It takes around 250 saffron flowers to make a single gram, and every step is done by hand: picking each flower at dawn, separating the three red stigmas and drying them. A 1 gram jar flavours around 15 to 18 family-sized dishes, so each meal works out to just a few dollars.Of course, minimum wages in Australia are much higher compared to other countries where saffron is commonly grown, so the huge manual labour it takes to produce drives the price significantly.

A little goes a long way. A small pinch of threads is enough for most family-sized dishes. Our customers consistently tell us our saffron is especially potent, so start with less than your recipe suggests and add more to taste.

Lightly crush the threads, then steep them in two or three tablespoons of warm (not boiling) water, milk or stock for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the threads and the golden liquid to your dish. If you're using our ground saffron, there's no need to steep it: add it straight to your cooking.

Both are 100% pure Argyle saffron. Ground saffron comes with a 10 mg scoop for precise measuring and goes straight into your cooking with no steeping, which suits baking and drinks. Threads let you see the quality of the saffron and are the traditional choice for dishes like paella and risotto.

Good saffron has deep red threads with slightly lighter orange-red tips, a floral, sweet, earthy smell, and a dry, crisp texture. Try steeping a few threads in lukewarm water for 15 to 20 minutes: real saffron slowly turns the water golden-yellow. Be wary of saffron that is very cheap, has yellow or white bits, or feels sticky.

Keep saffron in a sealed glass jar in a cool, dark cupboard below 20°C. Don't put it in the fridge, where condensation adds moisture. Stored well, saffron keeps its quality for several years, though it slowly loses some potency over time.

Our saffron is grown, hand-harvested and dried on our family farm in Orange, NSW. We developed our own drying method using humidity, which locks in maximum colour, flavour and aroma. Our saffron won a Gold medal at the 2021 Harvey Norman Delicious Awards.