[DioraMoostebeers]

Where to buy saffron in the US :

So where do I buy my saffron?
"From the same purveyor who was sampling that German saffron bread at a dessert show in San Francisco 13 years ago! I have looked for alternatives, believe me. As an investigative reporter, writer, cook and baker I want to find and use the best saffron available anywhere. Period. This has nothing to do with loyalty to a single vendor. Vanilla, Saffron Imports in San Francisco has been in the saffron import business for more than 20 years but there are other U.S.-based saffron vendors who have been selling saffron for much longer. The question is who has been selling excellent saffron the longest? Through 1994, the saffron I used was Spanish. In 1995 I was introduced to saffron from Macedonia in Northern Greece. I was so amazed by this Greek saffron that shortly after I started working with it I made a trip to the Macedonian saffron harvest and the saffron cooperative headquartered in the town of Krocus (the Greek name for saffron). This Greek saffron is the best saffron I have ever worked with and has a coloring strength of 256, verified by laboratory reports, which is 45 points higher than the minimum international standard for all saffron.

As long as you are willing to buy your saffron by the ounce, the Golden Gate Brand Greek saffron I use is available to you. I have not seen this Greek saffron for sale elsewhere in the U.S. but that doesn't mean someone else is selling it. Judging by poor quality Greek saffron I bought in Athens, it is important to buy Greek saffron from the cooperative in Krokus which maintains strict standards for all saffron farmers. If the farmers do not meet those requirements, the cooperative does not buy their saffron.

In the U.S. saffron is definitely still a fringe spice. Many supermarkets refuse to carry it because their spice buyers claim it is a high theft item. At the prices the supermarkets generally charge for saffron, this is not surprising. How often have you attempted to buy saffron in a supermarket only to be told to go see the manager because the saffron is locked in his/her office or in a safe? In investigating saffron's general availability, I have had this experience numerous times. This does not help encourage Americans to become familiar with saffron. "

The above is from http://www.thecookinginn.com/saffrona.html

A funny story : Years ago when I was working for a French firm, farmers from the village Krokos would come to our office and sell their saffron to the French who use it extensively, especially in their fish saffron soup. The French would watch the farmers weigh it carefully on their little scales and then pay a large sum for it. Afterwards the French would weigh it themselves and start swearing because the Greeks had given them less than they should have. That did not stop the French from buying the saffron again and again. I used to wonder how expensive saffron was in their own country.