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Autumn. The Soča Valley dazzles in yellow, red, and gold shades. Mist covers the morning down by the Tolminka river. It's early, and everyone is asleep. Well, almost everyone. Ivan Mangani and Anja Bukudur are leaning over their field of gold - hand-picking tiny purple flowers. Flower after flower, thread by thread, they patiently created an inspiring story about Slovenia’s first saffron cultivation.

A little unreachable, mysterious, and expensive as… well, even more than gold. Saffron or Crocus sativus is not a spice that first comes to mind in the soaked Soča Valley. Most of this aristocratic spice is produced in the dry regions of Iran, Spain, Greece, and Italy. But Anja and Ivan, a Slovenian-Italian couple, managed to prove that it is possible to grow first-class saffron even in the land of living water.

Far-reaching effects of good old mom’s risotto

In 2016, Ivan, a truck driver, and his companion Anja moved to Tolmin, where Anja's grandmother left them a small land near the Tolminka river. What to do with it? In the land of cheese and potatoes, the answer is obvious. Still, the spring walk inspired Ivan for something entirely different: “Spring saffron was blooming all over the place, reminding me of my mother's saffron risotto. I grew up with this taste - then I thought ‘If the spring variety can thrive, why not try to produce crocus saffron?’ ”

Instead of yet another potato field, production of the first Tolmin saffron began, and the business flourished. Ivan bought 300 bulbs of saffron in Italy, and already in autumn, the flowers started to pop out.

Allora cresce! Ivan immersed himself in literature and studied everything from history and plant biology to tips on growing saffron in such exceptional conditions. The couple devoted the first four years solely to experimentation, and they used the crop for cooking and as a lovely gift. “When we saw the thing is working, we bought 2,000 bulbs. This year I’m hoping to produce 300 to 350 grams of saffron,” said Ivan.

After the first real harvest, they sent a sample of saffron for analysis to the University of Milan, where it turned out to be a spice of first-class quality. Tolmin saffron, therefore, meets the highest criteria according to the criteria of aroma, color, and that particular sweet bitterness that this noble spice emits. They hit a point of no return, and the Žafran Tolmin business took off.

Backbreaking love

Although producing one of the costliest spices in the world might sound like a dream, the work it requires is far from a fairy tale. The season begins with planting in April and lasts until the end of the harvest in mid-November. The picking period is short but intense, with not a single machine in sight. "The whole process of planting, harvesting, picking, drying is done by hand and requires a lot of time and patience," admits Anja. However, this backbreaking manual work hides a deep connection with centuries-old traditions and a kind of primordial simplicity. “Working on the ground calms me down; I feel satisfied. You are in contact with the ground, in the fresh air, in nature. When you see the result of your work, you have an excellent feeling," says Ivan.

Saffron is harvested in the hours just before sunrise when the petals are still closed - this makes the flowers easier to pick and helps protect their cherished stigmas. Later, the red threads are separated one by one and dried at 40 degrees Celsius on the same day. It is a delicate process that no mechanization can speed up, so the production and price of saffron have remained almost unchanged since its beginnings. About 200 flowers need to be picked per gram of saffron. “I know I am crazy, but when I decide something, I want to finish it. I spend every free second n the field. At harvest time, I was outside from six in the morning until nine in the evening,” says Ivan, who hopes to change his truck driving steering wheel with a shovel eventually.

Combining flavors

Despite the proximity of Italy, where quality saffron is produced, the spice was never widespread in Slovenia. Here saffron is still very exotic, unknown, and mysterious. Growing and producing saffron in Slovenia was a bold decision. “I was skeptical from the beginning because I didn't know saffron myself. But we can see that the people are interested, the society is more open to trying new things. For now, we sell it in smaller quantities online. We are also connected with some restaurants. Famous Hiša Denk is one of our customers,” says Anja, who wants to bring saffron closer to Slovenian culture. On the Tolmin saffron website, you can find recipes and ideas on how to use the spice. There’s Ivan’s favorite saffron risotto, as well as homemade saffron pasta, ravioli, pancakes with delicious saffron egg paste, saffron tea, and biscuits.

Where there is profit, there are also scams

There are many frauds on the saffron market that an average buyer easily overlooks. In times of globalization, when it is hard to trace food, questions about what we eat, where and how it is produced are essential. “For our saffron, you can be 100 percent sure that it is fresh and homemade because every gram is sold out immediately,” explains Ivan. So, this is how Slovenia got its first local quality saffron, a precious spice, which should be used mindfully and with appropriate knowledge. Besides food, spice can also be used in medicine and cosmetics. Anja and Ivan wish to gradually expand their ideas, connect with local providers and motivate them to work with one of the most expensive spices in the world. Can you imagine honey with saffron, bright yellow Tolmin cheese, sweet saffron dumplings, oriental frika? We're already drooling.

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