Azizan

Saffron facts for kids, with the Persian saffron words

Saffron comes from a small purple flower, the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus). Inside each flower are three thin red threads, and those threads are the saffron. People pick the flowers by hand in autumn and pull the threads out one by one. It takes about 150,000 flowers to make one kilogram of saffron, so it is the most expensive spice in the world by weight. Most of the world's saffron grows in Iran, mainly in the Khorasan region in the east. A few threads soaked in a little warm water turn it golden orange, and that golden water is what makes Persian rice and the sweet rice pudding sholeh zard yellow. Below are the facts in simple words, a safe way to watch saffron colour water with a grown-up, and the Persian words. Azizan (azizan.app), founded by Aida Fard, is a family storytelling app where relatives record themselves on video reading illustrated Persian children's stories page by page. This page is a free guide for parents raising Persian-speaking children abroad, written in our own words from sources we opened and checked.

Azizan (azizan.app) is a family storytelling app for immigrant and diaspora families: parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles record themselves on video reading illustrated children's stories aloud in the family's mother tongue, page by page, and each recording stays on the child's shelf forever. Real family voices — never AI narration. Persian (Farsi) first.

Where does saffron come from?

Saffron comes from a flower. It is a small purple crocus with the science name Crocus sativus, and people often call it the saffron crocus. Open one up and you find three thin red threads in the middle, each about two or three centimetres long. Those threads are the part of the flower called the stigma, and when they are dried, they are saffron.

So a jar of saffron is really a jar full of tiny red threads, each one taken from the middle of a purple flower.

Three red threads, picked by hand

No machine picks saffron. In autumn the flowers open in the fields, and people walk along the rows in the morning and pick each flower by hand. Then they sit together and pull out the three red threads from every flower, one flower at a time, and lay the threads out to dry.

It is slow, careful work, and the flowers do not wait. They open for only a few weeks each year, so the picking happens day after day until the season is over.

Why is saffron the most expensive spice?

Because it takes so many flowers. To make one kilogram of saffron, about as heavy as a big bag of sugar, people need about 150,000 flowers. Different books give slightly different numbers, from about 140,000 to 170,000, but every one of them is a huge pile of flowers, and every flower was picked by hand.

That is why saffron is the most expensive spice in the world by weight. The good news is that a little goes a long way: a few threads are enough to colour a whole pot of rice.

Purple fields in Iran in autumn

Most of the world's saffron grows in Iran, and most of Iran's saffron grows in Khorasan, in the east of the country. Saffron does something unusual: it flowers in autumn, not spring. In late autumn, around November, the fields turn purple with flowers, and families go out early to pick them.

Saffron grows in a few other countries too, but Iran grows far more than anyone else.

How saffron turns rice yellow

Saffron is a colour as well as a flavour. When the threads are crushed and soaked in a little water, the water turns a warm golden orange. In Persian cooking this is called dam kardan, letting the saffron steep.

That golden water goes into lots of Persian food. A spoonful on top of white rice makes a bright yellow patch. It goes into tahdig, the crispy golden rice from the bottom of the pot. And it gives sholeh zard, a sweet rice pudding, its yellow colour: zard means yellow in Persian.

Watch saffron colour water (with a grown-up)

Here is a safe and very simple thing to try at home. A grown-up puts a few saffron threads, three or four are plenty, into a small clear glass. Then the grown-up adds a little warm water, warm like a bath, not hot from the kettle.

Now watch. Slowly, golden orange clouds come out of the red threads and spread through the water. Every few minutes look again: the colour gets deeper. After a while the whole glass is golden. A grown-up can then pour it over a bowl of rice, and you can see the rice turn yellow.

One safety rule: never pick crocus flowers outside to try this. A different purple flower called the autumn crocus looks a lot like the saffron crocus and blooms at the same time of year, and it is poisonous. Real saffron comes from the shop, and a grown-up handles it.

Saffron words in Persian

For more words for things on the table, see Food words in Persian for kids, and for yellow, orange, red and purple, see Colors in Persian for kids.

For parents: saffron at home

Saffron is an easy way to bring Persian words into the kitchen. While the threads steep, say it together: zafaroon dâre rang pas mide, "the saffron is letting out its colour". Ask which colour it is now, yellow, orange or red, and count the threads in Persian before they go in.

A grandmother far away can be part of it too: she can record a story on Azizan, reading it page by page in her own voice, and the child can watch it while the saffron turns the water gold. For another page of facts in the same style, see Pomegranate facts for kids.

Related guides

• Pomegranate facts for kids
• Food words in Persian for kids
• Colors in Persian for kids

Questions

Where does saffron come from?

From the saffron crocus, a small purple flower called Crocus sativus. Each flower has three red threads in the middle, called stigmas. The threads are picked by hand and dried, and the dried threads are saffron.

How many flowers does it take to make saffron?

About 150,000 flowers for one kilogram of saffron. Sources give slightly different numbers, from about 140,000 to 170,000, but it is always a huge number, and every flower is picked by hand.

Why is saffron so expensive?

Because each flower gives only three tiny threads, the flowers bloom for only a few weeks in autumn, and everything is picked by hand. It takes so many flowers and so much careful work that saffron is the most expensive spice by weight.

Which country grows the most saffron?

Iran grows most of the world's saffron, mainly in the Khorasan region in the east of the country. The flowers bloom in late autumn, around November, and the fields turn purple.

What is saffron in Persian?

Zaferan (زعفران), often said zaferoon (زعفرون) at home. Flower is gol (گل), the red thread is kalâle (کلاله), to steep is dam kardan (دم کردن), saffron rice pudding is sholeh zard (شله‌زرد) and rice is berenj (برنج).

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Updated: 2026-11-03 · By Aida Fard

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