Mehr Saffron, Premium All Red Saffron / 1 Oz (28 Gram)

We love this brand. Aroma is amazing and quality is top notch

Better saffron that a lot of junk I'd bought in past that was passed off as good quality but wasn't. And this is packaged like royalty: a satin-lined heavy cardboard box cradles the glass jar of saffron. The opening of the jar is wide enough to grab a good pinch. The flavor was excellent. Sometimes, you just have to plunk down for the best.Luckily, a small amount of saffron does the trick in cooking. If you didn't already know this, you make a slurry of the dry pistils of saffron in a warm liquid--one containing an oil is best because like many herbs and spices, the active essential oils are not very water soluble. I usually use few tablespoons of warm milk or cream. But if you aren't using milk, water with a touch of butter or olive oil, heated up but not boiling works very well. Then you can sprinkle this liquid over the top of your rice, or mix it into your dish and get saffron flavor well distributed.

I must admit that I'm probably not enough of a gourmet cook to accurately judge premium saffron. I'll give my observations, which is the best I can do.First of all, the packaging is premium and gives the feeling that you've acquired the very best. Always a plus when you pay this much for such a small amount. These days good saffron is pricier than gold or silver. The fine golden box, the heavy, thick glass of the bottle, and the massive precisely cut cork (which resembles a vault door more than a stopper) all whisper quality.The aroma is strong, which points to freshness. The strands are long and while, not broken and powdery.And of course, just a pinch transforms any dish that you add it to.Exquisite. Worth every dollar.The only downside? The beautiful golden box came with an ugly inventory sticker plastered on with industrial strength glue! Too bad. It's a nice little box.

Costco is well known for providing authentic, high quality foods like saffron and olive oil so I wanted to compare their brand to what I usually buy, which is Mehr and see how different they are.First the visuals: Mehr looks like it has been broken and abused or simply milled to be shorter or are from flowers that don't produce very long stamens. Kirkland has long intact stamens that are beautiful and clearly have been gently handled at all stages.Cold water: Mehr instantly releases color when in contact with cold water. Kirkland doesn't produce much color at all.Hot water: After 5 minutes in water from boiling temperature the water is beautifully colored. Kirkland, has released its color with hot water, looks nearly identical to Mehr.Cooked in rice: Mehr saffron is slightly darker than Kirkland. Both come out beautifully.Flavor: both are distinctly saffron, but have slightly different flavors. Neither is better than the other.Conclusion: I'll buy whichever is readily available. Mehr is the real deal, and that is what I wanted to figure out from this process.

This saffron is very high quality and lasts really long as the quantity is 14 grams. For those of us that use saffron regularly, this is definitely worth a buy. I was worried if the flavor would recede after months of using it, but it stays really good till today after more than 6 months of purchase. I would give a 5 star but the cork is too small and breaks into small pieces if not handled very softly. Sometimes, I have to check if a small piece of cork has fallen into the saffron glass bottle.

I am happy to have found Mehr Saffron as my previous supplier of Sargol saffron now sells an inferior product with excuses about how he can no longer acquire the same quality as before. Mehr is more expensive but well worth it in my opinion. You are purchasing only the dark red portion of the stigma here with none of the yellow threads - you are getting nothing but the good stuff. Fragrance and color are excellent. Stigma are in good physical shape, whole and not crumbled.Shipping was much faster than promised - 2 days from order to the west coast. My 1 oz order looked light and only weighed 25g upon receipt. The seller responded immediately to notification about this and had the remainder shipped immediately, again with 2 day transit. For whatever reason, Mehr ships in an unsealed box labelled "Saffron" and "28g" on the outside of the box.I will purchase again from Mehr in the future.Disclosure: Seller offers a $10 refund in return for writing an Amazon product review.