The purest Saffron from Monteriggioni
This is the everyday name for the crocus satiuus. The dried stigmas of its flowers have been renowned since ancient times for enhancing various dishes and meals. In Italy, this plant is predominantly cultivated in Abruzzi, Sardinia and Tuscany; it grows spontaneously in Persia, India and Asia Minor. It is a bulbous plant with long, thin leaves with a lighter streak in the centre; two or, exceptionally, three flowers develop on each plant which consist of just one perigonium which branches off from the bulb in a long tube and terminates, opening out into six violet-coloured petals. The three stamens have white filaments and yellow anthers; the style terminates with three red-orange stigmas and this is the part of the plant which emits an agreeable fragrance, thanks to the presence of an essential oil. As well as being a condiment, saffron is also used for pharmaceutical purposes as well as its golden yellow colour being used for dyeing, thanks to the presence of policrosite. Not all terrain is suitable for the cultivation of this bulb, which, in being such, requires certain special attentions, and, from the fact that about seven to eight thousand plants produce a mere 50g of saffron, it is only too understandable that it is called ‘red gold’. From other types of crocus medius, longiflorus, an inferior quality is obtained and in greater quantities.
Agriturismo establishment – Sale of saffron, honey, oil
