It may look like saffron, it even does what saffron does (impart a yellow-orange hue to food) but kasubha is not saffron.
While saffron is derived from the saffron crocus, kasubha comes from the Carthamus tinctorius or, as it is more commonly known, safflower.
The really curious thing is how kasubha is being marketed in the Philippines as saffron. A company called Wil-pack is misleading consumers. Not only does this dishonest selling method result in the dumbing down of consumers, it also makes buyers believe that the overpriced Wil-pack kasubha is worth the price because it is cheaper than imported (and genuine) saffron.
That 20 gram jar of kasubha costs P36.25 (about USD0.84).
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with using kasubha. Cooking is about using what’s available and sustainable cooking is partly about using what’s locally available.
Still, it bothers me that unscrupulous business entities are trying to hoodwink the public with such a misrepresentation. I knew it was kasubha when I bought that P36.25 jar. A small packet (half the size of a packet of yeast) of real saffron costs almost P300.00.
I bought the jar of “saffron” primarily to blog about it — to more precise, to blog about the mislabeling and misrepresentation. Buyer beware, you know. And to use the content as kasubha in ways that I have always used it — to cook “goto” or tripe congee, arroz caldo…
Recipes that include kasubha as an ingredient:
Loosely Packed and Firmly Packed Brown Sugar: Illustrated