Just wondering if real saffron is cheap in Spain. I LOVE to use it in my cooking (especially arroz con pollo) but it is SO expensive here! If it is cheap where is the best place to buy it? In Bolivia I found it cheapest in the mercado on the street.

Thanks

Julia

Pure saffron (just the stigmas) are expensive, but you can get cheap (mix of other parts of the saffron flower) saffron at Indian (South Asian) groceries. The saffron you find at South American mercados are probably the same quality. They come in larger amounts than the fifty stigmas per $8.00 and you do have to use about a teaspoonfull to get the same strength. I use this to make paella and the quality does not suffer, as my friends often vouch.

Angelito

Pure saffron (just the stigmas) are expensive, but you can get cheap (mix of other parts of the saffron flower) saffron at Indian (South Asian) groceries. The saffron you find at South American mercados are probably the same quality. They come in larger amounts than the fifty stigmas per $8.00 and you do have to use about a teaspoonfull to get the same strength. I use this to make paella and the quality does not suffer, as my friends often vouch.

Angelito

I would try the ground floor supermarket of El Corte Ingles a major department store with many locations in Madrid. El Corte Ingles

Donna