Saffron crocus

La Mancha saffron, known as “red gold”, gives paella its colour and aroma, and every autumn Consuegra celebrates its harvest.

The saffron crocus is a perennial of the iris family that grows from a corm, reaching 20–30 cm, with narrow, grass-like leaves. In autumn it opens lilac-purple flowers containing a three-branched, dark red stigma – it is this, picked by hand and dried, that is the spice. A kilogram of saffron takes about 150,000 flowers, making it the most expensive spice in the world. The plant is a sterile triploid that produces no seeds and reproduces only vegetatively, through its corms.

Significance in the country

Saffron was brought to Spain by the Arabs, and “Azafrán de La Mancha” now has a protected designation of origin and is considered one of the finest in the world. There is no traditional Valencian paella without saffron, and every year in late October Consuegra, at the foot of its famous windmills, holds the Fiesta de la Rosa del Azafrán.

Where it grows

Grown mainly in Castilla–La Mancha – in the provinces of Albacete, Cuenca, Toledo and Ciudad Real – and in the Jiloca valley in the province of Teruel in Aragon.

More: Wikipedia (en) Wikipedia (pl)