Day 5: December 29 ... Spanish saffron and white asparagus

Many years ago, when I first traveled to Spain on business, I habitually ordered an appetizer that was simply white asparagus with mayonnaise and a lemon on the side.  This, to me, is a delicacy.  I bought a tin to take back to Toronto as a reminder (see photo below).

At 925 Bay, we use a LOT of saffron.  We normally get it at Kensington Market where a tiny container of .100g costs CAD 6 or 7.  It's good, but not top quality.  When Fred and I traveled to Spain 3 years ago to visit old friends of mine in Santiago de Compostela, Rosa insisted on sending us home with enough saffron to last 2 years, and it did.  There is no comparison in quality of the Kensington Market variety vs the local saffron.  Today I picked up 5 packs of ground saffron (more intense in flavour than the traditional threads).

Did you know?  Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world. It comes from the dried stigmas of a particular type of crocus flower. Each crocus flower contains only three saffron threads.  It takes roughly 190 flowers to make one gram of dried saffron.  Kashmiri saffron comes from India and is considered the very best saffron in the world. Most of it is consumed in India, and very little is exported to the rest of the world.  Spanish saffron is the most common type of saffron, and the easiest to find. Spanish saffron is typically red and yellow and is less expensive than other varieties of saffron.

At the Carrefour down the street, 5 packs, each containing .375g, cost roughly CAD 13.50, approximately 1/6 of the price in Toronto.  I'll continue to search for better quality and cheaper saffron in points south (assuming the cost in Madrid is inflated).

While we're on the topic of food and prices, high quality olive oil sells for EUR 10 to 13 for a 5-litre jug.  This is an OMG price, as I consider Spanish olive oil the very best, far exceeding the quality of Italian and Greek versions.  As I eyeballed the wine aisle, a good many Rioja wines are available for EUR 3 to 6, making them an exceptional bargain by Canadian standards.