Thursday, January 14, 2016

5 interesting facts about saffron! Have you ever tasted real saffron?

1- Do you know that in “Alibaba.com” you can find saffron with price between 10 to 30 US$ per KILOGRAMS which is not really saffron(I have no idea where it comes from, they say they can produce it as much as 5000 Kg. per month !!!), meanwhile the real saffron is also can be found in Alibaba with a price between 1800 to 2300 US$ per kilograms.




2- There is a flower similar to Saffron named Safflower which is similar to saffron in color, but very different in taste, aroma and health benefits and is much cheaper than saffron.


3-  Iran is responsible for 90~95% of the total production of saffron all over the world, and most of its products is exported. Some of Iran's dry eastern and southeastern provinces, produce most of its Saffron. In 2005, Iran grossed some 230 tonnes (230,000 kg) of dry threads, or 93.7 percent of the year's global saffron production. In the same year, second-ranked was Greece which produced 5,700 kg. Morocco and the Kashmir, tied as the next-highest producers, each one produced 2,300 kg.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_and_use_of_saffron]




4- You can detect real saffron by it’s taste and aroma, but if you are not familiar with it enough, you should know that it’s aroma and taste will reveal when you grind it well and then solve it in very hot water and let it be there for 20-30 minutes. After that you can have a better judgement about it. BUT take note that real saffron is NOT completely soluble in the water, yet after solving it in hot water, you should be able to see some dark red dots in the water.


5- Do you know that saffron has some health benefits including anti-depression, anti-cancer and skin benefits.





For more information about Saffron, read this: What is saffron?

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Handmade gifts and crafts recently added to our etsy shop

Some interesting hand-made crafts recently is added to our etsy shop and below I put their photos. They are so simple to  make, but very catchy and pretty and suitable for giving to a friend or family as a gift.
They are included of stained glass panels, some small glass panels with stained glass drawings, stone key chains and stone bracelets.
Stained glass is an old art, but it's combination with modern art is so beautiful. Stone key chains have some fantastic paintings and are completely washable.
If you are interested in them, you can buy them from our etsy shop at :

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ParmikaHandicrafts