Two years ago, I brought back saffron from Spain. Not cheap, in a small plastic box, 1 g for around 3 euros from what I remember. Last March, I brought back a bunch of spices from Thailand including 100% saffron according to the label. I knew from the cheap price and the aspect of it that it was not the same thing I brought back from Spain, but I bought it anyway and identified it today (wikipedia !) as safflower. Anybody has suggestions on what to do with it ? I read the taste is really different from real saffron, so I'm a bit reluctant to use it as a saffron substitute. Ideas ?
1
midwesterner
The Cooks Thesaurus http://www.foodsubs.com/HerbsHisp.html says it's got a weak flavor, and you need 8-times the measure to substitute it for saffron for color. So why not just use it as an organic dye for tie-dye material, or to color Easter eggs next year.
If you have seeds, they are popular with birds, per one site http://www.wbu.com/education/safflowersolution.html
Edited by: Midwesterner to add birdfood idea
3
mockchoc
The rule is never buy what you believe is cheap saffron because saffron is never cheap. It's picked by hand so takes a lot of time to harvest.
I never really think it's all the expensive anyway because you don't use much and it isn't something I use everyday.
4
nutraxfornerves
Chowhounders suggest that about the only thing you can use safflower for is to color a dish. Another source says that safflower is commonly used in an Azerbaijani dish called piti ,"a kind of nourishing soup prepared in single serving-sized portions: It is made from mutton meat and mutton tail fat together with chickpeas, which are all cooked with much water inside of a small clay pot; often, the recipe is augmented with fresh or dried fruits, nuts or chestnuts. Safflower is added towards the end of the preparation time and lends a yellowish hue to liquid." The second recipe here is at least in English. It calls for real saffron, though. Hope your butcher carries mutton tail fat.
Or, I guess you could use it to dye your robes, should you choose to become a Buddhist monk. (The scientific name Carthamus tinctorius should be a good hint as to what the ancients thought about it.
Copied from a previous post of mine:
The fake stuff is almost always the flowers of the safflower plant. Real saffron is thread-like. See picture. It should be deep orange. If you see yellow threads, it may be adulterated.
If you look carefully and it seems more like flower petals than threads, you have safflower. Picture
Picture of real & fake side by side
Don't even think of buying the powdered stuff. If it's real, it may be old and stale. But it's more likely to be adulturated or just paprika or dyed turmeric or something.
5
anonymous
Safflower was used by the ancient Romans for making sauces as you can see on [here|clubplaneta.com.mx/cocina/flores_y_su_uso_culinario_en_la_antigedad.htm] (Spanish only; use an online translator).
Some traditional medicines use it. The second recipe on this web shows how to use safflower (along with other ingredients) in order to cure external injuries.
In some regions, safflower is used for oil. More info about the safflower oil on here.
Safflower is also used to aromatize some teas. Here's an example (Spanish only; use an online translator).
This [web|recetapara.com/view/Un_GLOSARIO_DE_FLORES_COMESTIBLES/530] (Spanish only, use an online translator) gives general ideas about what to do with edible flowers; including safflower.
Finally, this other web (Spanish only; use an online translator) shows a fish's recipe that uses a mix of saffron and safflower.
6
castaway_girl
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I'll definitely try it in rice, or even in a sauce, just to change the color.
7
fear_rua
According to this gentleman, safflower has an honourable place in Damascene cuisine:
'Many people consider safflower as poor man alternative to Saffron. This might be the case in other countries but I will have to disagree in the case of Damascus. Saffron doesn't exist in Damascene cooking. I can't think of a single recipe sweet or savoury that calls for saffron.
'Safflower in Syrian cooking is usually an optimal ingredient. It adds a certain note to the flavour of certain dishes but they work perfectly well without it. It is mainly used in stuffed vegetable dishes including courgettes (Kusa mehshi كوسا محشي), aubergine and cabbage. Other uses include Ejjeh عجة (Syrian omelet) and Kibbeh Bel Senyieh كبة بالصينية (oven baked kibbeh).
'One dish in particular is not the same without safflower. Fakhdeh فخدة, a chicken broth dish cooked with large amounts of safflower gives the dish its characteristic flavour and colour.'
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