The Profession Of Picking Flowers Is More Expensive Than Pure Gold

Saffron flowers are so fragile that one must pick them as soon as they bloom, before being scorched by the sun.
Saffron picking is more expensive than pure gold
Silver-haired women gathered around a table filled with purple flowers. They chatted while frantically picked up the flowers to get the crimson stamens, about 15 flowers per minute. Once dried, the stamens become the most expensive spice on earth: saffron.
It is a tradition thousands of years old in Castilla-La Mancha, central Spain which is famous for sheep's milk cheese and windmill fields

. In just one week, saffron trees across the dusty plains like a sea of bright purple flowers.
La Mancha is one of the few saffron producing regions in Europe and is the only place in Spain that has an EU certificate for this spice more expensive than pure gold. Although saffron is also available in Italy, Iran, India and more, celebrity chefs like Jonathan Waxman and Yotam Ottolenghi consider La Mancha saffron the best in the world Alex Raij, a chef in Spain, said that saffron La Mancha meets the "golden standard".




Saffron flowers must be picked right after they bloom. Photo: Hispanorama Tours.
Harvesting saffron is a scientific work. The flowers are so fragile that once they bloom, one has to pick them immediately before the sun scorches them to wither. If the stamens are not removed and dried for several hours after harvest, their aroma will be gone. This explains the importance of the mondadora (the stalker).
"Historically, mondadora has always been a woman, and still is today," said Valentina Cabra, co-owner of the family's saffron workshop Zaffralia Men will stay in the field to harvest, while women stay at home to separate the stamens.




Valentina believes that every step is assigned according to the delicate and patient nature of women - people who can sit around a table for a long time, chat and work passionately for the rest of the day, while men are often quickly bored. , more slow and clumsy.
A mondadora takes the pistil from a saffron flower. Photo: Alamy.
Saffron production requires a lot of labor, the main reason why this spice has become the most expensive food in the world. A kilo can cost more than 20,000 USD, more expensive than white truffles, Ibérico pork, Beluga whale eggs ...



Today, the nickname of saffron La Mancha is oro rojo or red gold. Many families even have a saffron "bank" to prevent financial difficulties. However, paying with this luxury spice is utopian. One kilogram of saffron contains more than 400,000 fibers of stigma hand-picked from more than 150,000 flowers.
The step-by-step production of saffron from harvesting, taking the stigma, drying, and packaging at La Mancha is done entirely by hand. This is one of the last remaining completely mechanized agricultural activities in Europe.
“It's a back break job,” said Leandro Sanz, saffron maker La Mancha by European standards. The tree grows very low on the ground, you must bend down for the duration of the harvest.



During the peak season there are so many things to do, that we don't go to bed at 3am and have to wake up 4 hours later.
Saffron stigma after being separated. Photo: Blog de Aldonza Gourmet.
For saffron producers like Valentina Cabra, the harvest of saffron is, above all, a traditional way for families to gather. “During the 20-day harvest season, my large family drove from all over Spain to La Mancha to lend a hand,” Cabra said. As we sat around the flower-filled table, we chatted, laughed, and enjoyed a reunion for hours. That, to me, is a luxury ”.
Coming to the Castilla-La Mancha region, visitors not only have the opportunity to see the locals cultivating saffron, but also can participate in the annual Saffron Rose Festival from October 25 to 27.



In addition, there is a saffron museum (Saffron Museum) in Madridejos, located within the grounds of an old monastery.
According to Bao Ngoc / Vnexpress
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