The red dark Kashmiri Saffron (Kesar) is considered as the world’s best saffron for its distinctive long, flat, silky threads and with a red dark colour.
Saffron, as European name for this spice, ultimately derives from Arabic words, ''za'ffran'' which means “be yellow'' - for the yellow hue Saffron imparts – and, ‘sahafarn’, meaning thread. It is called “Kesar” in Hindi and ‘kong’ in Kashmiri but for our customers from India, we would refer to it as Kesar over here, for the ease of understanding.
Kesar is produced in Kashmir (India), Iran, and Spain. In India, Kashmir is the only place where Kesar is grown and it is fascinating to know that Kesar from Kashmir is World’s best! But the quantity of Kesar produced in Kashmir is fairly limited, and that Iran is the major producer of Kesar with more than 65% of the world's Kesar production followed by Spain and Kashmir. Kesar is often called the “Golden Spice” and stands to be the World's most expensive spice by weight. But you use it so sparingly that in the long run, it's not much more expensive than any other spice. Fortunately, a little Kesar goes a long way and most recipes require for just a pinch of Kashmiri Kesar!
And, if you are thinking which Kesar is Best? In other words, Kesar from what place in the world is Best?
Well, it would be interesting to know that, Kashmiri Kesar alone has a distinguishing feature of long stigmas with thick heads making it qualitatively much superior to Kesar from other places of the world i.e. Iran or Spain. Kesar from Kashmir is famous for its intrinsic (natural) high quality and as such it is known for its extraordinary aroma and powerful colouring and flavouring capabilities. Kesar is Kashmir’s cash crop and it is used mainly as a flavouring and colouring agent in food.
Further, Kesar is produced from flowers and these are about just a few inches from the ground; they have to be carefully picked and handled with care to be able to later produce saffron. Each year in November hundreds of farmers come to pick the Kesar flowers from their fields and then begins the process of separating Kesar from its flowers – which is a tedious and labour demanding job. It would be worth noting that One kg of dried Kesar is obtained from nearly 45 to 50 kg of fresh Kesar flowers, which corresponds to about 1,15,000 to 1,50,000 Kesar flowers!
This extensive labour component and that Kesar grows only at a few places in the world is what makes the price of Kesar high; and the price of Kesar (in kg that is to say, in wholesale) keeps on changing every day just like gold! Amin-Bin-Khalik is among the front runners when it comes to Kashmiri Kesar, and while you are thinking of buying Kesar from a trusted brand, ABK is the mark of Trust and the best brand for Kashmiri Kesar Online!
