Why is saffron so expensive?
The Food Chain
BBC
4.7 • 545 Ratings
🗓️ 20 March 2025
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Saffron - the world's most expensive spice - is treasured for its rich aroma, vibrant colour, and unique flavour. But why does it command such a high price?
In this episode of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander uncovers the story of saffron from crocus flower to kitchen, finds out about the labour-intensive harvesting process, and learns about the innovations in lab-grown saffron that could change the industry forever.
Iranian chef and author Najmieh Batmanglij shares saffron's culinary and cultural significance. Saffron trader Mehrdad Rowhani offers insight into the complex global market and the problem of fraud, and agricultural scientist Dr Ardalan Ghilavizadeh tells us about why more countries are investing in lab-grown saffron, taking the harvest from traditional fields and into indoor units.
To get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk
Producer: Izzy Greenfield Reporting: Irshad Hussain
Transcript
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| 0:29.1 | Listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:35.4 | Have you ever noticed how expensive one of the spices in the shops is? |
| 0:40.7 | You've got cinnamon here, 66 US cents for 10 grams, turmeric, 70 cents, and saffron. |
| 0:50.3 | $145 for only 10 grams. |
| 0:55.0 | Unsurprisingly, at that kind of price, |
| 0:57.0 | there's hardly any in this little jar on sale for $5.85, |
| 1:02.0 | less than half a gram. |
| 1:03.0 | In fact, I can hardly see it in there. |
| 1:05.0 | It's in a tiny jar within the small jar. |
| 1:08.0 | They call it red gold, |
| 1:10.0 | and it has at times been worth as much as real gold. |
| 1:15.1 | I'm Ruth Alexander and for the food chain this week from the BBC World Service I'm going to be |
| 1:20.3 | finding out what's so special about saffron, why it's expensive, how that attracts criminal activity, and why there's a new red |
| 1:30.5 | gold rush underway. I'll confess, it's not a spice I've actually ever used. I've eaten it, |
| 1:36.5 | but I don't remember a particularly distinctive taste. So let's get a more expert introduction |
| 1:42.9 | from an Iranian-American cookbook author. |
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