At the moment, saffron is one of the best spices that not only give the dish an incredibly pleasant taste, but also a light orange-golden hue. However, the real spice obtained from the dried stigmas of sowing crocus flowers is quite difficult to obtain in Russia, and it will cost a lot. That is why, taking care of their budget, housewives quite often ask themselves how to replace saffron in a dish so that it tastes good and has a golden color. Existing substitutes will be discussed in this article.
Useful properties of saffron
Before talking about how to replace saffron in the recipe, you should understand what this seasoning is and what its features are, so that later you can make the most adequate replacement.
Among the main beneficial properties of spices can be mentioned:
- normalization of mental and emotional state;
- improvement of the gastrointestinal tract;
- cleansing the circulatory system;
- strengthening immunity;
- normalization of the menstrual cycle.
So if you regularly add saffron to various dishes, you can cope with diseases that affect the kidneys and liver, the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, and also prevent the development of cancer. In addition, it was noticed that saffron is an excellent fat burner, allowing you to lose weight.
Taste properties
Natural saffron is so expensive not only because it is difficult to collect. This Indian spice has an original and unique aroma. It is floral, but at the same time it gives off notes of freshly cut grass and a sharp bitterness of honey. When you eat a dish with this seasoning, you can literally feel the warmth and comfort. However, you need to use it very carefully, because if you go too far, the medicinal taste and aroma will begin to appear, which simply spoil the dish.
But if you use quality seasoning correctly, then it will certainly make the dish unique and “revive” it. Although it is better to refuse to buy cheap saffron, since an old product or with the addition of impurities will not be useful.
Saffron in cooking
Most often saffron is used in dishes where rice comes to the fore. However, if desired, it can advantageously be used in any food, giving meat, poultry or fish a very bright aroma and taste. However, in order not to suppress the aromas, it is recommended to add saffron about five or ten minutes before the end of cooking. This will not allow the essential oils to completely evaporate.
Saffron is also popular because of its color. This magnificent dye is able to give the dish a golden-red color that attracts attention. So if you add it to the pastries, then it will immediately receive not only an unusual taste and aroma that will definitely please, but also a pleasant color.
Due to the high cost of spices, it is rarely added to a variety of drinks: coffee, liquors, wines, tea and even mulled wine. They immediately turn from ordinary drinks into gourmet ones.
Replacement Options
In order to get 1 kg of saffron, you have to manually collect about 70 thousand flowers. So the original has a very high price, which is available only to wealthy segments of the population. That is why, if you want to make the dishes the most original, you should definitely ask yourself how to replace saffron seasoning successfully.
At the moment, it is customary to consider only three main replacement options. These include:
- turmeric;
- imperial saffron;
- safflower flower.
All of the above options mainly allow you to give the dish a color that is similar to the color of a real saffron. However, to achieve similar taste is impossible, so try not even worth it. Analogs act more as dyes, since although they have similar characteristics, they cannot become a complete replacement. But you will not need to spend so much money.
Turmeric
The most common answer to the question of how to replace saffron is turmeric. Its main difference is a weak burning taste with a light bitterness resembling ginger. The spice also has a delicate pleasant aroma, so often after cooking in a dish it is simply impossible to feel. Among culinary experts all over the world, turmeric is a cheap analogue of saffron, which allows you to get closer to obtaining a similar flavor and golden color.
Most often, turmeric is used in various pastries or in dishes with rice. So it will be an ideal option for replacing saffron in paella.
In addition, if you want a brighter taste, then combine turmeric with cumin (zira) and coriander. Also, chefs often advise mixing spice with paprika.
Safflower
Dried safflower flowers are also a good option for replacing saffron in cooking. Its taste is bitter and spicy, therefore, slightly different from the original, but it is mainly used to obtain a pleasant shade in the dish. At the moment, it is safflower that is one of the best natural dyes that give shades from yellow to red-orange. So use it when baking. If desired, it can be combined with a variety of teas, since this way you can freely experiment with taste and color. For a full replacement in the recipe, you should use a similar amount of safflower, so if it says that you need a teaspoon of saffron, then you should put a teaspoon of safflower.
Imperial saffron
In Georgia, the spice called imperial saffron is especially popular. It is also a great option for replacing saffron when cooking Georgian dishes like kharcho or satsivi. In addition, the imperial saffron is perfect for a variety of meat or fish dishes.
A plant is going to be consumed, usually in mid-July, because at this time its aroma is most pronounced. Ultimately, when using spices, the dish gets a characteristic color. Of course, the analogue has one minus - it has no smell of the original saffron.
Other analogues
There are a couple of similar seasonings, which in rare cases can become what replace saffron is quite possible if desired. Among them, cardobenedict is especially worth mentioning, otherwise known as the blessed knuckus. This plant, named after the monks of the Order of St. Benedict, in appearance resembles an ordinary thistle weed. However, his baskets have a yellowish tinge, and if the petals are dried, then when they are ground, they differ in a floral-spicy aroma, very specific, because it often gives off with fruity notes.
Also, at times, marigold flowers can be used as a dye that can give a dish a similar color. If you grow flowers yourself, then simply dry the buds, and then place them in a mortar or coffee grinder, and then grind them to a powdery state.
Conclusion
In Russia, quite rarely you can find high-quality Indian spices, and natural saffron fibers are generally rare. But even if you manage to find them in the store, you will have to spend the current state on the purchase - now the price of this product is approximately 12 dollars (800 rubles) for just one gram. So if you do not want to squander the family budget, you will need to look for analogues. Fortunately, if you wish, you can calmly use a number of other spices as an analogue, such as turmeric, which can give the dish the same pleasant golden-red hue. In addition, such substitutes are much cheaper and affordable for ordinary customers. Of course, they do not have such a specific taste and aroma that saffron differs, but if you experiment, it will be simply impossible to notice that a different product was used in the dish. So the question of how to replace saffron, after reading the article should not be relevant.