This is a picture of my Father and a friend, sometime around 1925/6?. I believe it is at a tea treat in Pendeen.
But just look at the size of those buns, I'm sure they don't make them that big now.
I think its origins are from Eastertide, similar to Simnel Cake and every recipe I have seen is Cornish in origin. Real saffron though has always been expensive, more than its weight in gold is not far short of the truth. So how local folk obtained it is a bit of a mystery.
Another point about the Celtic origins and what I perceive to be in ancient Sumeria. I was once shown pictures of the traditional fields of crocus in Kashmir, quite beautiful. The young lad had brought back other spices and some rather exotic things that went very nicely in cakes and puddings.
Too right on the expense front! That's what made me wonder if it was actually Cornish in origin. Going back, saffron must have been a luxury item, I can't really imagine it being cheaper then than now. Though am I right in thinking it's used more as a colour than as a flavour for the cake?
Saffron was grown in UK from medieval times. But I wonder if Cornishmen didn't return with supplies when they travelled to the Mediterranean trading salt pilchards.
Though am I right in thinking it's used more as a colour than as a flavour for the cake?
Not at all. It has a distinctive flavour. Inferior commercial saffron cake is recognisable because food colouring is used in place of much of the saffron. If it is rich gold and has no added colouring you can taste the difference.
Pure quality saffron is quite bitter in taste but does add a distinctive sublte flavour to food. Excellent in rice. It has always been expensive which why it is doctored with turmeric in cheaper varieties, particularly powdered form.
You can't beat the taste ... I think it is something either brought with the ancient Celts from Mesopotamia, or perhaps found in Spain, though I have doubts. There was a trade beteween Mesopotamia and early Greece of such spices - it was used in ancient medicine. So is no wonder da make ee feel good.
Good point Chill as it is thought originally to be Greek in origin and not Asian. This was an industry that developed in the far east much later. The Minoans (Crete) were known to trade saffron in ancient times.
@ treeve. Agreed and there is evidence of it being used for its pymentation properties long before that. The Asian usage of saffron was thought to be mainly medicinal. My reference was to 'trade' as a food enhancer by the Greeks long before the development of the 'Spice Trail'. Although originally the Greeks used it as a narcotic.
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