Скачать или смотреть Kashmir Saffron gets GI tag

Kashmir saffron has been given the GI tag by the Geographical Indications Registry.

Kashmir saffron is a globally renowned spice. It is grown in the highlands of Jammu and Kashmir, including in places like Pulwama, Budgam, Kishtwar and Srinagar. It is the only saffron in the world grown at an altitude of 1,600 m to 1,800 m above mean sea level.

Kashmir saffron is is a luxury ingredient not just in kitchens but in the beauty industry as well. It has been associated with traditional Kashmiri cuisine and represents the rich cultural heritage of the region. Across India too, it is an integral condiment in many dishes ranging from biryani to kheer.

It also goes into face creams, soaps and perfumes.

The unique characteristics of Kashmir saffron are... Its longer and thicker stigmas, natural deep-red colour, high aroma, bitter flavour, chemical-free processing, and high quantity of crocin which gives it its colour, safranal which gives it the flavour and picrocrocin which gives it its bitterness.

Only the stigmas of each bloom are taken out painstakingly and dried to get the fragrant strands. About 50,000 flowers yield roughly 500 g of the spice.

The saffron available in Kashmir is of three types:
Lachha Saffron - with stigmas separated from the flowers and dried without further processing. They are packed loosely in air-tight containers.

Mongra Saffron - with stigmas detached from the flower, dried in the sun and processed traditionally.

Guchhi Saffron - with stigmas separated from the flowers and dried without further processing. They are packed in a bundle tied with a cloth thread.

Saffron cultivation is believed to have been introduced in Kashmir by the Mughals.

But today, Kashmiri growers face a grave threat from Iranian and Spanish imports, which sell at less than half the price of the local variety.