10 ways to distinguish original saffron from fake
Saffron is considered one of the luxury spices and of course it has many characteristics, and this makes some people want to get more profit from this industry by endangering people's lives. For this reason, we have prepared a comprehensive article on the different methods of checking the authenticity of saffron, in which we have reviewed 10 methods of distinguishing genuine saffron from fake.
Identification of original saffron with cold water
To identify the original saffron with cold water, it is enough to put a strand of saffron in cold water. The original saffron shows itself to you with several signs:
If your saffron is genuine, after you put a few strands of it in water, it will slowly leave a golden trace, but fake saffron will quickly color all the water.
If you remove the saffron stigmas from the water after releasing the color, the color of the original saffron stigma does not change and the appearance of the stigma does not change much; But if your saffron is fake, the strands that were sold to you as stigma will turn completely white and no longer have their previous appearance.
The dyeing speed of a fake and dyed stain is done quickly and it will quickly color the water; But the original saffron gradually performs the coloring activity in the water and it takes at least 15 to 20 minutes to completely color the water.
The original color of saffron is almost yellow-orange. No saffron is ever red. The color that saffron releases in the water is almost transparent, but if you see a sharp red color in the water, unfortunately, your saffron is fake.
After removing the saffron stigma from the water, hold it between your fingers and rub your fingers together. If the saffron is genuine, the saffron strands will not separate from each other; But in fake saffron, fake stigmas are easily powdered and destroyed.
Identification of original saffron with baking soda
One of the ways to identify the original saffron is with baking soda. In this method, dissolve some baking soda in water and pour some strands into it. If the mixture turns yellow, your saffron is genuine, and if it turns red, your saffron is fake.
The difference between original and fake saffron in taste
If you put a strand of saffron on your tongue, you will feel a bitter taste on your tongue. It is true that the aroma of saffron is similar to sweet aromas, but its taste should be bitter; Therefore, if they put the taste of saffron on sweets, unfortunately, your saffron is fake and the profiteers have used tricks to sell you less.
The way to identify the original saffron is its aroma
As we mentioned above, the scent of saffron is sweet. Some people say that the scent of saffron is a combination of the scent of honey and alfalfa, but it is not easy for the general public to recognize this scent!
But saffron itself has a special and sweet aroma that can be recognized by the general public. The fresher your saffron is, the stronger its aroma will be.
Original saffron shape
The shape of the stigma is like a trumpet! One end is thin and the other end is like a trumpet and has several branches. If you pay attention to the shape of each strand of saffron and it looks like a trumpet, they must say that your saffron is original.
Saffron is not shiny!
Original saffron is not shiny at all! If your saffron is shiny, one way to detect saffron is to press the saffron between the paper, if the paper becomes greasy or shows the presence of grease, it is clear that your saffron is fake.
Use of gas city
The easiest way to distinguish original saffron from fake is to use city gas. If you take a few strands of saffron on the city gas and its color turns purple or orange, your saffron is genuine, and if the color of the saffron strand turns yellow on the flame, it is fake saffron.
Checking the difference between original and fake saffron by hand
If the saffron is genuine and you rub it between your wet fingers, your finger will turn orange or yellow.
A glass of water is the easiest way to detect fake saffron
Take a glass of water and pour saffron threads into it; The original saffron strands remain floating on the water, but if it is fake saffron, it sinks to the bottom of the water due to its heavy weight.
From gasoline and diesel
If you have gasoline or diesel fuel available, you can easily distinguish between genuine and fake saffron. You just need to know that genuine saffron can never release its color in gasoline or diesel fuel. Therefore, if you put saffron threads in gasoline and diesel, it will release its color, you should know that your saffron is fake.
What are the methods of cheating in saffron?
Substituting saffron instead of saffron
Saffron is a medicinal plant and is used in the treatment of diseases, but its properties are less than saffron and even saffron root; Therefore, it has a lower price and its price cannot be compared with the price of saffron.
Using fake threads
Dyeing silk, corn cobs, coconut strings or in the fairest case, dyeing saffron root with red color and replacing it with saffron is one of the methods of saffron fraud.
Short sale in saffron
Adding oil, honey, salt and sugar to saffron will increase the weight of saffron. In this way, fraudsters increase the weight of saffron and underselling occurs.
In another way of underselling saffron, profiteers take advantage of people's ignorance and put less weight in their packaging! You should know that one shekel of saffron is 4.66 grams, if the weight of each package of saffron is less than this, underselling has occurred.
Finally, we must say
Unfortunately, every day more fraud methods are discovered by fraudsters! Therefore, the only way to deal with them is to increase information and buy saffron from reliable sources and online stores that you trust.
Success Village's suggestion for buying saffron is to try to avoid buying powdered and bulk saffron as much as possible! so as not to endanger your health.
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