jeff@rtech.ARPA (Jeff Lichtman) (03/27/85)
> > those odd shaped red seeds known variously as achiote or annatto are used > chiefly to impart a warm color to certain foods - the color ranges from > yellow to orange. they are often used in Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, & > some other Caribbean cuisines. the flavor is, as far as i can tell, rather > subtle, but then so is the flavor of saffron. Saffron has a very strong odor and flavor, as long as you get the real stuff. Sometimes safflower stigmas are sold as saffron; they don't have much flavor, but are much cheaper than true saffron. Real saffron is so strong that as little as 1/4 gram can be enough to impart the desired flavor to a recipe. This is fortunate, because the best saffron costs about $4.00 a gram. Saffron is the stigma of a type of crocus. The best saffron has a deep red color, and has at most 5% impurities. This grade is called "Mancha Superior". Other grades are "Rio" (< 10% impurities) and "Sierra" (< 15% impurities). Saffron can be purchased as threads, which are the whole stigmas. If you can find the threads, you can tell whether they're true saffron by their appearance: safflower stigmas are flat, whereas saffron threads are round. Saffron threads should slightly toasted before use to bring out their flavor; this isn't necessary with the powder. It takes double the amount of saffron threads, by weight, to do the same job as saffron powder. While we're at it, here are a couple of saffron recipes I picked up at a cooking demonstration by Vanilla, Saffron Imports (where I also got the above info). They are unusual because they combine saffron with sweet flavors. Saffron Butter Crisps Yield: approximately 60 medium-sized crisps Ingredients: 1/2 lb. unsweetened butter 1/4 gram powdered saffron 3/4 cup sugar yolks of 3 hard-boiled eggs put through a sieve 2 1/4 cups flour pinch of salt Instructions: Blend sweet butter, softened to room temperature, with saffron. Gradually work in sugar and egg yolks. Beat until fluffy. Add the flour and salt to make a stiff dough. Refrigerate immediately for several hours or overnight. When ready to bake, let dough soften at room temperature for 5 minutes (NOTE: I had to wait a lot longer), then roll out on a floured board as thin as possible. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (pre-heat oven) until lightly browned, a few minutes, depending on your oven. The dough is most easily removed from the floured board with a broad spatula. Store in airtight container to maintain crispness. ------------------------------ Saffron Tea Bread Serves 10-12 generous slices and looks like a deep yellow pound cake. Ingredients: 2 cups pre-sifted flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1/4 gram saffron powder 2 tsp. lemon rind 2 Tbl. lemon juice 3/4 cup sugar 2 eggs 3/4 cup water 1/2 cup butter Instructions: Mix together flour, baking powder, & salt. Separately blend butter, baking soda, & saffron. When well blended and no clumps of saffron are showing, add the sugar & then the eggs, one at a time, to the butter blend. Combine water & lemon rind, juice. Alternately, add lemon water and flour mixture to the butter blend, gradually making a dough which is liquid enough to pour into a pre-greased & floured bread pan. Bake in pre-heated oven (I used 350 F, the recipe didn't specify) until toothpick comes out clean, approximately 1 hour. Cool loaf in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out on rack. Slice when cool. -- Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.) aka Swazoo Koolak