Quality analysis
Saffron’s quality, for its culinary usage, is mainly based on its strong coloring capabilities and it’s reflected by its powerful taste and scent. This indicator is the so-called Crocin, the carotenoid responsible for the reddish color of the Saffron’s flower stigmas.
Azafrán del Oasis, thanks to its unique location and its farming and harvesting processes, as well as the conservation treatment applied once in its packaging, guarantees Crocin indexes higher than 240, providing a superior quality of our product which is therefore situated amongst the best in the world.
CROCIN INDEX
250 —
200 —
150 —
100 —
OASIS SAFFRON
(265)NEGÍN (≥ 250)
SARGOL (220)
COUPÉ (190)
Production process
The production process of our saffron plays a pivotal role when obtaining a high-ranking and top quality. Product of the thorough study of the terrain characteristics and the thrill and eagerness of the people working on it, Azafrán del Oasis follows a handmade production process that differentiates itself from other products of its same category, given that its aim is to recover techniques that our ancestors used to apply, making almost the entire process totally manual that recovers the essence of this ancestral crop.
Bulb planting
During the planting process, the saffron bulbs are introduced underground with care. The soil will serve as a protection layer and will provide all the necessary nutrients required for the flower’s development and will guarantee their growth. A 4-year cycle ensures that the bulb will receive the nutrients that it requires in the appropriate measure and will not suffer undernourishment that could affect its growth and, as a final consequence, the saffron’s quality.
Flower harvesting
Harvesting saffron flowers is a daily process that takes place during an entire month. At first light of each day the flowers are picked from their base and placed in baskets made out of wicker which allow them to keep their attributes and be fresh until they are peeled. During this process, only those flowers that are totally grown and at their optimum maturation state are picked and, for this reason, this process needs to be repeated on a daily basis during the entire month of October.
Flower peeling
After harvesting the flowers, these are placed in the center of a large table around which the people in charge of peeling them are situated. In this moment is when the process of separating the stigmas from the rest of the flower components starts, and the obtained stigmas are placed, one by one, in a wooden bowl.
Saffron drying
Once all stigmas have been separated, they are placed one by one in flat trays that are introduced in our uniquely-made dehydration closet. During this process the stigmas are submitted to a proprietary process that dries them from the inner to the outer layer, which certifies that they end up being dry without losing any organoleptic properties. At this stage the stigmas are ready for packaging.