Saffron and my happy buns!

Crocus Sativus

My own saffron threads from plants grown in a pot on the veranda.

 I found a clinical trial published in 2004 showing the effectiveness of using saffron (Crocus Sativus) in the treatment of mild to moderate depression. 

Click here to read the clinical trial!

 The patients were given 30 mg of saffron/day. This is when I started experimenting with making Happy Buns. My first trials were not fantastic but now I have been making adjustments over a few years (buns turned into friands/muffins) and think the recipe is ready to be shared. Most important is to try and make sure every bun/muffin contains 30 mg of saffron. I have to apologize to all vegans as the recipe contains eggs.

24 saffron muffins/friands

oven 200 degrees Celcius

Ingredients:

50 g coconut oil
1.5 cup almonds (1 cup =250 ml)
3 tbsp maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
0.8 g saffron threads

1. Grind the saffron threads with mortar and pestle (easier if you add a few grains of salt or sugar
2. Melt coconut oil in microwave
3. Put almonds in mixer and mix to a fine flour
4. Add all ingredients to the mixer and mix thoroughly

Fill a 24 muffin tin using spoons. Bake for about 10 minutes.

800 mg divided by 24 is 33.33 mg; close enough to 30!

Enjoy one a day with your morning coffee.

Now for some facts about the chemistry. 

 First a comprehensive review from 2010 where you can find a lot of information about the use and history of saffron. Here you can read about a lot of other benefits of saffron like antihypertensive, anticonvulsant, antitussive, antigenotoxic and cytotoxic effects, anxiolytic aphrodisiac, antioxidant, antidepressant, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and relaxant activity. 

Click here to read the review!

Then a few pictures of compounds in saffron:

Crocin structure (from Wikipedia) is the chemical responsible for the colour of saffron.

Picrocrocin is one of the chemical components of saffron most responsible for its distinctive taste.

Safranal is another component of saffron that contributes to its flavour.

The problem now is the cost of saffron; here in the supermarket a packet of 0.1 g is $13.80. I buy a packet of 3.0 g at a local Iranian supermarket for about $20. You can of course try to grow it yourself as I tried to. The bulbs are very sensitive to getting too wet in the off-season (they rot!). I have lost many bulbs to rot but have not given up yet. I dig the bulbs up and keep them dry and divide them before planting them again. 

click here to read about how to grow saffron in Australia