How Saffron, a Precious Import, Became an American Cash Crop

Tara and Chad Philipp had never tasted saffron until they took a camping trip with a family they’d recently met.Around the campfire, their new friends cooked a big pan of paella.

The Philipps fell for the sweet, musky flavor of saffron — and were intrigued to learn it was the world’s most expensive spice.On the way home, Mr.Philipp was already researching how to grow saffron on their three-acre plot in the Mojave Desert, east of Los Angeles.

His wife was keen to build a new business so he could stop driving a truck and spend more time at home with their children.“If I get something in my mind, I get obsessed with it pretty quickly,” Mr.Philipp said.

“I was like, ‘We’re going to do this.’ ”A few months later, in 2021, the couple put $20,000 on a credit card to order 60,000 corms, the bulb-like stems that produce the saffron flower.And this past November, they harvested 250 grams of saffron, which they’ll sell for a whopping $100 per gram — as much as 10 times the price of high-quality imported saffron.The Philipps are part of a resurgence of interest in growing saffron among American small farmers in search of a cash crop, and among cooks and backyard gardeners seeking the thrill of growing the spice.

Today, farms are growing saffron in California, Washington, Texas, Pennsylvania and Vermont.Martha Stewart (of course) has saffron planted on her farm in Katonah, N.Y.

And the Philipps have sold more than $1 million worth of corms to 24,000 customers.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....