Spices, those magic seeds and powders that season our food, have always been part of our human history. Spices as a commodity may be small, but their usefulness in the culinary world is essentially priceless.
There are varieties of spices in the world. While spices are usually known for their taste, there is also a spice that is famous for its price. Well! It is world’s most expensive spice. This spice plant is also said to be the most expensive plant in the world.
The spice is only grown in major countries France, Spain, Iran, Italy, Greece, Germany, Japan, Russia, Austria, Turkistan, China, Pakistan and Switzerland, including India. In India, it is cultivated more in the Pampore area of district Pulwama.
The most expensive spice in the world is called saffron. The price of saffron in the market is between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh/kg. The reason for saffron being expensive is that 1 kg dry saffron is obtained from 1.5 lakh flowers.
According to legends, an arhat Indian Buddhist missionary by the name of Madhyântika (or Majjhantika) was sent to Kashmir in the 5th century BC. Upon his arrival he seemingly sowed the first Kashmiri saffron crop. From there, saffron use spread throughout the Indian subcontinent. In addition to use in foods, saffron stigmas were also soaked in water to yield a golden-yellow solution that was used as a fabric dye.
However, some believe that saffron originated in Spain, a country in southern Europe. Today, the largest cultivation of saffron in the world is in Spain. The fragrance of saffron flowers is so strong that the surrounding area smells. You will be surprised to know that only three saffron are found in each flower.
Although saffron was used in Ayurvedic prescriptions, food dishes and in Dev puja, but now it is also used in paan spices and gutkhas. The stigmas are also used to make medicine. Saffron is used for asthma, cough, whooping cough (pertussis), and to loosen phlegm (as an expectorant)
