Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Bites I'm Not Mad About Saffron
Posted by Nicki Wood on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 9:49 AM
Spooning up a helping of homemade paella, the waft of saffron hit my nose and I made an involuntary "yuck" face.
The inescapable conclusion is that saffron, the pricey golden stamens of the crocus, is something I could do without. The warm golden color is beautiful, but the metallic/medicinal flavor taints everything it touches.
There's not a widespread popular movement for a saffron avoidance lifestyle, but at least a few other people agree. One says it tastes like Bactine (I never actually tasted Bactine, but can agree in principle) and gasoline in a monkey's butt. Can't really say that way either, but it can't be good.
Maybe everyone hates something -- a friend and I were cooking a pot of Moroccan stew and she asked to omit the cardamom. "I think I must be the only person in the world who doesn't like it, but it really makes me feel ill," she said, apologetically.
Cardamom, saffron, cilantro, tarragon -- what's the herb or spice that's a culinary dealbreaker for you?
Comments (19)
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Cilantro! And it's been so trendy lately - in everything. I will painstakingly pick every little piece out of salsa. To me, it is such a strong, offensive flavor that overwhelms (ahem, ruins) everything it touches.
Also, I love mint - but never in a savory dish. The whole lamb/mint thing to me is as icktastic as it gets.
like
dislike
Ha, cilantro and rosemary are my favorites, along with basil. Not so much a fan of what we call coriander, though. Different flavor.
But yeah, mint. Very over it.
Coriander is the seed from the Cilantro plant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriander
I LOVE saffron. I cherish the memory of the mussel soup with saffron I had at the funky erstwhile Au Pied de Cochon in Washington, D.C. Nicki's palate is consistent, though. She's been dissing saffron for at least 15 years.
Myself, I hate mint. It tastes like poison to me. Mint should never be added to fruit tea. A crime.
Anise vote here. Ick.
LOVE cilantro and basil. I add them to dishes they have no business being in.
I agree about saffron--why would anyone eat something that's so expensive, and tastes like Bactine smells? And I HATE dill.
Basil, cilantro, and mint, however...mmmmm.....
Ugh, tarragon! For a while it was in every take-out chicken salad in Nashville, but perhaps a small but vocal minority of tarragon-haters had some influence.
it's neither herb or spice but if the menu says "feta cheese" I say "blech".
as for herbs and spices, cilantro should be added selectively to season, not dumped in to provide the one and only flavor. And the same goes with any chili batch where they expect cumin to provide all the flavor. And regular oregano is for chef boy-ar-don't.
It is interesting, though, that some smell or taste things totally differently than others. Reminds me of some tests the neurologist ran on me after a head injury, when something sweet smelled like ammonia to me and they worried about a subdural hematoma. You might want to get that saffron-smells-like-bactine thing checked...
Real Saffron is divinely ethereal starlicous... And it makes your food the color of Tibetan monk's robes. Perhaps they use turmeric or Onoto (I think it's called Achiote in the Mexican stores) to color the paella.
I know is not a spice, but green pepeprs are a curse. Anise doth blow, but I like it in Sambuca and that other vile aperitif whose name escapes me.
Anise (and its compatriot fennel). They affect me so strongly that merely going in the house while my wife & her mom are making springerlie cookies can make me horribly sick.
Elzorro - methinks you mean Ouzo ? I always likened it to drinking a box of Good 'n Plenty, which might be a reference nobody gets any more...along with its old song about "choo choo charlie"...
SL, Ouzo it is. Now give yourself a pat in the back.
Stangely enough, since Root Beer does not exist from whence I came, it took me a while to develop a taste for it. At first, my mouth was all "Toothpaste Toothpaste"
