Is my Saffron spoiled??

[Seacoast]

I love quality ingredients but it appears i have neglected my Saffron. I got a hankering today to make saffron rice and was horrified when i saw my one ounce of "Pure Mancha Superior Saffron" Spanish Saffron filaments had expired. grrrrr. It hasn't only expired it says "Havested in 1998" and "Best before End of 2005"!!! yikes. should i use it? should i toss it? I can afford to toss it if necessary but even though i am successful, i am also FRUGAL. lol. i am so frustrated that i let this get out of date prior to using it. what would you do? Use it or toss?

[jfain]

It won't have spoiled but it may have lost it's potency. To find out try soaking it in about a tablespoon of hot water. If it still has some ompf that will bring it out. The water should turn yellow and you will smell the saffron. Drop the saffron water and all into your dish. Good luck!

[Mama Mangia]

There was a representative on TV from a spice company that said this - to check for freshness just rub your spices in your hand and if they let off a smell then they are fine to use. You cannot always go by the expiration dates on the bottles. Some of these sice companies want you to toss your spices after 6 months so that you will buy more.

do try the soaking and see if it works

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

There is only one thing I would do and that's try it and see, I like Jfain's suggestion. Actually 2005 was 3 yrs ago and that is a long time, and spices do turn rancid with their volital oils and such, or they may simply loose their quality over time. If it was stored air-tight and kept in a nice cool cabinet you may just get away with it having lost very little quality! I had a jar of poppy seeds that just sat too long in my cabinet unused I smelled them and it was evident they were a goner so I threw them away. Good Luck with your saffron, let us know the outcome!!! INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW

BY THE WAY WELCOME TO SPICE PLACE, HOPE YOU'LL LIKE IT HERE AND BECOME A REGULAR IN OUR LITTLE FORUM "COMMUNITY"

[cookie]

Hi and Welcome!! You can tell how fresh any spice is by the way it smells. If it has lost its smell it's a goner. Hope this helps. Cookie

[chubbyalaskagriz]

Hi and Welcome Seacoast!

You've gotten some great advice here that I agree with. There's no way in blue blazes that I personally would toss it out. Try it- worst case scenario, you might have to double-up and add more to your recipes to get the full flavor- and full vivid electric yellow color that we all like in our saffron rice! smiles- kevin (chubbyalaskagriz)

[Seacoast]

WOW.. I couldn't be more impressed with the advice. THANK YOU to everyone that posted a reply!! When I first posted I must admit that I didn't expect the wisdom and sage advice (pun intended) that I got in the replies to my post. I'm extremely impressed. Freshly armed with everyone's advice.. I'm off to the kitchen. I'll keep everyone posted... I at least feel good about using it and HOW to use it best, given its age. Thanks again.. I really shook head over some of the experience that I gleaned from the replies. I'll let everyone know my results.

[Seacoast]

welllll.. phooey. it isn't looking very good so far, friends!!

i made saffron rice but it didn't turn that gorgeous shade of yellow that saffron rice is supposed to turn. it also tasted like rice and not saffron rice. after the EXCELLENT advice i had been given i had high hopes for the outcome.. particularly since my spice cabinet is dark and cool (thanks in part to the saffron being hidden and out of sight! lol). i started my test by only using about 25% more than the recipe called for, then crumbled the filaments in my hand prior to soaking the saffron in hot water for about 30 minutes. the water DID turn sort of a dark orangish yellow but when i added it to the rice the final color was more of a muddy BARELY yellowish beige than a vibrant saffron yellow. now that i'm sure it's on it's last leg.. i will try it again when i get time and add even more. i think one of the mistakes i might have made was.. i LOVE indian food and i chose an indian saffron rice recipe that also had a fair amount of onions and peas. i think this may have made the test a little less successful adding other ingredients that also affected the color.

back to the kitchen tonight for another go at it.

thanks again everyone for your advice and your greetings to the forum.
steven

[jfain]

Well if it's an Indian recipe you can always ramp up the color and flavor with tumeric.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

As long as you live, I would say it was worth the effort to at least try, and no damage done