usman hussain Hussain
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Why Saffron is unreachable
In 2019, a fake saffron crime ring was uncovered in the UK, leading to a two-year international investigation. In 2010, Spain exported 190 000 kilos of saffron worth 50 million dollars, but the country's total production amounted to only 1500 kilos. The industry has attempted to crack down on these fake and mislabeled products, but the market for fake saffron is closing many real saffron farmers down. Saffron has been a popular spice in Europe since the 14th century, when it was thought to be a cure for the plague. However, climate change in kashmir has caused production to drop significantly, leading to farmers selling their land and houses being built on the saffron lands. This is a cultural identity of kashmir, but with droughts and climate change, this harvest could become even more rare.Even in the expensive world of spices saffron stands out and real saffron can cost you over ten thousand dollars per kilogram sought after for thousands of years as a spice a dye and a medicine you need over 150 flowers to make just one gram of saffron and the stuff you have at home in the cupboard could well be fake so just what makes this spice so expensive saffron is the red stigma of the crocus sativus each crocus has three small stigmas that have to be picked carefully by hand this minuscule harvest means that the amount you get from each flower is roughly 0.006 grams no machine can do the delicate work required to harvest these thin threads and it can take 40 hours of hard manual labor to produce just one kilogram of high quality saffron growing the plants isn't exactly easy either they're actually called corns but we they're like a bulb basically like a flower bulb so the more flowers per bulb you can get and the bigger the flowers really and that all depends on how you look after it how you grow it the climate so for example if it rains just before harvest we get bigger flowers if it's very dry just before harvest the flowers are smaller so you look after the crop during the year by hand and you pick the flowers by hand and you process the flowers by hand once the crop starts flowering harvesters have to work fast to makesure they can pick it all in time almost all of the saffron planted can flower within one week of the year and to maintain the quality the flowers are best picked first thing in the morning quality is key when growing such aprecise crop and the taste of the saffron depends on the rainfall temperature and soil kashmir is famed for producing some of the highest quality saffron in the world and that small strand of saffron that you harvest as a result of all of this work well to get the highest grades you might need to throw half of it away the most expensive highest grade saffron is generally made up of just the very tips of the stigma in iran wherever 90 of the world saffron is produced there are four grades the lowest grade is the bunch that's the entire strand that's pulled from the flower from the dark red tips to the yellow base in higher grades the yellow strand is removed leaving only a long strand of pure red that means a kilo of saffron could be made up of 450000 strands and to get that many strands you need 150000 flowers and those flowers take up a lot of growing space cumin for example can yield 600 kilos per acre nutmeg gets you around 350 kilograms in the same space use that land for saffron instead and you get a 1.8 kilogram harvest despite the incredible amount of work and space this crop takes up demand for the spice is increasing and over 200 metric tons of saffron threads are harvested worldwide each year that's the result of about 30 billion flowers demand for the threads is so high that many adulterate or produce fake saffron threads that look real at first glance could actually be made of corn silks coconut fibers or even horse hair synthetic colorings are also used to dye the lower grade stigmas and sell them as high grade saffron in late 2019 a fake saffron crime ring was uncovered in the uk which led to a two-year international investigation and back in 2010 spain exported 190 000 kilos of saffron worth 50 million dollars but the country's total production amounted to only 1500 kilos at the time a local farmers union reported that up to 90 of spanish saffron exports were fraudulent the industry has attempted to crack down on these fake and mislabeled products but the problem still persists and the market for fake saffron is closing many real saffron farmers down so what does real saffron actually taste like i've been asked that one by a lot of people over the years it's uh it's so difficult to describe which is I think part of its fascination for people and why it ended up you know as an expensive product because it is it just adds something it's a bittersweet flavor it's an earthy flavor trying to replicate it's very difficult we've you know people have tried to do that i know while saffron isjust as popular as ever it's been sought after throughout history in greek mythology zeus sometimes slept on a bed of saffron and cleopatra was said to bathe in saffron and milk using the dyeing properties of the spice as an ancient fake tan every culture seems to have its own myth about the spices powers and in the 14th century saffron's popularity skyrocketed across Europe when it was thought to be a possible cure for the plague but there's a recent looming problem for saffron and its price climate change in kashmir production has dropped significantly and many farmers are selling their land instead we had you know very few uh rains in the last i think four or five years the temperature and the climate has completely changed in kashmir when i was a kid when we used to go to the saffron farms to pick up the saffron we would it would at least take us two days to pick up the saffron from the same fields which you know nowadays you could just pick up in half an hour i'm very emotional about the the saffron because this is a cultural identity of kashmir and especially the people of pampur but the thing is that you know the production is declining and you know the lands are being sold the houses are being built on the saffron lands you know it really disheartens me between 2017 and 18 saffron production in the region fell almost 70 percent from 16.5 metric tons down to 5.2 and with continuing droughts and climate change this harvest could become even more rare
By usman hussain Hussain3 years ago in Journal
Expert cautions over China closing itself off: Economies
What's happening in China? A 78-year-old American citizen was found guilty of spying and sentenced to life in prison by the nation. John Long, who lives in Hong Kong permanently as well, has been in detention since April 2021. Chinese officials are embezzling nearly $72,000 million from Him. Even though a citizen of the United States was imprisoned on suspicion of spying, the Chinese communist party has been implementing a surveillance program on the United States using surveillance balloons, according to what we are told, TikTok, and other means. These balloons return military secrets to Beijing in real-time. China has been doing this, particularly over the past half a century. And as the raid on Min's group in March and subsequent raids on Cap at this and Bain demonstrated, had criminalized information gathering. When the counter-espionage law, which is already in place, goes into effect on July 1, we will see China executing anyone it chooses in the business community. You know, individuals shouldn't Stay in China. It is extremely risky. Since everybody can be taken Off the roads, similar to john long. Half a month prior, we Announced that there was a Conversation in the white house That president Biden may deliver Some sort of cutoff points as far as Putting resources into China and he would discharge this around the g-7. So g-7 pioneers are presently Apparently going to examine Worries over China's utilization of Monetary intimidation during the Highest point that they're having in Hiroshima, set to start on Friday. After three days of talks, the finance leaders of the G-7 decided not to mention China as a threat in the joint pledge. They fundamentally pussyfoot around Socialist China however this g-7 Meeting is supposed to have this Discussion among those middle Stage.
By usman hussain Hussain3 years ago in Journal
Mud Wrestlers Give Up Everything for Ancient Sport: A Tale of Redemption
Fighting in mud training for hours and going years without seeing a family this is kushti a traditional form of Indian wrestling left his rural Hometown when he was 15. to join this Academy in Kolhapur today he lives and trains at the century-old gangavesh talim this sport is a way out of poverty for many farming families in just over a decade Mali has become one of the top fighters here earning up to four thousand dollars from one competition but India has shifted to favor wrestling on the mat over mud and the tradition that goes back 2500 years is dwindling so what does it take to be one of India's mud wrestlers and how is this traditional sport still standing becoming a cushty fighter is all about discipline Maui wakes up at 3 55 am every day he starts his training sessions at dawn with some of the other 200 wrestlers who live here they use their own and each other's body weight to build strength is they train six days a week often under coach vishwash Mali has been working with him since he joined the academy vishwas has trained over a thousand kids and he doesn't go easy on them foreign -up by preparing the dirt floor clearway stones and smooth it out the dirt is mixed with turmeric lemon and salt to help wrestlers injuries heal faster swapped out every couple of years and sent to smaller Italians many
By usman hussain Hussain3 years ago in Gamers
What if peoples stopped having childrens
"Doctors find mysterious infertility syndrome." You click, and it describes a bizarre phenomena that has emerged: couples seeing fertility doctors with what appears to be an inability to conceive. Low sperm counts and mechanical flaws in either the man's or the woman's reproductive system are two common causes of this, and there are various treatments available to treat them. In reality, there is a huge market for fertility assistance. Soon after, primary school teachers will also need to find a new employment.
By usman hussain Hussain3 years ago in Families
The world through the eyes of animals
Next, let's go to cows. Cows can't see colors like humans because their retinas lack the necessary receptors for that. When someone approaches a cow from behind, they have a near panoramic vision and the only area they can't see is directly to the back. Horses have a blind spot right in front of their face because of their eye placement, which means they can't see things directly in front of them, and they don't see as many colors as we do, just like cows their world is mostly green, yellow, and blue. Because their ultraviolet receptors and lenses are more spherical than those of humans, fish can see colors all the same way as we humans do, but because light behaves differently underwater, sharks can't see red in their shades, but they look much clearer underwater than we do birds. A pigeon can see all the little things in the field up to a mile away.
By usman hussain Hussain3 years ago in Poets
