Oh, that precious spice!

UPDATE: You can find the recipe for these saffron cantuccini here!

Last week, I mentioned how saffron buns taste of medicine. What I should have said is that anything made of saffron tastes slightly medicinal. Why? Well, it has been used as a medicine for centuries… And not only is it famous for its bitter taste, but it is also the world’s most precious and expensive spice. You need to ‘harvest’ 75,000 Saffron flowers in order to produce a pound of saffron. And yes – it’s all done by hand!

The cold dark months over here in Sweden are saffron months – symbolized by the bright yellowness of saffron buns. And in our household, we have another saffron tradition (a year round one, I might add): the consumption of saffron cantuccini. Sir Pe got the recipe from a couple who run a Bed and Breakfast in England.

You need an apron and ear plugs if you’re going to make this recipe with noisy kitchen helpers anklebiters! After a lot of stirring and sore wrists, you put the dough in the oven – only to take it out after a short while.

And yes – it’s supposed to look like yellow horse doo-doo. Thank you for asking!

It then goes back into the oven overnight and miraculously turns into sugar-coated cantuccini the following morning!

And because it’s good for the brain, keeps away colds and soothes the nerves, I think I’ll have to eat a few kilos, don’t you?

For purely medicinal purposes.

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