Bought "pure" saffron online, now I'm worried it's fake. What should I look for?
Hey everyone, hoping for some advice. I recently bought some saffron from an online seller that was advertised as 100% pure. It was surprisingly affordable, which now has me second-guessing everything.
The threads are a bit dull in color and don't have that strong, distinctive smell I expected. When I put a few in warm water, they colored it yellow pretty quickly, but I read that real saffron should release its color slowly and have a more orange-red hue.
I just found this article that breaks down why real saffron is so expensive (from harvesting to quality), and it made me realize how clueless I was when buying. It feels like there's a significant risk of buying fake saffron if you're not knowledgeable about the product.
Has anyone else been through this? What are the definitive signs of fake saffron? How can a regular buyer avoid getting duped? Sharing your experiences would really help.