Is saffron a spice or an herb?

I'll give you a worthy answer. Saffron is seen as oh so crazy expensive when realistically it is probably cheaper than your average spice. What's another $0.50-1.00 to greatly increase the flavor? A $15 container normally contains 20-30 strands. read more

Saffron, long among the world's most costly spices by weight, was probably first cultivated in or near Greece. C. sativus is probably a form of C. cartwrightianus, that emerged by human cultivators selectively breeding plants for unusually long stigmas in late Bronze Age Crete. read more

The saffron crocus produces three stigmas per flower, which are delicately harvested by hand and used for cooking, dyeing, and of course, herbal medicine. It can take up to 60,000 stigmas to yield just 1 pound of saffron spice! Fortunately, a little goes a long way with this most precious of herbs. read more

Herbs are the leaves of a specific plant, like cilantro, mint or tarragon, where spices refer to refined ingredients, like salt, pepper seeds, cinnamon or chiles. Saffron is the stigma (the fibrous threads in the center) from a saffron crocus blossom. So, it's a spice. read more