Saffron

Food · Vegetable · Food, Typed Supps

The most expensive spice in the world, used a pinch at a time, so its nutrition table is a curiosity rather than a plan.

Stage by stage

Intake (Aromatic oils released): Steeping in warm liquid releases crocin, the pigment that carries both colour and flavour.
Stomach (Digested with the meal): It moves through digestion alongside the rest of the food.
Small intestine (Partial absorption): Crocin is converted to crocetin in the gut, which is the form that reaches the bloodstream.
Bloodstream (Metabolized): Absorbed compounds are metabolized; most of what is eaten is excreted rather than stored.

Timing

Steeped in warm liquid first, then added with the cooking liquid.

Time to effect

6–12 weeks: The window used in mood trials — at extract doses, not culinary ones.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

Not scored: the satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings, and nobody eats a 240 kcal serving of this. The question does not apply rather than the answer being unknown.

Environmental footprint

0.5 kg CO2e and 108 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Other vegetables" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.

Cost band

Pricey — roughly £900 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 310
Protein: 11.4g
Carbohydrate: 65.4g
of which sugars: 0g
Fat: 5.9g
of which saturated: 1.6g
Fibre: 3.9g
Sodium: 148mg

Food vs. supplement

Trials use around 30mg a day of standardised extract. A pinch in a dish for four is a fraction of that, once — the culinary and clinical uses are not the same thing.

Kitchen tip

Steep the threads in a spoonful of warm liquid for ten minutes before they go anywhere near the pan.

Common myth

"Saffron is a proven natural antidepressant." In reality: There is a small, genuine trial literature at 30mg/day of standardised extract. That is not what a pinch in a risotto delivers, and the two should not be conflated.

Recipes that use it

In the glossary

Absorption