Do the makers of Fernet Branca really use up 70-75% of the world's Saffron?!
Do the makers of Fernet Branca really use up 70-75% of the world's Saffron?
I've read this on a number of websites, but I don't find it very convicing.
Answers:
From what I can see the family controls the market of saffron but does not necessarily use it up in the liqueur. They may just buy and sell, controlling the price and cornering the market of this rare delicacy.
From SF Weekly:
"By accounting for an estimated 75 percent of the world's saffron consumption, the Branca family essentially controls the market price of the spice -- which at about $900 a pound is easily among the most expensive edibles in the world. A spice that also, in great enough quantity, can be made into a little something called MDMA, known to club kids as Ecstasy."
Source(s):
http://www.sfweekly.com/2005-12-07/news/...
Surely, the makers of Cornish Ice Cream use that much, I should have thought. Same with Ginger - 90% of the worlds's supply comes from Yandina, a little town in Queensland. There are 9 women there on the production line, each handles 10% of the world's supply! Been there, seen that. But the only saffron I've seen is that from the crocuses in my garden and that piled high in market places worldwide, from Spain to Malaysia. PS - I find Fernet Branca yuckie.