History of saffron in Teruel

SAFFRON OF TERUEL

History of saffron in Teruel

As we know, this is a highly valued spice throughout history, its flavor and color have enriched thousands of dishes throughout history. It has been a high cost spice and therefore has not been available to everyone.

Saffron has been cultivated for several generations in the Jiloca region, more specifically in the town of Monreal del Campo, which is located at an altitude of 900 meters and has optimal climatic conditions for growing Saffron.

Such is the importance of Saffron in the history of this town that in 1983 the Saffron Museum was founded. This ethnological museum explains everything about the importance of the cultivation of saffron and the work of making it.

During the 90s, the saffron trade suffered a severe crisis, leading many farmers to abandon this type of cultivation. In Monreal del Campo it went from having 800 fields to only 3 and less than one hectare.

Throughout these years the saffron cultivation of this unique territory has been gradually recovering. Giving the value of appellation of origin and being awarded in 2004 as a spice "BALUARTE DE SLOW FOOD" also in 2005 an Association of Producers of Saffron from Jiloca "Azaji" was created that would help to achieve a greater production and a better dissemination of the importance of saffron in the local culture and the values ​​ingrained with it.

Artisan elaboration

There are many saffron crops in the world, but very few in which the cultivation, harvesting and debrising processes continue to be as artisanal and ecological as the one carried out in the Jiloca region.

Everything is done in a traditional, manual and ecological way. This gives added value to the resulting product since there are very few crops that preserve this traditional work.

It is likely that for this reason it is of exceptional quality and has earned the appellation of origin.

History of saffron in Teruel

Healthy Recipe: Orange Juice with Saffron

The Ingredients are simple:

  • 500 grams of orange juice.
  • 150 grams of sugar.
  • A few threads of saffron.
  • Some orange wedges.

The preparation is just as simple as the ingredients:

  1. We will heat the orange juice in a saucepan and add the sugar, we will wait for the mixture to have a syrupy texture and appearance.
  2. Then we will turn off the heat and add the saffron threads that we will let infuse for about 10 minutes with the pot covered.
  3. Then we strain the liquid and place it in a bowl that we will put in the freezer for 2 hours.
  4. Finally, we will chop the orange and saffron ice and serve it in a glass with a straw.

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