Where many crops suffer, saffron thrives: on the edge of vast deserts and mountains, with hot dry summers, cold winters, and minimal rain fall. Saffron blooms for only a few weeks in autumn after a dormant summer.

The inhospitable environment where saffron blooms starkly contrasts the care with which it is harvested by hand and its abundant use in Persian cuisine.

More than ninety percent of the world’s saffron has grown for centuries in Khorasan province, north-east of Iran. It traveled the Silk Road. Carried between Persia, Central Asia, India, and the Mediterranean.

More than a culinary ingredient, saffron was prized as a dye, a fragrance, a medicine, and a gift. Small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, it is the most valuable spice to cross continents.

Today, saffron remains a cherished gift in many Persian households. A gesture of generosity, celebration, and care.