Sardinian cuisine: saffron

It is the yellow gold of Sardinia.

This is the color of saffron, yellow like gold and for this, since ancient times, a precious and unique spice.

Its color has always been synonymous with wealth, joy, well-being and happiness. Even today, in the east, saffron is given to wish long life and prosperity to those who receive it. Its golden yellow color also recalls the color of the sun, a source of life, light and heat.

The term saffron derives from the Latin safranum (zafaranu in Sardinian) which in turn derives from the Arabic zaferan of Persian origin. The root of the word is connected to the yellow color. The benefits of this spice are countless. First of all the stimulating action on the metabolism and its lack of caloric intake useful to maintain the line. Promotes digestion thanks to its natural flavors and above all is rich in antioxidant properties.

It is no coincidence that many liqueurs with digestive properties such as fernet and vermouth can contain saffron. Maybe not everyone knows where it comes from and maybe they believe it is a chemical substance created in the laboratory with the sole purpose of coloring some of our traditional dishes. In fact, saffron is a flower grown to obtain the famous spice, certainly very expensive but its cost is justified rather than justified given that to extract the powder used in the kitchen it is necessary a long and delicate processing: they serve in fact from 130,000 to 150,000 flowers and about 500 hours of work per kilo.

Many traditional dishes in Sardinia contain saffron, one of these is the pardula, a dessert that can not be missed on our tables during the Easter period but not only…

The pardule are prepared with simple and wholesome ingredients such as re-milled durum wheat flour, lard, some salt and for the tasty filling the sheep’s ricotta, the sugar, the eggs, the zest of a lemon and an orange and saffron that embellishes this delicious dessert.

Do you want to come and taste a pardula? Book one of our tours now!