Thanks, good to know. Your post reminded me mine was supposed to arrive today. Thankfully, delivery status has changed to tomorrow and it wasn't sitting on my porch for hours or picked up by porch pirates.

In true spirit of the Flyertalk community, an esteemed member I've known since my earliest days messaged an offer to send me saffron gifted by a regular past stream of Iranian house guests. I'll happily accept that offer if I don't care for the Zaran or when I'm running low. Much gratitude.

Here is the Zaran saffron through Amazon. I made saffron rice for the first time, using a pinch, then second guessed the size of my pinch and added an extra half-pinch. Very nice, subtle, unmistakable flavor. Not sure if it’s a normal level of flavor or if my pinches were conservative. Definitely a treat to have a flavored rice. I’m looking for a saffron meat dish to make next.


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Zaran 2g super negin $13.95 through Amazon.


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Soaked in room temp water with lemon zest for about 30-45 minutes while I chopped and sautéed chicken and vegetables.


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Stovetop lemon saffron rice. I always use my 1.5 cup rice cooker, but didn’t want to stink up the silicone ring gasket with the saffron fragrance forever.

We have several Middle Eastern importing companies in our neighborhood. We buy saffron and most middle eastern spices at Sahadis. They're also a good source for Aleppo Pepper. They are now shipping nationally. Their sourcing changes due to changing market conditions.

We just got the Zaran as well. Haven't used it yet. Will post back once we do.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'd never heard of Mercato. com. Sehadis has a wide variety of products and there's a $25 minimum. I'd love to try some of those spice blends.