Saffron, the plant that gives its name to World Heritage Safranbolu, is known as the most expensive spice plant in the world. It is the most counterfeited plant.
There are 1800 species belonging to 70 genera of saffron in the world. In Anatolian plant diversity, 40 species belonging to the genus Crocus have been identified. Some of these species bloom in spring and some in fall.
Saffron is a bulbous culture plant. Saffron (Crocus sativus), which blooms in the fall, belongs to the family of irises (Iridaceae) and its above-ground part is annual and the below-ground part is perennial. The below-ground part of the bulb sprouts every year for three years to form a new plant, the saffron.
After saffron blooms and forms next year’s bulb, the above-ground part dries up. The above-ground part of the plant has needle-shaped, elongated leaves. The flowers are composed of 6 petals, and the petals are colored in deep violet purple. Flowering starts in the second week of October and lasts until November 20. An average of 6 to 12 flowers is obtained from each 15-20 cm tall plant.
There are three yellow male organs in the flower, the most important part of which is the female organ. The female organ is 2.5-3.5 cm long, thread-like in appearance and divided into three parts. The color of these is dark red. This part is called ‘saffron’.
Saffron is a ‘drug’ (part of plants used as medicine) that has been known and used as medicine in Anatolia since the Hittite period. It maintained its importance during the Ottoman period and in 1858, 9705 kg of saffron was sold to England. In 1913, saffron was cultivated only in Safranbolu and Şanlıurfa. The amount of saffron obtained in this period was only 500 kg. Since this amount could not meet the country’s needs, saffron began to be imported from European countries in 1923. According to some literature data, the homeland of saffron is Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean region, while some sources state that saffron was brought to Anatolia by Turks migrating from Central Asia.
Homer and Hippocrates record that saffron was cultivated throughout the ages in Iran and the Kashmir region of India. The Mongols introduced saffron to China, the Arabs to Spain and the Crusaders to Western Europe. In ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian civilizations, saffron was used for dyeing, perfume, medicine and cooking. Cleopatra is recorded to have used perfume made from saffron.
In the Middle East, saffron has been cultivated for at least four thousand years to be used as a fragrant flavoring, perfume, dye, medicine and even an aphrodisiac. In fact, saffron has sometimes been equated with gold.
In the past, saffron was cultivated mainly in Safranbolu, Istanbul, Tokat, Izmir, Bolu Göynük, Adana and Şanlıurfa. It is recorded that saffron was grown in about 40 villages in Safranbolu. Today, saffron cultivation in a large area in our country is only practiced in Safranbolu.
Saffron is grown in Asia, in Iran, Azerbaijan, India, Pakistan and China. It is also reported to be grown in New Zealand. In Europe, it is grown in Greece, Italy, France and Spain. In North Africa, it is grown in Morocco and Egypt, and in the Middle East in Israel.
The economically important organ of saffron is the three-parted stigma of the female organ in the flower. Essential substances such as crocetin, crocin, picrocrocin and safranal, which give saffron its great importance, are found only in the stigma. The stigma contains 0.4 -1.3% of essential oil. The essential oil contains mostly ‘safranal’. Most of the ongoing research is focused on the stigma, as it contains the mentioned substances.
Saffron can be categorized under four main headings: dye industry, cosmetics industry, pharmaceutical industry, folk medicine and food industry. Saffron is a plant that loves mild climate. It grows on southern slopes protected against wind. The plant is resistant to summer droughts and its bulbs to frost. Cool and humid weather during the vegetation period negatively affects the development of the plant. It likes dry and sunny weather especially during the flowering period. Rainfall during this period significantly reduces the quality of the product.
Flowers are very sensitive to frost. Saffron likes sandy, loose, stone-free and well-permeable soils. It grows well in slightly calcareous and clay soils. In Safranbolu, planting starts on June 21, after the solstice. The bulbs, which are uprooted in June and rested, are planted after the 20th of August.
A saffron field can yield for three years. At the end of the third year, the bulbs are uprooted, the good and healthy ones are selected and stored until planting time. Saffron begins to bloom in the second week of October. Harvesting takes about a month. The flowers are picked early in the morning before they open for ease of collection, the petals of the flowers brought indoors are opened and the female organs (tepals) and male organs are collected separately. The drying process is carried out under completely natural conditions without any chemical treatment. Saffron is dried by laying saffron on clean white cheesecloth in an airy closed place with natural light. Male organs are dried on a separate cheesecloth. If the drying process is not done properly, the product may deteriorate. On average, from 80 to 120 thousand flowers, 5 kg of wet tops and 1 kg of dry product are obtained.
Considering all these issues, it can be easily understood that saffron cultivation is very laborious and can only be done on small plots of land. Saffron’s low yield and labor-intensive cultivation are among the main reasons why it is the most expensive spice in the world. According to the data of Safranbolu District Directorate of Agriculture, saffron production in Safranbolu was only carried out in Davutobası Village until 1999, but after 1999, with the projects carried out with different financing sources, production has become widespread throughout the district. Safranbolu District Governorship has taken saffron and Turkish delight, which are identified with the district, under protection with a geographical indication.
Text: İsmail Yılmaz, Photos: İsmail Şahinbaş
– İsmail Yılmaz, Saffron Producer
WORLD HERITAGE MAGAZINE ISSUE 1 (APRIL 2023)
