Saffron is a rather expensive but very popular spice. Its history goes back thousands of years. As a seasoning saffron was used by the ancient Greeks and people of China.
Material Content:
Saffron - composition and useful properties
Saffron (another name for it is crocus) belongs to the Iris family. As a wild plant is found in almost all countries of the world. He is specially bred in India, Iran, Spain, Greece, Portugal, in Russia - in the Crimea and the Caucasus.
The best quality saffron is obtained in Spain, and the cheapest seasoning you can buy Iranian production.
Saffron has a fairly high calorie content - a little more than 300 kcal per 100 g. But this does not matter much, since spice is a part of dishes in a small amount.
Saffron also contains vitamins A, B, C, PP, minerals - potassium, sodium, iron, selenium, zinc, phosphorus. In addition, it includes dietary fiber, fatty acids, proteins.
Essential oil with a number of beneficial properties is obtained from saffron. In general, the spice has been widely used.
- Ophthalmologists evaluated the beneficial properties of saffron. With regular use of spice, the development of serious age-related pathologies slows down, and vision returns.
- Hypertensive patients take decoctions and infusions of saffron so that the pressure remains normal. Seasoning also “cleanses” blood vessels, which is an excellent prevention of atherosclerosis.
- It is very useful to take saffron in winter and early spring - during the period when flu and various SARS are rampant.Spice perfectly strengthens the immune system, the body becomes resistant to disease. And those who are already sick can use saffron for the treatment of cough - it contributes to the quick and easy discharge of sputum.
- Those who suffer from gallstones or kidney stones will be relieved by saffron.
- Spice is also useful for inflammatory skin diseases, as well as for burns and open wounds. It has anti-inflammatory and healing properties, helps to reduce pain, treats the effects of allergies.
- Saffron is included in the diet for those who want to lose weight, it improves metabolic processes, promotes the rapid removal of harmful substances from the body. Intestinal motility improves.
- Spice facilitates the condition of those who are treated for alcoholism, helping to reduce alcohol dependence.
What diseases are saffron used for?
Doctors take saffron into service. It is useful for vision problems, including inflammatory ones.
A decoction of flowers has a beneficial effect on the brain. The memory improves, the manifestations of atherosclerosis are stopped, the work of the nervous system is normalized. Regular use for a long time will relieve depression.
Saffron is also beneficial for inflammatory diseases of the kidneys, bladder, and female reproductive system.
Saffron essential oil is used in the complex treatment of liver cancer.
And in cosmetology it is used to reduce wrinkles, heal acne, and improve complexion.
How to use saffron: traditional medicine recipes
In folk medicine, saffron is used mainly in the form of infusions and decoctions.
Infusion for strengthening immunity
Stigmas (3-4 pieces) are poured with a glass of boiling water, insisted for half an hour, filtered. Drink 30-40 minutes before meals for several months.
Eye compresses
Saffron stigmas are ground and added to a rose water infusion or strong tea. Impregnate with gauze pieces of cotton or cotton pads, laying on the eyes. With such compresses you need to lie down or sit in an armchair for 15-20 minutes.
Saffron Headache
A few drops of melted butter are mixed with stigmas, powdered. The tool is rubbed into the nostrils and whiskey.
With a violation of the hormonal background, painful periods
Saffron stigmas (4-5 pieces) are ground in a coffee grinder along with a piece of ginger. A teaspoon of the mixture is added to a glass of strong tea.
Saffron application as seasoning
Saffron is invaluable in cooking. But with many other spices, it does not fit well. Therefore, you should put saffron or other seasonings in the dishes.
Add to the composition of cheese and sausages, in the dough and sweets - creams and other desserts.
In Asia, the spice has long been appreciated, and it is used in the preparation of dishes from rice, vegetables, meat. Attractive color, aroma, pleasant taste - all this gives saffron seasoning to the first and second courses.
Ear from river or sea fish, pilaf, various sauces - when preparing them, saffron is used as a spice for cooks. True, in a minimal amount.
Contraindications and possible harm
People have been using saffron for millennia. Therefore, contraindications to its use have long been established.
If the spice is eaten in significant quantities, you can feel the symptoms of poisoning: nausea, dizziness, pain in the stomach.
Saffron is contraindicated for people with high blood pressure, impaired endocrine system, as well as for women who are expecting a baby.
So the basic rule regarding saffron is moderation. In dishes, spice should be put "on the tip of a knife."
Are saffron and turmeric the same thing?
Sometimes turmeric can be sold under the guise of saffron. Turmeric root is dried and ground, after which it is used in cooking. You can confuse two seasonings, due to their similar color.
Saffron is obtained from the stamens of flowers.The plant enters the flowering period twice a year, and it lasts a few hours. You need to have time to collect a huge amount of flowers in a short time - this is a laborious and difficult process. Therefore, the price of spice remains high.
It is worth a closer look: saffron contains small particles resembling specks, turmeric will be uniform.
Therefore, you should not buy expensive seasoning from random people, for example, in the market. If saffron will be used not for medicinal purposes, but for culinary, you can buy it in stores as part of complex seasonings, for example, “For pilaf”.
This seasoning is so valuable that it is called “red gold”.
