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Saffron harvesting season

In the middle of November, purple flowers of saffron color can be seen in agricultural fields. Of course, depending on the temperature, saffron harvesting may be done in early December in some areas. In general, when these purple flowers appear, the saffron harvest time begins.

The process of harvesting saffron flowers continues for three weeks. Considering the short life of flowers and high sensitivity to sunlight, it is better to harvest flowers at the earliest opportunity.

Saffron flowering period

Flowering in saffron fields takes place between 15 and 25 days. The amount of flowers increases on the seventh to tenth days and it is better to harvest the flowers around these days.

Saffron harvest time

The time of harvesting saffron depends on weather and climatic conditions. Saffron is usually harvested early in the morning before sunrise. This is because in the morning the flowers are half open and it is easier to separate them from the stigma. It also causes less damage to the plant. In some cases, this plant may be harvested in the evenings. Saffron flowers are beautiful purple or purple in color and give a very beautiful look to the fields when it is harvested when the weather is somewhat cold.

How to harvest saffron

As mentioned, the saffron plant is very sensitive and must be harvested correctly and with great patience. Usually, straw and porous baskets or cotton bags are used to harvest saffron. Of course, we must ensure that these baskets are clean. It should be noted that in order to avoid damaging the flowers, one should refrain from filling the baskets. As soon as the flowers are picked, they should be moved to the separation area and the flowers should be separated from the stigma. If this is not done quickly, yellow pollen may sit on the stigmas and the flowers will be separated from the stigma with difficulty and pressure.

This will damage the stigma and reduce its value. The place where the process of separating the flower from the stigma is going to take place must be completely clean and hygienic. If the tips are followed, the process of separation will begin. Separating the flower from the stigma is done in three ways.

The first method of separation:

The saffron that is prepared in this way is called (saffron saffron).

In this method, the flower is split first.
Then the three branches of the stigma are separated from the flower and placed on top of each other.
These branches are dried in the same way.

The second method of separation:

The saffron produced in this way is called Sargol saffron.

The flower splits.
The stigma and cream of the plant are separated.
The stigma is cut from the cream.
Then they are collected in a separate place.
They dry separately.

The third method of separation:

The saffron produced using this method is called (masked saffron).

In this method, the three branches of the stigma along with a part of the cream are separated from the other parts of the flower.
Then the stigmas are placed in a container and dried.

The saffrons prepared by these three methods have different properties and quality levels, and none of them can be preferred over the other. Of course, it can be said that because the cream has a lot of moisture, its drying is delayed. Due to the long drying process, part of the coloring ability of saffron is lost during this period. For this reason, the quality and coloring power of saffron is much lower than other types of saffron.