I grow gold.

Red goal, that is: saffron.  It is the world most expensive spice and comes from the red stigmas of the crocus sativus plant.  One gram of the real spice goes for 20euro or with the going rate of the dollar, about $27 a gram.  I say “the real spice” because fraud is becoming quite popular due to its hefty price tag.  Some tests have shown it mixed with beets, pomegranate fibers, turmeric, paprika, and even dyed silk threads.  Real saffron is red, not yellow and should be bought in threads, not in powder form to prevent other forms of alteration. 

When harvested, the red stigmas of the flower are cut at a specific spot.  Above the cut, the stigma is flavorful and valuable; below the cut, it is tasteless, pale dead weight.  The stigmas are dried and shrivel to less than a third of their original size, so it is impossible to tell just by looking at them if they have been cut in the right spot.  If the bottom part is left attached, it can increase the saffron’s weight by 25%, but adds no culinary value.  Basically, it just pads the check.  Therefore, the quality of the saffron is determined by a light test called photospectometry;  it is a standards test written by the  International Organization for Standards (ISO) which determines the intensity of the red and hence the color strength or “purity” of the saffron.  Any quality saffron will have this test; if not, there is no guarantee of the product.

            This is all very complicated, and since we don’t sell our saffron, we don’t do this; we use what we grow.  But waking up to a small field of purple flowers smiling at me makes me want to dive into this adventure.  I am trying to convince Christophe that we need to blow out the lower garden terrace and take some saffron cultivation classes to get started.  After all, it is more expensive than caviar and a lot less complicated to get.

            Facts:

·         Each flower has three red stigmas; each flower produces .007 grams of dried saffron

·         It takes 150 flowers to produce 1 gram of saffron, or 150,0000 flowers to produce 1 kilo, or 450,000 individual stigmas.

·         Saffron is hand-picked; its harvest cannot be mechanized.

·         Saffron production dates back over 3,000 years.

·         Iran produces 76% of the world consumption of saffron.

The red stigmas are removed after the flowers are harvested.  They are then dried before using.

There’s gold in them there hills!

There’s a little secret our village has been hiding: it has a gold mine.  You’ll never find it on a map because it’s marked as an abandoned iron mine.  It was discovered in 1903, temporarily closed in 1922 and was intermediately mined until 1963 (or 1968 and 1970, depending on the resource) when it was permanently closed.   I’ve been there once, and the looming fog gave it a real creepy feeling.  There was a large rock plateau, a pile of mined stones, and a small entrance leading into the mountain.  It wasn’t the spectacle that I hoped for and there weren’t nuggets of gold just sitting around waiting to be pocketed, which would have been great considering the current price of gold.  There is also something particular about the gold, something that has probably kept most prospectors out: it’s sandwiched in between layers of arsenic, and the odor can be detected just by rubbing a rock.  When I went there with an old friend, she neglected to tell me that until I asked about the odor and I walked with my hands in the air until I could find a puddle to wash them off.

Luckily, there’s not enough gold to justify reopening the mine, but enough to develop some fantasies, for example, I would like a heated indoor swimming pool, a well-equipped work-out room, and a shiny new car.  Speaking of fantasies, maybe there is enough gold after all; I’m gonna get out my prospectoring hat, pick and shovel, gold pan, and anti-arsentic protective gloves.  I got long list, so I better get moving.