Quote from: chonk on May 02, 2013, 05:23 PMDidn't want to badmouth spanish saffron, sorry if it sounded that way...

Hey Chonk!

I didn't interpret what you said as badmouthing Spanish saffron at all, I think you've added some interesting and useful information into the discussion.

Here's an interesting article on Spanish Saffron: http://www.foodsfromspain.com/icex/cda/controller/pageSGT/0,9459,35868_6865989_6908352_4479283,00.html

Quote from: ootini on May 02, 2013, 04:50 PM
I've started my own lil' website, to be honest the point of it was more for my own reference purposes but some people started to use it too so it's growing slowly. http://thecurrybible.blogspot.co.uk/

Hi Dave

Welcome back as you seem to have been here before!

Interesting Curry Blog, some nice recipes there. One thing that stood out for me was the sheer amount of spicing you're putting into your base sauce - 1 tablespoon of salt and 6.5 tablespoons of spices into a base sauce of 6 onions and 2 litres of water? That seems very high to me.

I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm merely curious as to why you feel so much spicing is needed.

Quote from: Axe on May 02, 2013, 05:06 PMThe mustard still very much packing a punch.

Good stuff, can't beat a smear of that on a nice ham sandwich or pork pie!

It's a shame all the old ways of doing things are dying out and giving way to processed convenience. I was told and taught from a young age to make mustard fresh from powder and to make mint sauce fresh from finely chopped mint leaves from the garden, touch of sugar and salt, some vinegar and left to infuse for 20 minutes or so. Lovely with roast lamb!

I'd probably make fresh horseradish if I could find an easy supply of horseradishes. Now that stuff freshly made really does pack a punch!

Quote from: goncalo on May 02, 2013, 04:37 PMSomething I've been noticing lately is the lack of intense aromas like the TA, I am not sure it's down to my whole spices or anything, but I don't seem to get the smell as much as I used to get in the beginning. I find the cardamoms don't smell as much as they used to, so I do know I need to replace these. The bay leaves, fennel, cassia are new. The cloves date from around october last year but when I open the little jar, I still get a good intense smell out of.

Hmm...

Do you give the cardamons a good tap to crack the shell? You ideally need a little crack in the shell to let the flavour out. Do you fry these first? Because that's an important step in getting the flavour to infuse. You should stir fry all your whole spices first in ghee or butter to release the essential oils before you add the rice.

You'd have to go through your recipe and cooking technique to see if there's anything there that's not quite right.

Quote from: chonk on May 02, 2013, 04:51 PM
6? for 0,5 g is very pricey. You normally pay that for world-class saffron, the really good stuff. I'm a little bit sceptical about spanish saffron too, because it's basically the same thing as with Darjeeling tea - the farmers yield a specific amount per year, but when the product hits the global markets, the number got mysteriously multiplied by x.

It is quite expensive - but that's Schwartz for you!

I agree you have to be very careful with Saffron as there's a lot of fake or inferior rubbish on the market. The Spanish saffron I buy from the Spanish market is produced locally, is a good price and good quality. It's not as good as genuine Kashmiri Saffron, but that's the one you have to be particularly careful with due to the counterfeiting and frequently substituted inferior product. I'm happy sticking with the Spanish variety I get as it's a known quantity to me.

Quote from: rjo333 on May 02, 2013, 02:17 PM...if not, what would you change?

Your approach, which seems somewhat muddled to me.

As the Chinese Philosopher said to the stranger who stopped him on a desolate road asking for directions to such and such a place, after thinking for a few moments he replies:

"...if I were trying to get to this place, I wouldn't be starting from here."

Quote from: RubyDoo on May 02, 2013, 03:49 PM
Far too delicate when matched with a robust spicey and hottish concoction.

With some of the hotter dishes I would tend to agree but I still think Saffron flavoured rice adds something extra when eaten with milder dishes such as Korma, Tikka Masala, Passanda, Ceylon etc., it seems to work very well with those milder dishes.

I must confess I love saffron flavoured rice and cook it as my standard pilau, it has a lovely flavour and aroma and as my main dishes are not fiercely hot at around medium it works well with them.

Quote from: Axe on April 29, 2013, 09:15 PMIt's a much paler mixture but the heat and pungency is definitely there. I'm leaving it in the fridge overnight to see if that slightly granular texture disappears.

It's much paler, probably because it's not full of yellowing turmeric! It shouldn't really have a granular texture it should be quite smooth. Best to start out with a couple of drops of water, mix, few more drops mix etc until you end up with a nice smooth mixture.

Freshly made mustard also goes off quite quickly and loses its pungency after a couple of days. You can tell when this happens as it starts to darken.

I'm pleased you've seen the light and now know that freshly made mustard packs a much bigger wallop than the icky jar stuff!

As I said previously, in my opinion, jar mustard and freshly made from powder are two altogether quite different things.

Quote from: goncalo on May 02, 2013, 01:56 PM
I knew I was right in that this was a robbery, I just didn't supply the right measurements!

That's more like it! 0.5g for 6 euro is more Schwartz's style. They're not the cheapest by any means.

Now you know why I pay 10 euro for 5 grams of La Mancha Spanish saffron.

Quote from: goncalo on May 02, 2013, 01:27 PMI was thinking about throwing a few threads into a glass full of hot milk, which is what I seem to recall watching in a video, but you recommend only a few tsps?

Well it ultimately depends on what you're trying to achieve really. If you've cooked the rice already and letting it stand when you add the saffron infused milk, you don't really want to add too much more liquid when most of the liquid has already been cooked off, which is why I suggest just a couple of teaspoons.

It sounds to me your best bet might just be to add the saffron strands after you've stir fried the rice in butter/ghee and just before you add the liquid, that way you'll get nice even yellow saffron infused rice.

As always - experiment and find which way you like the best.