What Else is Saffron Used for?
How To Use Saffron For Different Purposes
Saffron has been used for thousands of years by people all around the world. And so it should come as no surprise that folks have found multiple ways of using this ancient spice. While most of us are familiar with saffron as a food product and know how to use it in our recipes, many will be less certain of how to use saffron for different purposes. In this short piece, we’ll go over the uses of saffron, from the well-known to the less common, as well as how to use saffron in each case. Read on!
Saffron as a food
Probably the most familiar use of saffron is in cooking. Using saffron here is pretty simple: just add 10-20 threads of saffron to your dish, and in about five minutes, you’ll begin to notice that rich saffron aroma and see your food take on that lovely saffron colour.
However, it’s worth mentioning here that saffron can be used in a wide range of dishes. And while a lot of people associate saffron with savoury meals like paellas, Persian rice, and roasts, saffron also has a myriad of uses in sweets and desserts as well as drinks, smoothies and teas. So be sure to check out other recipes on our website.
Saffron as a medicine
Saffron has been prized since antiquity as a wonder drug, with a wide range of medicinal applications: as an aid to circulation and heart health, as a way to promote good digestion, as a remedy for symptoms of PMS, as a natural mood enhancer to treat depression and anxiety, and much more.
However, if you’re going to use saffron for its medicinal benefits, you should know that it’s best to use a cold brewing method like the one we’ve developed. The reason is that heat can break down the delicate chemical compounds in saffron that are the key to its healing power, so brewing a hot saffron tea is definitely not the way to go if you’re trying to use saffron for good health.
Saffron as a natural dye
Saffron is also prized by arts and crafts enthusiasts as a natural dye. It was traditionally used to dye the robes of Buddhist monks, which is why to this day they wear the iconic orange and yellow garments. Unlike many other natural pigments, saffron does not require that you pre-treat the fabric to be dyed with a “mordant” like salt or vinegar. Saffron can be used to dye yarn or fabrics, including wool, cotton and silk.
Saffron for weight management
When people ask about how to use saffron for different purposes (other than cooking), they are often surprised to hear that saffron can be used for weight management. After all, we don’t generally associate heaping helpings of rice with slimming down!
But recent studies have shown that saffron is a powerful appetite suppressant, meaning that drinking a little saffron tea between meals can help you cut down on snacking and stick to your eating plan. Just cold brew 50mg of saffron using the Cold Brewing Method we’ve developed, and take between meals.