Weekly Photo Challenge: RARE
“Our time here is magic! It’s the only space you have to realize whatever it is that is beautiful, whatever is true, whatever is great, whatever is potential, whatever is rare, whatever is unique. It’s the only space.” Ben Okri
Weekly Photo Challenge: RARE – Saffron Spice, Heirloom Tomatoes, White Eggplant and more…
Weekly Photo Challenge: RARE – Saffron Spice, Heirloom Tomatoes, White Eggplant and more..
To glean 1 lb (450 g) of dry saffron requires the harvest of 50,000–75,000 flowers; a kilogram requires 110,000–170,000 flowers.[43][44] Forty hours of labour are needed to pick 150,000 flowers.[45] Stigmata are dried quickly upon extraction and (preferably) sealed in airtight containers.[46] Saffron prices at wholesale and retail rates range from US$500 to US$5,000 per pound, or US$1,100–11,000/kg. In Western countries, the average retail price in 1974 was $1,000 per pound, or US$2,200 per kilogram.[4] In February 2013, a retail bottle containing 0.06 ounces could be purchased for $16.26 or the equivalent of $4,336 per pound or as little as about $2,000/pound in larger quantities. A pound contains between 70,000 and 200,000 threads. Vivid crimson colouring, slight moistness, elasticity, and lack of broken-off thread debris are all traits of fresh saffron. Wikipedia
For this week’s photo challenge on the subject of RARE, I chose to go with foods that are not so common and that we buy or receive as gifts, occasionally, or that we would all like to have sometimes. My precious loose Saffron in the center photo was a gift from a friend in India, and from what I read online, 90% or more of this hard-to-cultivate spice comes from Iran, Kashmir in India, Spain, and a few other places. My ground Saffron is from Spain and is the popular La Mancha PDO variety. That tiny bottle costs a lot, and I have to admit that I rarely use it because it is pricey and should be used for special occasion dishes.
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“Beauty is one of the rare things which does not lead to doubt of God.” Jean Anouilh
Weekly Photo Challenge: RARE – Saffron Spice, Heirloom Tomatoes, White Eggplant and more…
Weekly Photo Challenge: RARE – Saffron Spice, Heirloom Tomatoes, White Eggplant and more..
Saffron is not all of the same quality and strength. Strength is related to several factors including the amount of style picked along with the red stigma. Age of the saffron is also a factor. More style included means the saffron is less strong gram for gram, because the colour and flavour are concentrated in the red stigmata. Saffron from Iran, Spain and Kashmir is classified into various grades according to the relative amounts of red stigma and yellow styles it contains. Grades of Iranian saffron are: “sargol” (red stigma tips only, strongest grade), “pushal” or “pushali” (red stigmata plus some yellow style, lower strength), “bunch” saffron (red stigmata plus large amount of yellow style, presented in a tiny bundle like a miniature wheatsheaf) and “konge” (yellow style only, claimed to have aroma but with very little, if any, colouring potential). Grades of Spanish saffron are “coupé” (the strongest grade, like Iranian sargol), “mancha” (like Iranian pushal), and in order of further decreasing strength “rio”, “standard” and “sierra” saffron. The word “mancha” in the Spanish classification can have two meanings: a general grade of saffron or a very high quality Spanish-grown saffron from a specific geographical origin. Real Spanish-grown La Mancha saffron has PDO protected status and this is displayed on the product packaging… Wikipedia
The white Eggplant is included because we tend to see more of the purple/aubergine variety. Interestingly enough, Eggplant got its name because the earlier cultivars were white like eggs, and so the name stuck. However, nowadays, the purple family has dominated the farm supply and tends to be more popular and familiar. As for heirloom tomatoes, the color range is endless, and the shapes and tastes are so divine. The colors of the exquisite collection I shared couldn’t be captured in a photograph. They ranged from a pale yellow to purple, deep maroon, a bright orange, and some with striations that were equally inviting. What I love about heirloom tomatoes is the distinct boldness of their flavors. They are definitely not run-of-the-mill, and because they are grown on different farms, they qualify for unique/rare flavorings. I topped off my photo with a shot of an old cart filled with beautiful flowers. It belongs to one of the local farms I visit, and every time I turn the corner on my way there, that old plowing cart and whatever range of flowers they plant in it are so welcoming. Do you shop at farmer’s markets? Are there rare foods in your kitchen? Do share
This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Daily Post: RARE. For this week’s challenge, share a photo of something rare: a family heirloom. A cloudy day in a normally sunny desert. A sad frown on a cheerful kid’s face. Or anything else you think of as scarce and singular. I can’t wait to see what “rare” means to you!
Positive Motivation Tip: Explore the full range of foods and spices around you and discover some rare, new things.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos from my personal collection.
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Those facts about saffron are quite remarkable. Rare, for sure! Good pictures, indeed, to show these exotic items.
Thank you! I couldn’t think of much else that would fit and I’m glad I remembered that I had my saffron.
Loved reading the details 🙂
Lovely photos. The tomatoes are so bright and too pretty to eat. Lol
This is a fun challenge. I imagine rare can mean different things to many different people. I think of rare qualities that are more intangible. I like the saffron. Truly rare and expensive!
I think it’s great that you chose to feature food. I don’t think I have ever cooked with saffron but I’ve had dishes that were served with it. It’s really special, aside from the aroma, I love the bright red color that it adds to the dishes!
These pictures ar great , I enjoyed reading about these vegetables and herbs
I love farmers markets for rare veggies. I love the purple potatoes that they sell
I have a lot of rare fruits and veggies in my fridge. I love trying new and rare things.
I like how you always chose perfect pictures for each post!
What a generous friend Eliz <3
Oh dear Gilly, yes… very generous. <3
I don’t think I’ve ever cooked with saffron because it’s so expensive. I always talk myself out of purchasing it. The white eggplant is beautiful and I love trying rare fruits and veggies.
Ooh these look so good, love colourful food x
This is so cool. I lpve how youve described all of these rarities. Its wonderful.
I love the word rare. These are beautiful rare photos. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
I didn’t know eggplants come in white! And I also didn’t know saffron can be so expensive. I continue to learn a lot from you. You make me appreciate life in the beauty we don’t normally see as we go through our busy days. I also love the quotes, by the way. =)
Amazing photos of rare items. What does a white eggplant taste like? Is it like an ordinary eggplant with just the color missing?
When I get bored with daily foods I prefer to try something rare.That’s why in weekend I prefer to stuff my fridges with rare foods and veggies.
Thank you for sharing the amazing quote about beauty. Also, that`s an interesting piece of trivia you shared about eggplants. The flowers on that old plowing cart are pretty. Flowers often gives off a refreshing greeting.
I’d be conservative with expensive spices too. It’s nice to come across things that are rare and you enjoy.
The veggies all look so fresh and colourful. I have heard that the more veggies of different colours you use in your diet, the healthier it is.
Rare, and that is why it is so expensive! The photos are beautiful!
I love all of these photos! I had white eggplant in my garden before. I honestly didn’t know til they started growing that they were going to be white. It was really neat.
Rare is a good theme here because I wasn’t sure what any of the pictures were until I read deeper. Would make for a good game…what is this picture?! 🙂
LOVING the colors of this set of pictures. Incredible how you made something ‘simple’ look so stunning. I particularly love the bright pink and orange of the top-right picture. And yes to farmer’s markets – they have the best veggies!
Thy saffron makes such a colorful photo. I am not sure I have tasted that spire it it makes for a colorful dish
Having grown up in India, saffron is one of my favorite spice in dessert. The smell and flavor it brings to the desert is unsurpassable! I wish it was more readily available! Such a beautiful post on rare foods!
yes, I agree…
I’ve never heard of white eggplant!!! I love the variety in color of the heirloom tomatoes!
What a colorful challenge! I like they way you incorporated a variety of unique items in your collage.
This was such a great spin on the subject of rare. Loved reading and learning all the information that you had to share 🙂
Loved your colors, herbs and spices! Saffron is one of my faves!!
Saffron is such a wonderful and fragrant spice, it has a rich history as well, the earliest recorded use of saffron dates back to 7th century BC!
I’ve never seen a white eggplant before. Interesting! I wish I had some seeds of those variety and plant some myself. I am going to ask about it from my favorite garden supply store.
Wow! I haven’t seen a white eggplant but I saw a variety that mixes white and purple, creating a stripe-like pattern.
I think there is nothing rare in our kitchen nor in our ref. We stock on food as we do our grocery monthly but everything we have are pretty much like any household has as well.
Interesting picks for your rare challenge. I would probably have taken a pic of a vintage niihau necklace and one of my mom’s handmade ornaments.
I have never seen a white aubergine and I didn’t even know they existed. Also an amazing variety of tomatoes, so many colours other than red.
Saffron spice is really expensive because it’s rare and not always incorporated in many food recipes. I think I once read that saffron is far and away the most expensive food on earth, way more than truffles, caviar, and the like.
Genius.. Very elegant pictures! My love for saffron continues :). Thanks for the amazing pics!
You took great photos. Choosing Saffron for the Rare Photo challenge is really befitting. I’m pretty sure I was able to eat saffron rice before when I visited U.A.E. However, I wasn’t really curious as to how Saffron looks like. Thanks to you now I know how it looks like. The details you’ve put are quite informative too. Thanks for sharing.
I remember saffron from a particular period drama where the empress feeds the concubine with large amount of saffron and causing her miscarriage. This left a very deep impact on me.
This is such a fun challenge! I love seeing your photos.
I love the challenge this week. I don’t have anything rare in my kitchen but now I want to go take pictures of everything in there.
After reading your post, I understand now why saffron is such an expensive spice. I didn’t know it takes so many flowers to make only one kilogram.
Learned a lot here today! Would never have considered these.
The eggplant looks really rare! I haven’t seen one in person, I think it looks like an albino variety.
Rare indeed. I have never seen some of these foods in my life!
The pictures you chose are lovely. I have always been intrigued by how saffron is harvested. It is so amazing!
Those heirloom tomatoes look so weird. But I bet they taste delicious.
Putting up a picture of saffron talking about rare is so appropriate! Saffron is so expensive but so worth it.
There are many spices in Indonesia cuisine might sound rare. One of them is Kaempferia galanga or aromatic ginger. We use it in cooking as well making herbal drinks. Love the selection of your photography and information about the saffron.
Love the photography. You have captured all the details and they are so colourful.
Such a wonderful concept for the week & these pictures are surely mind blowing. The information about Saffron is quiet amazing and now I understand why it is more expensive.
Cool challenge. I love taking photos of everything. This is a fun perspective. I love them all, especially the the saffron. I loved cooking with it using it in sticky rice and a Mediterranean dish with yogurt, potatoes, salmon, leeks, etc. It was so yummy. 🙂
I never knew there was such thing as white egg plants but Saffron though rare is beautiful.
It was nice choosing food to signify rare. There are indeed a lot of rare food that really stands out when bundled with the regular stuff.
I have never seen white eggplant before so yes…that seems rare to me. I will have to try it for sure since I love purple eggplant. Beautiful photos!
You indeed have an eye for photography. Saffron definitely makes every dish delicious.
Another wonderful post of the week. Thanks for sharing this great piece of work.
That’s a great and very unique topic for a photo challange! I would like to try that too! Saffron looks really beautiful!
That’s a great and very unique topic for a photo challange. I would like to try it as well. Saffron looks really beautiful.
As someone who uses saffron to cook, I agree! I wonder if I will like the white eggplant.
It’s cool that you were able to get your hands on such a rare spice. Using it for special recipes must be fun!
I am definitely partial to the rare wild flowers you sometimes see as you wander along a woodland path. I also keep my eye out for birds who are passing through or the occasional butterfly–stopping for a short rest before continuing their journey to where ever they are headed.
Great post, I love summertime for all the fruit and vegetables that I can grow and heirloom tomatoes always make the list. I haven’t got around to growing the white aubergine yet though. And saffron, who doesn’t love saffron!
These are so bright and cheerful! I tend to not try rare things but I should!
You gave me so many informations about saffron. I was in shock when I read the price. It’s still beautiful though. One time, my mother’s flower was stolen from our balcony, I was like who steals flowers anyway??!
I would never have known about the white eggplants! That’s so neat! I’ve heard of, heirloom tomatoes but haven’t tried them yet.
My 1st time to see a white eggplant. And yes saffron are not easy to harvest.
Rare for me – its rare that I get to see my parents now bec ive been so busy, so this coming weekend im treating them in a hotel staycation so we can all get together and relax at the same time.
Very nice, I like how everything goes together… like they are all common colors red and white, yellow… I mean that it looks really sharp and you have an eye for that.
Your photos are great. Those veggies are so colorful
The loose saffron is so beautiful. The picture is just so vibrant with color. What a great present from you friend! Buying saffron in the store is so expensive. Thanks for sharing the wonderful photos. I really enjoyed them.
If we pause a bit and look around…there must be so many rare things to see! The photos in this post really pepped me up. Very vibrant!
Oh, Saffron is sooo expensive – but oh so essential to some of the most amazing recipes! I always have a small bottle hidden i the depths of my cabinet
Your pictures are beautiful. These items are definitely rare, some I’ve never seen before.
Oh saffron how I love thee so – such an expensive herb to purchase – but much loved in my home. I hide in the back of my cabinet!
We do not really have anything that is rare in our kitchen. We enjoy getting fresh produce from our local farmer’s markets.
Ooooo now this gives me something to think about. Rare can mean so many different things to people
Your pictures are beautiful. These items are definitely rare, some I’ve never seen before.
These foods look so interesting and delectable. I could just imagine all the delicious recipes that they help to create.
Saffron is an expensive spice. I remember when we went looking for it for my Dad to make this recipes – it was hard to locate, and then cost a lot for such a small amount.
Saffron spice is a major specialty ingredient in Indian cuisine. Esp it’s an ideal gift here to pregnant women!!
Being a gardener I absolutely love this photo collection. I am also growing a variety of tomatoes this year from orange to red to pink, just waiting for them to ripen to their colours.
Lovely pictures this time – herbs, spices and veg that look so vivid 🙂
i love how perfect and refreshing you posts are!!:) Thanks of sharing so much of info bat Saffron… i love the aroma and the flavor!!:)
Saffron! What a lovely idea for a rare photo challenge. It’s one of the spices that you don’t normally see and you feel so special when it’s part of the dish. You’re really lucky to have such a sweet friend!
I love rare finds. The colors in these photos are amazing. This post made me smile 🙂
Rare..its nice to ponder upon this word…yes when I travel, I would look normally for something rare 🙂
Oh those are white eggplants? I thought for a minute they were radishes, hihi. They’ve got to be rare, we don’t even have those here..I think.
Are those white eggplants? Awesome! We don’t have white eggplants here.
You have an interesting mix of rare images to you. I would pick vintage seashell necklaces and anything made by my mom.
The food selection is not common at all. I love the colors of all of them.
I’ve never eaten or seen a white eggplant before. That name just sounds like a rarity to me.
I haven’t used safronin my cooking, that is truly rare. Watching TV vcooking shows makes me want to try that.
It’s great to hear about saffron. I need to try this out some day!!
Such a good read, learned new things about saffron. The white eggplant amuses me
Such a colorful collection of veggies just like life. If you have positive outlook in life its brings color and fun for all the people around you.
What beautiful and uniquely rare foods! I love weekly photo challenges and you did awesome with this one!
This is indeed helpful for me, knowing that you have chosen the foods when it comes to featuring rare items because I have not quite familiar with this at all until you mentioned it here.
I love the use of color in the top right photo. Very pretty!
se manifique close up photos, love the focusing elements and contours. hahha for a moment i thought that first quote was by Ben Kenobi…from star wars hahah
Reading from you weekly is rare and priceless! Can’t stop enjoying your articles. Feels so good, more like the radiant pictures in this article! Keep it up!!
Thank you Leke! Your feedback is appreciated. 🙂
Something rare for me perhaps is my grandmother’s ring which she gave to my mother before she passed away. Such rare piece of jewelry as its beauty and spark is so uniquely different and one of a kind.
Is that simply a string or something that we can eat, it is just so rare!
Saffron can be used by adding a few stringlike servings or a pinch of the spice ground into a powder. To cook the stringy ones, you take a few strings 3-4 for your dish. The powder requires less than a 1/4 teaspoon. It adds a bright color to foods and a subtle flavor.
I love the pictures you had here. So meaningful and everyone is has own story. The pictures is so stress free. Thanks for the beautiful pictures you shared to us. More meaningful pictures to come please :).
Yes, Saffron is rare and expensive as well. I don’t own any of them but I have tastes some dishes with saffron.
Saffron is such a great ingredient! It’s so expensive but so worth it. I love the pictures in this post too!
And another awesome post form you. I enjoy reading your posts. I haven’t tried cooking with Saffron but will give it a shot.
Great challenge!
Saffron really is so rare and pricey. My family is part Spanish and we just love to add a touch of it to food… I had no idea it was so expensive when I was growing up though!
What a creative take on the theme! I had no idea just how rare and labor intensive saffron is to produce. Your photos are beautiful, and I especially loved seeing the heirloom tomatoes and white eggplant. Farmer’s markets are some of my favorite places to discover unique fruits, vegetables, and spices that you don’t usually find at the grocery store.
Yes, yes, yes. I agree with your perspective and ho much we love the markets.
How cool! I love the theme and the photos. This was a nice one to simply sit back and take in.
Glad you approve. It might be time to break out that camera again. I haven’t used it in a while.
I admit, I don’t think I’ve ever used saffron before. Now I am curious. I do love those heirloom tomatoes!
It is really an item used in very specific dishes especially Spanish, East Indian, and Middle Eastern cooking. I love it even though good quality saffron is pricey.
I never realised just how many flowers and hours of work go into producing saffron. It really does make that tiny jar feel extra precious. I also loved seeing the unusual vegetables and all their beautiful colours.
Yes! I was glad to re-read that post as I had forgotten how precious saffron truly is.