Last Saturday I bought a bit of saffron from an Asian grocery store for making a paella the next day. The price of that smidgen of saffron looked innocent enough, A$3.5 (US$2.9 or 2 euros) for 0.25 gram, but took me aback when I figured that it was the same as A$14 per gram (US$11.5 or 8 euros). If you happen to know that gold is trading these days at about US$950 per ounce (28.3 grams), which is US$33.6 per gram, then you would realise the saffron costs 1/3 as much as gold! I have no way to tell if the grocery store was running a scam with their saffron, nor can I decide if the saffron was indeed worth the money after all. The saffron didn’t give any distinctive taste in the paella, and although it was indeed the ingredient that gave paella the vibrant yellow colour, I’ve also read recipes which claimed that there were other means to produce the same colour. But what I can definitely say is that the preparation and cooking were no walk in the park, especially as the chopping took up a