Editing Saffron (section)

===Grades and ISO 3632 categories===
[[File:Iran saffron threads.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Red threads and yellow styles from Iran]]
[[File:Safran-Weinviertel Niederreiter 2 Gramm 8285.jpg|thumb|left|upright|High quality red threads from Austrian saffron]]
[[File:Pure Kashmiri saffron pack 08.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Kashmir]]i saffron package]]

Saffron is not all of the same quality and strength. Strength is related to several factors,  including age and the amount of yellow style picked relative to red stigma, as colour and flavour are concentrated in the latter. 

Saffron from [[Iran]], [[Spain]], and [[Kashmir]] is classified into various grades according to the proportion of stigma to style it contains. Grades of Iranian saffron are: ''sargol'' ({{langx|fa|سرگل}}, red stigma tips only, strongest grade), ''pushal'' or ''pushali'' (red stigmas plus some yellow style, lower strength), "bunch" saffron (red stigmas 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 [[Geographical indications and traditional specialities in the European Union#Protected designation of origin (PDO)|PDO]] protected status, which is displayed on the product packaging. Spanish growers fought hard for Protected Status because they felt that imports of Iranian saffron re-packaged in Spain and sold as "Spanish Mancha saffron" were undermining the genuine La Mancha brand. {{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} Similar was the case in Kashmir where imported Iranian saffron is mixed with local saffron and sold as "Kashmir brand" at a higher price.<ref>{{Citation |url=https://www.academia.edu/30720498 |title=Sustainable Saffron (''Crocus sativus'' Kashmirianus) Production: Technological and Policy Interventions for Kashmir |author1=Amjad Masood Husaini |author2=Azra N. Kamili |author3=M. H. Wani |author4=Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva |author5=G. N. Bhat |editor-last=Husaini |editor-first=Amjad M. |journal=Functional Plant Science & Biotechnology |issn=1749-0472 |volume=4 |issue=2 |publisher=Global Science Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-4-903313-67-2 |location=UK |page=118}}</ref> In Kashmir, saffron is mostly classified into two main categories called ''mongra'' (stigma alone) and ''lachha'' (stigmas attached with parts of the style).<ref>{{Citation |url=https://www.academia.edu/30720498 |title=Saffron (''Crocus sativus'' Kashmirianus) Cultivation in Kashmir: Practices and Problems |author1=Amjad Masood Husaini |author2=Badrul Hassan |author3=Muzaffar Y. Ghani |author4=Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva |author5=Nayar A. Kirmani |editor-last=Husaini |editor-first=Amjad |journal=Functional Plant Science & Biotechnology |issn=1749-0472 |volume=4 |issue=2 |publisher=Global Science Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-4-903313-67-2 |location=UK |page=110}}</ref> Countries producing less saffron do not have specialised words for different grades and may only produce one grade. Artisan producers in Europe and New Zealand have offset their higher labour charges for saffron harvesting by targeting quality, only offering extremely high-grade saffron.

In addition to descriptions based on how the saffron is picked, saffron may be categorised under the international standard [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]] 3632 after laboratory measurement of crocin (responsible for saffron's colour), picrocrocin (taste), and safranal (fragrance or aroma) content.{{Sfn|Verma|Middha|2010|p=1–2}} However, often there is no clear grading information on the product packaging and little of the saffron readily available in the UK is labelled with ISO category. This lack of information makes it hard for customers to make informed choices when comparing prices and buying saffron.

Under ISO 3632, determination of non-stigma content ("floral waste content") and other extraneous matter such as inorganic material ("[[Ash (analytical chemistry)|ash]]") are also key. Grading standards are set by the [[International Organization for Standardization]], a federation of national standards bodies. ISO 3632 deals exclusively with saffron and establishes three categories: III (poorest quality), II, and I (finest quality). Formerly there was also category IV, which was below category III. Samples are assigned categories by gauging the spice's crocin and picrocrocin content, revealed by measurements of specific spectrophotometric [[absorbance]]. Safranal is treated slightly differently and rather than there being threshold levels for each category, samples must give a reading of 20–50 for all categories.

These data are measured through [[spectrophotometry]] reports at certified testing laboratories worldwide. Higher absorbances imply greater levels of crocin, picrocrocin and safranal, and thus a greater colouring potential and therefore strength per gram. The absorbance reading of crocin is known as the "colouring strength" of that saffron. Saffron's colouring strength can range from lower than 80 (for all category IV saffron) up to 200 or greater (for category I). The world's finest samples (the selected, most red-maroon, tips of stigmas picked from the finest flowers) receive colouring strengths in excess of 250, making such saffron over three times more powerful than category IV saffron. Market prices for saffron types follow directly from these ISO categories. Sargol and coupé saffron would typically fall into ISO 3632 category I. Pushal and Mancha would probably be assigned to category II. On many saffron packaging labels, neither the ISO 3632 category nor the colouring strength (the measurement of crocin content) is displayed.

However, many growers, traders, and consumers reject such lab test numbers. Some people prefer a more holistic method of sampling batches of threads for taste, aroma, pliability, and other traits in a fashion similar to that practised by experienced [[wine]] tasters.{{Sfn|Hill|2004|p=274}}