard for grading saffron. A lab measures three things in the threads: crocin (colouring strength), safranal (aroma) and picrocrocin (taste), and assigns a category — Category I is the highest. A crocin reading above 200 is strong; the finest Super Negin lots read above 250.
The point isn't the chemistry. The point is that grade becomes a measurement instead of a boast — a number on a certificate from a lab that doesn't work for the seller. Ask any saffron merchant one question: “Can I see the ISO 3632 report for this lot?” The reaction is the answer.
- Crocin
- Colouring strength — the number that matters most
- Safranal
- Aroma — hay, honey, leather
- Picrocrocin
- Taste — the noble bitterness
- Category I
- The top classification — our standard
- Our reports
- Published per harvest lot on the traceability page
Chapter 03 · The test
How do you test saffron at home?
Three threads, a glass of room-temperature water, ten minutes. That's the entire apparatus. What you're watching for is patience: real saffron is a slow dye and a stubborn thread; fakes are a fast dye and a dissolving one.
- 01 · Drop
- Three threads into still water. No stirring — stirring hides the evidence.
- 02 · Wait
- Ten minutes. Make tea. Don't touch the glass.
- 03 · Read
- Slow golden halo, threads still defiantly red — genuine.
Instant red cloud, threads bleaching pale — dyed. Return it. - Bonus
- Rub a wet thread between two fingers: real saffron stains gold and holds together; corn-silk fakes fall apart.
Every Pure Red Gold jar ships with spare threads and this exact card — because the only house that can invite the test is one that passes it.
Chapter 04 · The rogues' gallery
What is fake saffron made of?
Most fake saffron is safflower petals, corn silk, or coconut fibre — dyed red — and most “stretched” saffron is real threads bulked with turmeric dust or sprayed with weight-adding syrup. Estimates of adulteration in the global retail market run high enough that the trade assumes a sample is guilty until proven innocent. The tells:
Flat, ribbon-like petals rather than trumpet-tipped threads. Bleeds instantly in water. Smells faintly of nothing.
The classicUniform, stringy, suspiciously identical strands. Falls apart when rubbed wet; real stigmas hold their shape.
The lazy oneFound in powdered “saffron.” Instant yellow, zero aroma of hay and honey. Rule of thumb: never buy saffron as powder — buy threads, grind them yourself.
Why we sell threadsReal threads sprayed with sugar syrup or oil to add grams. Threads feel sticky or damp and clump together; dry saffron whispers when you shake the jar.
The subtle oneChapter 05 · Using it
How much saffron should you use?
Ten to fifteen threads serve four people. That's the honest answer nobody gives, because it sounds too small to charge for. Good saffron is measured in threads, not spoons — a gram holds roughly four hundred and fifty of them.
The technique that changes everything: steep first. Twenty minutes in two tablespoons of warm water, milk or stock before it touches the dish. Heat without steeping wastes half the colour; steeping without patience wastes half the aroma.
- Rice for four
- 10–15 threads, steeped
- Milk / desserts
- 8–10 threads per litre
- Tea
- 3–4 threads per pot — let it sit five minutes
- Never
- Boil threads directly, or grind before steeping without a pinch of sugar to carry them
Class dismissed