MARKY'S Spanish Saffron Threads La Mancha' Category I Pure & Genuine Natural Spice - 0.03 oz / 1 g

Great item at a reasonable price! Tastes and smells like saffron should. Great for paella and tea. Highly recommend it!

When testing for Saffron authenticity and purity today this product passed with flying colors.Saffron is the world's most expensive spice and I use it quite frequently in my cooking, especially in Risottos and Paellas. Sadly there's more than a few unscrupulous dealers out there who will cheat you with a fake or altered product. The sample on the left is fake; when placed in water the color should change slowly and become a golden yellowish hue. If it turns color quickly, and especially red, and if the strands sink rather than float, then the product is fake such as the sample on the far left.Samples 2 and three in the middle, which both float and turn the color golden yellow slowly, are the real deal - - one from Iran and the other from Spain which is the one being reviewed. And finally, the most distinctive home test is on the far right - - when the saffron filaments are placed in a water/baking soda mixture the solution should turn a bright yellow (again, the purchased item passed with high marks). There are a few other tests as well, but for all practical purposes the one outlined here is highly accurate and definitive. I highly recommend this product for authenticity, value and quality.

the quality of saffron was decent, the threads had good aroma and looked fresh

Essential paella ingredient. Great flavor!!

Secondary, or tertiary quality... At best....avoid buying

I need this to make my paella it was well worth the price

I had recently bought a tin of saffron from my local Indian grocery and so had something to compare with when I got this Altaj Saffron. Initially I was a bit skeptical about the quality of the Altaj because the scent of the Altaj is not the clean sweet aroma of saffron. There is something almost oily to the scent. If you cook a lot with saffron you will probably be able to detect it too.However, this does appear to be genuine saffron. It produced the pale yellow without disintegration when added to water and rubbing it between your fingers does not result in it turning to dust. My guess is that the drying process or location where it was grown created the difference in the scent but I am only guessing .I will probably use it in biryanis and more complex dishes where the saffron is not the predominant spice. I'll be using my tinned saffron from the Indian store for making more delicate sweets or saffron rice where saffron plays the leading role.

I got the item as expected but I didn't try it yet. Tonight is the day. That's why I didn't give it 5 stars. I will update after using it.Update: Used the saffron yesterday to make a paella. Love the taste.