Can you recommend a substitue for saffron?

Ellen Ridge-Cooper
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2 Comments

Mimi October 6, 2013
Turmeric. It gives your dish the color and slightly similar aroma of saffron. You can also soak some annato seeds in hot water for about 20 minutes.
 
pierino October 7, 2013
Tumeric and annato, sorry, as well as saffron flower are impoverished substitutes for the real thing. Tumeric will yield some color but the flavor has absolutely nothing in common with saffron. There is a reason that it's the most expensive spice on the shelf and often locked behind glass cases. Saffron comes from the stamins of the crocous flower. It's incredibly labor intensive, but the flavor is incomparable. If all you care about is color then substitute something else. But if you are making a paella or arroz con pollo or a boulliabaisse you need the real thing.
 
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