A Harvest of Love: Celebrating Saffron Season with Diaspora Co.

Spring can be a tricky season, flavor-wise. The weather says winter’s done, but the farmer’s market begs to differ. Sure, there may be stalks of rhubarb and a smattering of strawberries, but the full-on bounty–pallets of berries, bins of stone fruit, and tables of melons–just isn’t here yet. This got me thinking about the signs of spring and how to bring the fresh feeling and bright color of the season to our menu. It got me thinking flowers–the early, vivid signals that the gray cold of winter is truly over. 

Not only do flowers symbolize this fleeting moment, but they also present a fun challenge. Because what do flowers taste like anyways? We explored the answer in our May Flowers Series, coming at colorful blossoms from different angles. For Pistachio w/ Saffron & Rose Water, I was inspired by my favorite Persian desserts. The intense flavors of rose water blend together transcendently with a classic pistachio ice cream. For good measure, we toss in house-baked saffron-laced mochi cake. The star of this flavor is the Kashmiri Saffron from our partners in spice at Diaspora Co. Their saffron has beautiful notes of honey, raisins, and almond, that shine in hunks of house made mochi cakes.  

Saffron is an incredible little flower that only blooms during a very short period of a few weeks from late October to early November. After lying dormant through the snowy winter, feasting on the melting snow through the spring, and slowly waking up as summer in the valley turns into a deep golden autumn, the most breathtaking little purple saffron flowers finally bloom–each flower only blooming three teeny tiny red stigmas! 

Diaspora Co. works closely with farmers in India and Sri Lanka to ethically source the most delicious spices in the world. The Mir family has been growing saffron in the historic saffron growing district of Pampore for as far back as anyone can remember. The saffron is cultivated in the Karewas, a four million old land formation characterized by soft soil deposits that are particularly suited to growing saffron. Each saffron tin takes hundreds of flowers and 24+ hours of hand processing. Talk about a harvest of love. 

Learn more about our friends at Diaspora Co. here. Visit a local scoop shop to try our May Flower Series or order for nationwide shipping.