‘Nor should I here omit saffron, which the German housewives have a way of forming into balls, by mingling it with a little honey; which thoroughly dried, they reduce to powder, and sprinkle it over their sallets for a noble cordial. Those of Spain and Italy, we know, generally make use of this flower, mingling its golden tincture with almost everything they eat.’
John Evelyn, Acetaria, 1699
Nicholas Culpeper, who was apprenticed to the Apothecary of Cambridge University in the seventeenth century, wrote that saffron ‘is a herb of the Sun, and under the Lion, and therefore you need not demand a reason why it strengthens the heart so exceedingly’. So I, born under the sign of Leo, need not look far to understand why saffron has long been one of my favourite flavourings. Moreover, unlike most of the flowers in this book, which are essentially summer food, saffron is available throughout the year and makes a heartening ingredient in winter soups and casseroles, the perfect antidote to chills and grey skies.
