Saffron

Journalist and chef Ramin Ganeshram is the author of a number of cookbooks and The General’s Cook: A Novel (2018).

"Saffron is the world’s most expensive, and some say prized ingredient, but not many of us think of its many health benefits. Journalist, historian and food writer, Ganeshram does just that – and a whole lot more. She explores its dramatic history and recipes . . . Complete with delicious recipes, surprising anecdotes and an assortment of photographs, this book traces the many paths taken by saffron, revealing the allure of a spice sought globally." - PS News, Australia"Explore the dramatic history of the world’s most expensive spice in Saffron: A Global History (Reaktion Books, 2020). Literally worth their weight in gold, sunset-red saffron threads are prized internationally . . . Complete with delicious recipes and surprising anecdotes, this book traces the many paths taken by saffron, revealing the allure of a spice sought globally by merchants, chefs, artists, scientists, clerics, traders, warriors, and black-market smugglers." - New Books Network"The book, like others in the Edible series, is beautifully presented and is best suited to those with an interest in culinary history. It is full of interesting anecdotes and references to saffron in art and literature." - OxVeg News"Although diminutive in size – A5, 150 pages, many of them with images or illustrations – this book by New York-based chef and culinary historian, Ramin Ganeshram, captures much of the reverence and mystique associated with saffron, the delicate stigmas plucked from the flowers of Crocus sativus, from antiquity to the present . . . Ganeshram crafts a compelling tale of saffron’s ‘circuitous route’ over the centuries, from its humble wild origins in ancient Greece to exotic cultivar and precious trade commodity, shaping tastes and traditional dishes in various ways as it was acculturated into cuisines across the globe. The geographical transference of saffron is fascinating, its spread mapping the rise and fall of conquerors and empires that took the spice from Europe to the Orient, to England and the New World and eventually, the Antipodes." - Australian Garden History"This book is much like the ingredient it focuses on: exquisite. A brilliant and informative book by an uber talented author." - Monica Bhide, cookbook author

• Introduction1 Flower of the Gods: Origin and Early Cultivation2 The Ancient World, Silk Road3 Saffron in the Medieval and Renaissance Eras4 North America and the Caribbean5 Arts and Medicine6 Modern MarketA Saffron PrimerRecipesReferencesSelect BibliographyWebsites and AssociationsAcknowledgementsPhoto AcknowledgementsIndex