#krokos

I don't care much about some minute controversy on TikTok, but I care about saffron (greek: Krokos)! Saffron probably originated in Greece and today Greek saffron is very popular abroad. At the same time, countries like Spain and Iran are also cultivating large quantities of saffron. (Saffron bros!)

Our ancients used saffron to add flavor and color to rice dishes, sauces, and desserts. In medicine, saffron was believed to have analgesic and antispasmodic properties, and it was used for digestive issues and as an aphrodisiac. Saffron was also employed in perfumes and cosmetics. It held religious and ceremonial importance, often used in rituals and festivals.

greek mythology | Κρόκος

The yearly saffron harvest is in full swing in the rural areas outside of the northern Greek city of Kozani, where hundreds of farmers crouch over fields of blooming crocus flowers for hours, picking what has long been the world’s most expensive spice.

Saffron, known as krokos in Greek, is highly treasured not only for its delicate, unique taste and vibrant hue, but also because of its painstaking, labor-intensive harvesting process.

Crikey, it's crocoite!

This striking red-orange mineral is known as crocoite. It is a lead chromite with the formula PbCrO4. The name "crocoite" is derived from the Greek word "krokos", meaning crocus (the flower from which saffron is harvested).

In the late 18th century, this mineral had a brief stint as the chief source of the element chromium (until chromite was discovered in 1799) and was also a source of the pigment, chrome yellow. Nowadays crocoite is mined primarily for the mineral specimen collection market due to its relative rarity. This is because of the specialised conditions required for its formation: the presence of ultramafic rock (the source of chromium, found in chromite) near a zone of oxidised lead ore. It occurs here as a secondary mineral, which means that it forms due to the alteration of primary material. Ultramafic rocks are igneous in origin and derived from the Earth's mantle. They are typically very low in light, silica- and potassium-rich minerals (e.g. quartz and feldspars) and high in and dark, heavy magnesium- and iron-rich minerals (e.g. peridotites and pyroxenes).

Crocoite is a relatively soft, brittle mineral with a hardness rating of 2.5-3. It is prized by collectors for it’s acicular (needle-like) aggregates of prismatic, translucent crystals. It also occurs as reticulated (criss-crossing) clumps, singular elongated needles, and as a grainy, encrusting mass.

Crocoite is only found at a handful of locations worldwide, including Brazil, Germany, the Philippines, Romania, and South Africa, but the best specimens are reputed to have come from the Australian state of Tasmania. As the photograph testifies, the specimens found there are stunning.

YK

Image credit: Australian Museum (http://australianmuseum.net.au/image/Crocoite-specimen/)

“You know, child, even as a bride I didn’t get photographed that much!” the old lady tells me, and she bursts out laughing as she separates crocus stigmas, Kozani’s botanical gold, from the plant’s stamens.

It is harvest season here in the village of Krokos (named for the flower) in the regional unit of Kozani in northern Greece; it’s only here, and in the surrounding villages, that Greece produces red saffron.

There’s a mountain of flowers in the old lady’s kitchen, and the whole family is taking part in the sorting. They are all hard at work and so am I, camera in hand.