Reviving Saffron Production in an Unlikely Region
By Mica Bale
“You can use saffron for dyeing, but it seems better to enjoy it for its color, flavor and aroma,” says Dr. Sally Francis. Photo courtesy of Francis.
Think of saffron, and immediately the often-quoted statistic that this spice is worth its weight in gold comes to mind. This important member of the Crocus family is, as so many herbs and spices are, a wonderfully complex and passionate flavoring that has led producers worldwide to try and capture its longstanding allure in the international food markets.
Norfolk Saffron is one of those producers, and it adds a different dimension to the spice market. Based in the pretty East Anglian countryside of England, this prestigious saffron producer is one of the most northerly in the entire world.
Britain’s often damp and usually chilly weather is far from the perfect climate for producing saffron, never mind of the highest quality, however historians would be quick to point out that the East Anglia region once, indeed, boasted a positively thriving saffron-growing trade. Of course, that era belongs to many generations past, and that same skepticism marked the beginning of the journey for Dr. Sally Francis, the lady behind Norfolk Saffron.
A keen botanist who studied at Oxford to complete her doctorate, Francis has recently released a book, Crocologia, which highlights the medicinal uses of saffron, including the flowers and bulbs of the plant. Originally published in 1671 and written by German author Johann Ferdinand Hertodt, it is the work’s first ever translation into English.
Francis was already passionate about all things flora when the present of 20 saffron plants from her mother pointed her in the direction of producing the spice.
“The saffron plants arrived the year before I left Oxford,” she says. “I divided and planted them and after a few years found that they had multiplied nicely. At that early stage, my mother did the harvesting, as I was away from home—just one or two flowers per day and a total yield of about a teaspoon. We managed on the natural annual expansion of those initial 20 plants before I decided to go commercial and bought an extra 20,000 Crocus sativus.”
However, the journey from cottage industry to becoming a commercial grower was not without its challenges, most especially because of the initial discouragement Norfolk Saffron received from experts in the field.
“I contacted an Italian artisan saffron grower for advice early on and was told it was impossible to grow saffron in cold and wet England,” Francis says. Later, when we started to sell our saffron at food fairs, a small number of people refused to believe that the saffron really was homegrown.”
Richard Wilford, manager of garden design and collection support at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London says, “Saffron is easy to grow in the British climate as long as it is planted in a sunny position and in freely draining soil. The corms are dormant in summer and too much moisture in the soil at this time can cause them to rot away.
“Once growing, they can take more moisture. At Kew Gardens we grow them in the rock garden, where the raised beds and free-draining soil are the perfect conditions. They flower in the fall and then the leaves grow and last until late spring.”
Despite any challenges she faced, Norfolk Saffron went from strength to strength with Francis at the helm and her family behind her providing the manpower for the harvest. In many ways, Francis had been well used to this way of life since her early childhood.
“Growing up on a smallholding in rural Norfolk, which has been in my family since 1934, in a village with lots of very diverse habitats, in a loving and supportive family with interest in gardening and wildlife with my parents growing more normal crops like barley and sugar beet,” ensured that her love for all things flora was absolute.
Of course, passion alone doesn’t grow a business. Francis credits her studies.
“My professional training in botany and also my training in gardening helped a lot,” she says. “About 10 years after I left Oxford, I was working freelance as a consultant on ‘niche crops,’ small acreage and highly specialized products. I was writing feasibility studies on commercializing different plants for the University of East Anglia and also was the editor of an online resource for novel and niche crops.
“This gave me a wide appreciation of the constraints and opportunities presented by unusual crops ranging from agricultural issues like pests and diseases, sourcing the right planting material, ideal soil conditions and even market demand.”
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It would be difficult to describe a typical day on the Norfolk Saffron smallholding, as each presents its own combination of weather and tasks.
“My work is seasonal, so I don’t really get typical days because the type and amount of work change throughout the year,” Francis says.
The process of producing Norfolk Saffron begins primarily in summer.
“I weed the beds all through the summer, ready for the saffron buds to emerge, typically in late September,” she says. “Harvest begins a week or so later, perhaps with only a couple of flowers on day one.”
Saffron crocuses. Photo courtesy of Dr. Sally Francis.
It does not take long for the Crocus sativus flowering to gain momentum, peaking in late October. During this peak, the saffron numbers into the thousands of flowers each day.
As with all harvest seasons, it can be an extremely busy time of the year.,
“At the peak of the harvest, around the latter part of October to November, a typical day would begin with me rising early so I can be breakfasted and ready to go to the field at first light, about seven o’clock,” she says. “Sometimes, when there is a dull day, I have to wait a little for the sun to rise further so that I can properly see all the flowers.
“The early start is for two reasons; first because there will be a lot of work to do throughout the rest of the day, and second, I want the flowers indoors and safe as soon as possible, away from the attention of any birds. I go up and down the rows, gathering those flowers which are ready and I place them in containers. This can take me several hours on the busiest days and the work is quite physical.”
But there’s always an end in sight to harvest season.
“Then the numbers reduce again to zero by the end of November all the while the saffron’s leaves continue growing and remain green throughout the winter,” she says. “… By late April, the leaves begin to die back and the plants go dormant and the cycle starts over.”
Next comes drying.
“Three basic dehydration methods are reported: high temperature, mild and low temperature (room temperature),” according to the University of Vermont’s Saffron Research Project, published in 2017. “There are many ways to dry saffron. If a grower has only a small number of stigmas to dry, it may be easier to air dry them, whereas it may be better to dry larger quantities in an oven.”
Norfolk Saffron uses a proprietary device for this process.
“As soon as I can, I put the first batch in the dryer, and we continue whilst that batch dries. I check the dryer every so often and when the first batch is done, I put more ‘wet’ saffron in. We break and each lunch together then afterward carry on until all the flowers are processed, usually by late afternoon. Mum and Mary go home and I finish off drying the last of that day’s saffron.”
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Although much effort and dedication is involved in the saffron producing process, it is certainly not without its rewards. Aside from enjoying working closely with nature and family, Francis has material rewards to show for her work.
“We have been awarded Great Taste Awards,” she says. “Our saffron book was listed in the Guardian journal as one of the best cookery books when it was released, Norfolk Saffron is one of the most eco-friendly businesses in the its home and neighboring counties and has been named [by the government] as one of the UK’s [50] most innovative [food] businesses.”
One of the most special achievements for Francis is that Norfolk Saffron “annually beats the criteria for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 3632 Category Grade I Saffron, which is the best grade in the world.”
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Francis is very much an advocate for saffron and its many uses.
“You can use saffron for dyeing, but it seems better to enjoy it for its color, flavor and aroma,” she says. “The flavor is delicious but it’s hard to describe; how would you describe cinnamon for example? Saffron’s flavor is floral and honeyed, but at the same time, has a unique depth. Dose is everything with saffron—too much gives food an unpleasant chemical flavor. Steer well clear of recipes that call for grams of saffron and instead use those which specify numbers of threads.”
Also among its fans are British baking and cookery legend Mary Berry, who uses the spice in her Persian Rice recipe in Mary Berry’s Absolute Favourites, and Delia Smith, who happens to live in the county next to Norfolk Saffron.
“I’ve said in my book do not just go to supermarkets, go to farm shops, go to delicatessens as they are more likely to stock everything,” Smith says. “You want to encourage people to shop like that.”
So how does Dr Sally herself like to cook with the spice she grows?
“A few crumbled strands of saffron sprinkled on fillets of while fish! Or saffron risotto. Or saffron brioche—the favorite in our house. Plus you get Saffron’s amazing health benefits!”
Richard Hughes, chef director of The Assembly House and The Richard Hughes Cookery School in Norwich, is a member of the prestigious and exclusive Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and has trained chefs who now work across Britain, Europe and America.
“I have been working with Dr. Francis for as long as she has been producing saffron,” he says. “She is one of the leading experts on this edible treasure, and her knowledge about saffron, its history and the association the plant has with the county is second to none. At one stage, the ports of Wells and King’s Lynn exported this most precious of spices across the globe, all grown in the fields in the north of our county and so these precious red threads have woven their way through Norfolk’s historical tapestry for centuries. More expensive per gram than gold, Sally and her family grow and harvest some of the finest saffron in the world at her farm in the Burnhams in Norfolk.”
Hughes has his own own history with saffron.
“One of my favorite saffron stories is one I tell all the time in the cookery school, about the Risotto alla Milanese from the Lombard region,” he says. “Belgian glassmakers had been busy installing the stained glass windows of the Lombard cathedral in 1754 led by painter Valerio della Fiandra. His daughter was getting married and, as a joke, his team managed to sneak some saffron into the traditional wedding dish of rice, butter and sausage, saffron being the color used to make yellow stained glass. On the wedding day, the guests were baffled as to why the rice was such a vibrant shade and Valerio was furious—until people tried the rice and decided it was delicious and a brand new dish was born!”
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Norfolk Saffron has already revived an ancient English tradition, defying long held expert opinion that saffron is not a crop for Britain’s weather, and achieved the ISO’s highest grade for the spice’s quality, the lady behind this eco-friendly business is always ready for her next challenge.
“We have been in businesses for a decade, and I have steadily expanded the crop area so we can manage and establish the market for our products,” she says. “But I also have several ideas for novel saffron products that I will develop in the future as well as continuing my academic research. I must thank the practical help of my family and the support of our customers.”
Although it will likely always be widespread that saffron is worth its weight in gold, the beautiful crimson strands of saffron are certainly worth much more than mere gold to those who truly know and love them. Norfolk Saffron continues to make its contribution to the world market, and, as Francis herself concludes, “It’s been an amazing journey and it opens the most unexpected of doors.”
