Saffron has always been the world's most expensive spice, but you need only a few dried stigmas to color a dish and impart an aromatic and slightly bitter quality. Best known for its use with rice, saffron also combines well with honey, pears, rosemary, garlic and onions, and ginger and cardamom.

For most dishes, saffron is best soaked in a few tablespoons of warm liquid to allow the color and flavor to develop fully before adding to the rest of the ingredients. It is easy to use too much, which gives an unpleasant medicinal tang to the dish.