[kezlou]

Hi everyone quick question. Not sure whether it should be in this section if so many apologies.

Okay here it is can i use French marigolds as a substitute for saffron in cooking?

Thanks in advance

Kerry

[agapanthus]

I've never heard of that before. I would have thought they would have been a bit bitter, Be interested to hear any other replies

[Swee'pea]

As far as I know the stamens from crocus are what forms safron so don't think so.....mind you I'm no safron expert

[iwantanallotment]

Might add colour (maybe, not sure about the colour fastness of marigolds), but don't think it'd taste very nice?

[catarama]

That's funny, was reading about this earlier.

Says in my Dr D G Hessayon - Vegetable and Herb Expert that dried pot marigold flowers "can be crushed and used as a substitute for saffron to provide yellow colour and a little flavour"

Herb encyclopedia says they give "a light tangy flavour (not saffron flavour)"

Doesn't say anything about French marigolds though.

[Swee'pea]

That's funny, was reading about this earlier.

Says in my Dr D G Hessayon - Vegetable and Herb Expert that dried pot marigold flowers "can be crushed and used as a substitute for saffron to provide yellow colour and a little flavour"

Herb encyclopedia says they give "a light tangy flavour (not saffron flavour)"

Doesn't say anything about French marigolds though.

OOOO....well there ya go thanks for that Catarama )

[kezlou]

Hmmm very interesting. Thanks everyone for your replies very quick!!

Saffron comes from crocuses does it have to be a special type?

I can't remember for the life of me where i heard marigolds and saffron taste similar as soon as i find out i'll let you all know.

Went to buy some saffron today and my god the price i swear the grim reaper was standing behind me :shock:

[gobs]

That's funny, was reading about this earlier.

Says in my Dr D G Hessayon - Vegetable and Herb Expert that dried pot marigold flowers "can be crushed and used as a substitute for saffron to provide yellow colour and a little flavour"

Doesn't say anything about French marigolds though.

Thanks for that Catarama, I just read about this, but could not remember, what exactly, but that's it, calendula, not marigold, some marigold is used as a dye, and tagetes lucida leaves are edible, taste like tarragon, apparently, have not tried. Otherwise be careful with true marigolds.

[kezlou]

Just found this from a vegan website:-

pot marigold flowers are often used in herbal remedies and in cosmetic products. In addition, the flowers can be eaten raw in salads, or used to colour rice dishes. Slugs like to eat the leaves, so you may need to protect young plants from attack.

http://www.btinternet.com/~bury_rd/spgfour.htm

Edible Uses

Edible Uses: Colouring; Condiment; Drink.

The flowers are used in refreshing drinks[177, 183]. The leaves are used as a food flavouring[183, 238]. No further details are given. The essential oil is used as a food flavouring, though it is inferior to the oil obtained from T. minuta[238]. The dried flowers are an adulterant of saffron(Crocus sativus), used for colouring foods yellow[183, 238].
Medicinal Uses

Aromatic; Digestive; Diuretic; Sedative.

The whole herb is aromatic, digestive, diuretic and sedative[238]. It is used internally in the treatment of indigestion, colic, severe constipation[238], coughs and dysentery[218]. Externally, it is used to treat sore eyes and rheumatism[238]. The leaves are harvested as required for immediate use during the growing season, whilst the flowering plant can be dried and stored for later use[238].
Other Uses

Dye; Essential; Insecticide; Repellent.

Secretions from the roots of growing plants have an insecticidal effect on the soil, effective against nematodes and to some extent against keeled slugs[18, 20, 200, 218]. These secretions are produced about 3 - 4 months after sowing[200]. The whole plant is harvested when in flower and distilled for its essential oil[218, 238].The oil is used in perfumery, it is blended with sandalwood oil to produce 'attar genda' perfume[238]. About 35 kilos of oil can be extracted from 1 hectare of the plant (yielding 2,500 kilos of flowers and 25,000 kilos of herbage)[218]. The whole plant contains substances that are toxic to cockroaches[218]. The growing plant repels whitefly and can be grown near tomatoes to keep that crop free of the insect[18, 20]. A yellow dye is obtained from the flowers[169]. It is used to colour foods and textiles[238]. The flowers are sometimes used as an adulterant of saffron (obtained from Crocus sativus)[238].
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Tagetes+patula

So based on above i am still somewhat confused. But i know i'm think. So it can be used for flavouring but apparently its bitter.

P.S Sorry gobs i posted just after you, thanks the name thats great i'll go out tomorrow and buy some, cheers catarama! you both deserve a big hug from me!  

[wighty]

when we went to Tunisia two years ago we bought a load of saffron  and are still using it.   Go on a holiday to a milddle eastgern country and buy it there, it's quits cheap.j

[JimG]

I've found several references to the use of marigolds in an interesting book entitled, "The Country House Kitchen Garden 1600-1950" edited by C. Anne Wilson.  In it she states that:

"One eighteenth-century green pea soup contained, in addition to peas, meat broth and several spices, 'a little spinach, mint, sorrel, lettuce, parsley and a good quantity of marigolds', all washed, shredded and stewed in butter before they went into the soup. Marigolds were a common seasoning in the eighteenth century, appreciated partly for their spicy flavour and partly for their gold colour.  Possibly they were used initially as a cheap substitute for the saffron with which the pottages of the medieval aristocracy had been seasoned and coloured" (pp.133-134).