Saffron is the most precious and most expensive spice in the world. Saffron has an intense fragrance; it is slightly bitter in taste and can be used as a colorant, since orange-yellow solutions (due to the presence of carotenoids) can be obtained by soaking the flowers in warm water. Saffron is cultivated in Spain and India (Kashmir) and a few other countries. Spain and Iran are the largest producers, accounting together for more than 80% of the world's production.

In the production of saffron, the stigma, stamen or ‘style' (central part of the flower, which is the female organ) of the flower Crocus sativa is used. The saffron filaments are the dried stigmas of the saffron flower. The yellow stamens (male organs) do not have any taste of their own, and are less expensive.

Since only a part of the flower is used to obtain the final product, the yields are very low.

For the production of 500 grams of saffron, approximately 75,000 of these flowers are needed.