What It Takes To Sell Indian Saffron!
Saveur|Summer 2019

The saffron of Kashmir has long been considered the world’s finest, but drought is threatening the livelihood and traditions of its farming families.

Aliya Bashir
What It Takes To Sell Indian Saffron!

On a cool morning in Pampore, India, the fields have become a purpledotted canvas. Haji Ghulam Hassan Bhat, 65, walks toward his farm carrying a small willow basket, called a zaen, that his grandfather had gifted him when he plucked his first saffron flower at the age of 6. His callused hands are soiled, and the cracks in them are a testament to his deep attachment to his trade.

Bhat has farmed here for nearly 50 years. He has a great deal of saffron land compared with his neighbors, and, until recently, it has provided him with a good living. Popularly known as the “saffron town,” where the world’s best saffron grows, Pampore sits 10 miles southeast of Srinagar, Kashmir’s capital city. Like many, Bhat believes the land of Pampore has been blessed with “saffron gold” because of the benediction of two famous Sufi saints. Cultivating the spice is not merely his livelihood, but also a meditation.

This story is from the Summer 2019 edition of Saveur.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the Summer 2019 edition of Saveur.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM SAVEURView All
Raising a Better Bird
Saveur

Raising a Better Bird

Blue Apron founder Matt Wadiak has moved onto greener pastures, where happy chickens roam free.

time-read
2 mins  |
Fall 2020
One Good Bottle
Saveur

One Good Bottle

Tamara Irish is a natural winemaker. Way natural.

time-read
2 mins  |
Fall 2020
My Not-So-Secret Garden
Saveur

My Not-So-Secret Garden

Good (vegetable-laden) fences make good neighbors in one tiny town.

time-read
4 mins  |
Fall 2020
Pralines: How They Cook 'Em in New Orleans
Saveur

Pralines: How They Cook 'Em in New Orleans

Pralines: How They Cook ’Em in New Orleans

time-read
4 mins  |
Winter 2019-20
My Father's French Onion Soup
Saveur

My Father's French Onion Soup

Postwar Paris had a lifelong influence on James Edisto Mitchell—both as an artist and a cook BY Shane Mitchell

time-read
7 mins  |
Winter 2019-20
Our All-Time Best Recipes
Saveur

Our All-Time Best Recipes

If anyone should know if a recipe’s a keeper, it’s the person tasked with making sense of the original instructions—from the far reaches of Sri Lanka, say, or a famous chef who measures nothing. This might explain why many test kitchen staffers named favorites that their predecessors had tested and recommended. (Though a couple put forth recipes they developed themselves.) And while Saveur never shies away from the oddball authentic ingredient, the fare on the following pages is the stuff we cook at home, over and over again. Consider it global comfort food.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2019-20
Genever Is the Original Juniper Spirit
Saveur

Genever Is the Original Juniper Spirit

Don’t call it a comeback. Or gin

time-read
5 mins  |
Winter 2019-20
Tending The Bines
Saveur

Tending The Bines

Overshadowed by high-end viticulture, the art of growing hops for beer might not always get the recognition it deserves.

time-read
3 mins  |
Summer 2019
Field Of Dreams
Saveur

Field Of Dreams

The son of an innovative pea farmer is carrying on his father’s legacy.

time-read
1 min  |
Summer 2019
Jamaican Jerk Marinade - Fire And Spice
Saveur

Jamaican Jerk Marinade - Fire And Spice

Jamaican jerk is more than a marinade—it’s a smoky, flame-grilled cooking style that uses the best ingredients of its home island.

time-read
2 mins  |
Summer 2019
RELATED STORIES
The Heartful Chef
Heartfulness eMagazine

The Heartful Chef

VIJAY SADHU is a perfectionist. Whether he is standing in the kitchen of one of his many successful restaurants in the United States, competing with Bobby Flay, or simply sitting in meditation, Chef Vijay determinedly puts his heart into everything he does. The result? Great food that is filled with love, hard-earned and well-deserved success, and a daily effort to show up as his best possible self. Sitting at a table at Fausto’s, Kanha Shanti Vanam’s Italian Restaurant, he shares more about his passion for cooking and his journey of becoming a chef with MAMATA VENKAT, how finding a Guru and diving into spirituality changed his attitude in the kitchen, and how all of his experiences have shaped his most important role: being a parent.

time-read
9 mins  |
September 2020
Saffron: Nature's Mood Booster
Better Nutrition

Saffron: Nature's Mood Booster

The world’s most expensive spice, saffron offers an array of health benefits, from reducing PMS symptoms to easing postpartum depression.

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2018
BJP councillors unhappy as LoP post still vacant
The Morning Standard

BJP councillors unhappy as LoP post still vacant

THE wait for the Leader of the Opposition (LOP) will stretch further as the BJP failed to decide a name to lead the Opposition in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House.

time-read
1 min  |
April 24, 2023
જૂનાગઢ માર્કેટિંગ યાર્ડમાં ગીરની કેસર કેરીના 350 બોક્સની આવક
Madhya Gujarat Samay

જૂનાગઢ માર્કેટિંગ યાર્ડમાં ગીરની કેસર કેરીના 350 બોક્સની આવક

કેસરની મૌસમ : યાર્ડમાં પ્રતિ 10 કિલો કેરીના બોક્સના 1000થી 2000 રૂપિયા બોલાયા

time-read
1 min  |
March 21, 2023
குங்குமம் வைத்த புண் குண்மாக!
Kungumam Doctor

குங்குமம் வைத்த புண் குண்மாக!

தினசரி குங்குமம் வைக்கும் பழக் பிராண்ட் குங்குமத்தில் உள்ள ரசாய ணங்களால் அலர்ஜியாகி குங்குமம் வைக்கும் இடத்தில் புண்ணாகிவி டும். இந்தப் புண்ணை ஆற்றுவதற் கான சில எளிய வழிகள் இங்கே கொடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.

time-read
1 min  |
March 01, 2023
28 foods to put you in the mood
Men's Fitness UK

28 foods to put you in the mood

Boost libido with these natural aphrodisiacs

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2023
India's best era is coming: Modi at BJP national meet
Business Standard

India's best era is coming: Modi at BJP national meet

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members to reach out to every section of society, including minorities such as Bohras, Pasmandas, and Sikhs, and work for them without electoral considerations, party sources said.

time-read
1 min  |
January 18, 2023
BJP to shift party headquarters in Bengal to new place
The Statesman

BJP to shift party headquarters in Bengal to new place

The 98-year long journey of the state BJP headquarters in West Bengal in the rented accommodation at the congested and narrow Muralidhar Sen Lane in north Kolkata is about to end this new year.

time-read
1 min  |
January 02, 2023
Rural polls: BJP MPs asked to cash in on anti-TMC sentiment
The Morning Standard

Rural polls: BJP MPs asked to cash in on anti-TMC sentiment

CONSIDERING next year’s panchayat elections a litmus test to gauge the organisation’s grassroot level strength, the BJP MPs in West Bengal on Monday have been asked to launch campaigns aiming to consolidate anti-Trinamool Congress electorates.

time-read
1 min  |
December 20, 2022
Of 11 elections, seven won by BJP, 3 by Congress
The Morning Standard

Of 11 elections, seven won by BJP, 3 by Congress

THE MCD has largely been the bastion of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). For the last 15 years, the saffron party created a fortress around it which seemed impossible to break into given the party's performance in national politics.

time-read
1 min  |
December 08, 2022