Many people know about saffron, but are not sure what saffron looks like, in fact, it is the elongated shape of the red linear filaments, very easy to recognize and identify. The saffron plant, however, is an herb with gray-green leaves, blue-purple flowers, and its bulb is a light brown, rounded, flat sphere. Usually when buying saffron can be soaked in water after the water is bright yellow, smell with a strong floral aroma, squeeze the paper without oil marks to determine the authenticity.
First, saffron is a slender red filament
Life is often said that saffron is a very valuable Chinese medicine, beneficial to health. What does this saffron look like? In fact, it is the red filaments in the saffron flowers, which are dried and presented as a slender linear shape, with irregular toothed traces on the top edge, which is very recognizable.
The saffron plant as a whole appears to be an herb with grayish-green, striped leaves with slightly curled edges. The flowers are bluish-purple with 6 petals, 3 yellow stamens and a pistil inside the flower and 3 pendulous styles with a distinctive scent.
The saffron, which blooms in October-November each year, does not bear fruit and reproduces by means of a bulb with a flat rounded bottom. The outer epidermis of the bulb has several layers of membranous scales that look light brown, and when peeled back, the inner bulb is creamy white and has links and axillary buds on it.
Second, how to recognize the authenticity of saffron1, soak and observe
The easiest way to recognize the authenticity of saffron is to soak it in water to observe. The real saffron into the water to soak, the water will be dyed bright and clear yellow; while the fake saffron is soaked in water after the water color is orange or red, and filaments will be broken, the water will also have a layer of oily material floating.
2, with the fragrance
From the smell of saffron can also be identified as real or fake, real saffron is with a strong floral, will be placed in front of the can smell its fragrance. But fake saffron does not have this particular floral flavor, often no flavor or only a faint hint of floral.
3, pressure paper observation
real saffron and fake saffron can also be based on whether it is out of the oil to judge, will be placed in the saffron in the clean toilet paper, and then wrapped in a forceful squeeze, and then open the paper towel, if you find that the top of the traces of oil, which means that this is a fake saffron.