Kesar is a highly expensive spice that is used to flavour and colour food. The spice, perhaps better known as saffron, is actually the dried stigma - tiny thread-like strands - of the Crocus sativus linneaus, a member of the iris family. Each stigma is very small, and tens of thousands of individual strands go into a single ounce of the spice. Since the stigmas are hand-plucked from the individual flowers, kesar's high cost becomes more understandable. In fact kesar is the most expensive spice in the world!
Kesar originated in the middle east, but is now also associated with Greek, Indian and Spanish cuisines. The flavour is distinctive and pungent and fortunately, a very little kesar goes a long way as it can added one thread at a time. In fact you only need a thread or two to flavour and colour an entire pot of rice!
Several kesar cultivars are grown worldwide but for those who want the best quality spice only a few of them are known to be of a “premium" quality. The "Aquila" kesar is perhaps the best known, grown exclusively on eight hectares in the Navelli Valley of Italy's Abrozzo region. Another is the Kashmiri "Mongra" or "Lacha" saffron (Crocus sativa 'Cashmirianus'), unfortunately it is almost impossible to obtain such coveted and valuable plants. However you should still be interested in obtaining kesar crocus they should be available as bulbs - probably listed under the name saffron - in your local plant retailer as soon as the autumn bulb displays arrive.
Kesar Facts
kesar is widely used in Ayurvedic medicine, India's traditional system of health that relies on natural products, prevention and balance. It is used in remedies for everything from arthritis and asthma to infertility and impotence.
Ancient Egyptians used kesar to treat kidney problems, and there are now research results that might suggest that one of the ingredients in kesar lowers - or assists in lowering - high cholesterol. There are even suggestions that kesar may have been used against cancer in the middle ages, although with what success is unknown.
How to grow kesar
Although its ancestors are now unknown in the wild, the domesticated plant that exists today requires a rich fertile soil that will reliably dry out and even bake during the summer. This hot dry period is vital as it creates the dormancy period required to trigger flower initiation in the autumn.
Traditionally the kesar crocus was grown in raised containers to guarantee good drainage. This would have given the Tudor gardeners control over the root environment ensuring that the vital dormancy period occurs. In modern European commercial practices, the kesar crocus is planted into pockets of land that slope towards the sun. That way they get almost all day exposure to the heat and light, as well as the excellent drainage provided from the sloping ground. It makes sense then to place your bulbs in a fully open and sunny site, and planted into a very well-drained soil.
Nowadays though, they are normally given a feed of potash at the end of the summer to help promote flowering. Plant them 6 inches apart, and - unlike most small bulbs - plant them comparatively deep, about 6 inches or so.
This planting depth is another critical factor as this can affect the plants spice yields. The current rule of thumb is that the deeper the kesar corm is planted the better the quality of spice is produced. Unfortunately there is also down-side to this as your plants will have fewer flowers and will produce less bulblets for propagation later.
Mice and squirrels can also be a real problem when you are trying to grow kesar as they capable of destroying trays of bulbs in a single night. Dipping the bulbs in liquid paraffin can sometimes work, but covering them with a very fine-mesh wire under the soil is usually the best method.
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Zafran
Based on an article by http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-saffron.htm
Photo care of http://www.kashmirkesarkingdom.com/kashmir_saffron_history.html and http://jkmpic.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/saffron-multiplication-seed-corms.html and http://frugaldom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/sunshine-26c-harvesting-and-my-saffron.html
