A farmer from Essex is growing the most expensive spice in the world, saffron, near a town which used to be the UK's capital of spice centuries ago.
Saffron Walden used to be the UK's commercial centre for the exotic spice in the 16th century.
But now David Smale, who farms near Saffron Walden, is wanting to the bring this heritage back to Essex.
Saffron, known as 'red gold', depends on intense labour to harvest it - but it is not seen as a difficult crop to grow.
Saffron can grow nearly anywhere in the world. The kind of soil is far more important than the climate of the region where one wants to grow it, according to the website Saffron Bulbs.
Eye-watering price
It is not called 'red gold' for nothing. A single gram of saffron costs £75 – more than the same weight in gold.
David Smale, however, has planted tens of thousands of crocus by hand which, after flowering in the autumn, are also picked and processed manually.
He has hired dozens of workers to help pick the crops, which are then left to dry out. Each flower yields just three vivid crimson strands, or stigmas, of saffron.
It takes 150 flowers to produce a single gram of the threads.
David told the Mirror that he got the idea of farming saffron from when he found a Tudor manuscript on saffron growing in his local library.
He now supplies local restaurants with the spice, and has even made his own saffron infused gin.
It is not the first time a UK farmer has dabbled with all things spicy. A Welsh grower accidentally created the world's hottest chilli ever recorded after trying to come up with something to show at the Chelsea Flower Show.
About Saffron
Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the "saffron crocus".
Saffron crocus grows to 20–30 cm (8–12 in) and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are the distal end of a carpel.
The styles and stigmas, called threads, are collected and dried to be used mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent in food.
Saffron, long among the world's most costly spices by weight, is native to Southwest Asia and was probably first cultivated in or near Greece.
As a genetically monomorphic clone, it was slowly propagated throughout much of Eurasia and was later brought to parts of North Africa, North America, and Oceania.
Iran now accounts for approximately 90% of the world production of saffron.
