Can anyone tell me where I can get some saffron for paella in the states?

Iliana,
I normally find it at my local supermarket. Check the ethnic section, with the "Goya" products.
You can also buy it from: www.laespanolameats.com www.tienda.com www.ethnicgrocer.com www.netgrocer.com

[This message has been edited by Angela (edited 09-05-2000).]

According to U.S. Customs, is saffron considered a food? Anyone have any idea how much I can bring back? I was thinking about bringing "A TRUCK LOAD" of it back with me.

"I'm just crazy 'bout saffron", MadridMan

as far as i know they didn't consider it to be food. i brought back to large tins. they didn't count it as anything more than a souvenir.
as to where to find saffron in the us? its quite easy. at just about every decent supermarket i've been to there's a happy supply over on the spice rack. i know that schillings as well as spice hunter bottle saffron. and of course its from la mancha. i live in san francisco, ca. and its quite easy to find imported brands such as la rosa. so just keep looking, you'll find it.

Another great place would be any East Indian grocery store as it is often used in many of their dishes. (Rice pudding for instance, which I love).

Good luck and good eatin'.

Thanks to everyone for your quick replies! I'll let you know when I find it.

Hey, shouldn't we be discussing this in the "Food" forum?!

"Ethnic" food stores or markets seem to be the best bet. I get mine in a shop that is primarily Italian, for example. (I think the reason might be that it is an ingredient in several kinds of risotto.)

I bought some a couple of weeks ago and when I got home I noticed it was from Iran, not Spain. I've cooked with it and it seems fine, and it was no more or less expensive than Spanish saffron. Has anyone ever bought saffron from countries other than Spain, and if so how have you found its quality?

MM - if you can afford to buy "A TRUCK LOAD" of saffron, you can afford to RETIRE to Spain right now!

other than spanish saffron i've used italian, persian and indian. the italian is far less intense, east indian is in my opinion more for color than flavor. you could actually replace this with tumeric. persian is very good quality. its quite close to spanish. however, none of these three come close to what we all love from la mancha.

I absolutely agree with you Nicholeye.
And hey, since you seem to have had
the fortune of enjoying all kinds, let
me know if you know why Spanish saffron
is the best. I love hearing food secrets.

holuhh,

saffron tea rox.

it's funny how a lot of vendors will tell you that saffron color also equates with flavour... i.e., the more color the more flavour. in my experience this is not true.

there is great saffron from all over the world, iranian being good, but i still think azafran mancha is some of the best. La Mancha is known in spain for being one of the best regions for saffron, where the flowers are actually protected by men with escopetas(shotguns).. (i've seen this.. kinda freaky..)

i used to import saffron to the US and sold it to restaurants and individuals (with my brother, who is a chef). you can carry as much saffron on you, mailed, shipped, while on the airplane back, whatever, from spain as you like. to import it you must declare it through the USFDA, and to be an "importer" you must have an EIN(employer identification number). it is easy to do...

Cefran of La Mancha, with an office in Madrid (near Pueblo Nuevo metro) has a great product with equally great prices. the presentation is nice, with clear rectangular cases, or cute little jars, both of which allow clear view of the product so you can inspect it. nice color.

again, the best place in the US for some of these types of products will be in Spanish grocery stores. if you want Spanish saffron, be prepared to PAY for it. it is not cheap (it's been a while since i bought any or looked at the market, i still have a small stash), but it is GOOD.

i think there is still a website run by a spanish guy, in san francisco, that swears up and down that greek saffron is the best. this guy has sucker-charts and graphs galore to prove his point, but his saffron is no cheaper than anyone else's. darn, i wish i had his URL so you could check it out... (but this was about 3 years ago)

saffron has some interesting medicinal values too, like inducing abortion, as an afrodisiac (similar to THC and Kava Kava), and cleansing (like anti-oxidant) properties... saffron is powerful stuff!

i look forward to seeing more posts regarding saffron becuase i think there is a lot to learn about it, and it's great in FOOD!!