EL BULBO DEL AZAFRÁN DEL JILOCA

Interview with José Ramón Plumed, Manager of Azafranes Jiloca

Inquiring into the world of saffron we have found much information about the spice itself, its collection and work to obtain the precious strands but practically nothing about the bulb from which the flowers are born, it has seemed a very interesting topic since is the origin of everything, here is not the issue that was first if the egg or chicken, in this case the bulb or saffron, sure was the bulb, we know that it is not a seed to use and most of people are surprised when they learn that saffron comes from bulbs.

We have decided to request an interview with José Ramón Plumed, manager of Azafranes Jiloca where they are experts in saffron and bulbs because they have disposed of it all life since saffron is a crop that has been in your home for many generations is, they have been selling it since 1993 when their father, José María Plumed, created the firm that is currently one of the most important in the national and international market where they enjoy great prestige for the awards received in recent years.

- Golden Star Award for Professional Excellence awarded by the Institute for Professional Excellence

- Superior Taste Award international and that recognizes the quality of saffron with Outstanding qualification, granted by the International Taste & Quality Institute "Itqi"

They also work under the seal of Alimentary Crafts of Aragon and have the certification of Ecological Product under the control of the Aragonese Committee of Organic Agriculture.

We hope that the interview will be helpful for all the people who contact us through the web with doubts about the bulbs, and for all those who are curious about the ma, of course.

1) Good morning José Ramón, He told us that they are doing the extraction of the bulb these days of the end of May, why is it done at this time?

Well yes, that's right, we started a few days ago, the reason why the one we extract now is because the leaf has just dried and the bulb is lethargic, without activity and this makes it possible to be manipulated without affecting the cycle of the plant, the bulb is without activity from the end of May until In mid September, we take it out now to

be able to clean it, dry it and there is still time to plant it again until September.

2) What is the extraction task?

The goal is to recover the bulb that was planted four seasons ago, during the last four years the bulb has multiplied and there comes a time when it is necessary to remove it because there is not enough "food" in the soil for so much bulb and the land is also exhausted, the task is to raise the earth to bring out the "ears" to the surface and be able to collect them and then separate the bulbs from each one, clean them and dry them so that they are ready to be planted again.

One ear is the result of each bulb that was planted initially as each bulb generates about 6 or 7 new ones that come out united and in the cleaning work is when they are separated by sizes as they come in various sizes.

3) Why is a selection made by bulb size?

It is important to make a good selection of the bulb by calibers because depending on how it is its size the life cycle of the plant begins one way or another, in our case we make two calibres, we call them Caliber A and caliber B, the Caliber A is the one that exceeds 2.25ctm in the diameter of the base of the bulb and B is less than 2.25ctm.

Caliber A is the one that begins the cycle in a natural way and we keep it for 4 years on land obtaining an acceptable flowering in our dry land.

Caliber B is planted in irrigated during the first year for fattening because in rainfed there is a high risk of losing it, once a year we take it out again and 85% of the small bulb has become an A-grade bulb and we have it available for dry farming, we repeat this action every year and thus we do not lose, practically nothing of bulb.

In the cleaning work, in addition to the selection by size it is also cleaned of earth and each bulb is reviewed, one by one for check that they are healthy.

4) If it can be planted until September, how should the bulb be kept when it is out of the ground?

After cleaning it should be left to dry in a cool, dry place and away from it. in sunlight, without piling it up so that it is aerated and that it loses the minimum amount of water available to the bulb, it is important to have it well spread because when it is piled up, mushrooms proliferate which can affect the bulb. 

5) It strikes me that this bulb is dry, is this plant very particular?

There are bulb crops both in irrigation and rainfed, traditionally has been done in dry and proven to have more quality saffron obtained from a rainfed field than from an irrigated one, if it is true that we have been growing for a few years less than usual and although the crop is rainfed, it needs a minimum of water to work well, this year we are going very good rain, especially since the year began so if it rains a little more in September the rainfed works perfectly.

Another peculiarity of the saffron plant is that it has an Autumn flower and not Spring as is common, from mid-May to October the plant remains lethargic and the surface of the field makes one think which is a barren field, in October - November is the time when the flowering occurs and until mid - May the leaf "espartillo" grows to reach lengths of up to 40ctm, and ends up drying until it is reborn the following October.

6) The extraction of bulb is a mechanized work such as the extraction of potatoes or onions?

If there is someone who performs the extraction with a machine, even cleaning the bulb also, in our case, not we continue doing it in the traditional way, if we have changed the mules that were used to pull the fence by a tractor, but it is the only co, what we do is open a furrow with a moldboard, this is a rig that serves to turn the earth and so we stick it just below the bulb that is about 15ctm deep, when turning the earth the bulb comes to the surface and then we pick it up with some baskets to take it to the warehouse where the cleaning and conservation will be carried out properly. Small producers usually remove the bulb with a hoe (by hand and pulling the kidney).

In my opinion for the bulb to have quality it has to be removed and cleaned by hand, the machines hit it a lot and the bulb is very sensitive, any peck can spoil it and when it is cleaned by machine it is not checked in As for possible fungi that may have a bulb and if a bad one is stored those who are in contact with it also tend to get sick, when we clean it by hand, one by one, this situation is much more controlled.

7) It seems that it is a hard work, what kind of people does it?

The extraction is a very physical work, like the harvesting of the flower, it is a hard but bearable work, we carry out the members of the family, we are men and women and what we do is to carry out the extraction in the morning for 5 hours and in the afternoon we do the cleaning and the selection, for the cleaning always more people come to help us, it is a task that we do seated in a table but where more hands are needed than to take out the bulb, as in the debris.

8) Where does the bulb you plant in Jiloca crocuses come from?

We produce the bulb, for many years it has I have cultivated in my family and we have always expanded the field with the bulb that we extract from our own field that is the crocus sativus variety, we are currently the only saffron producing company that has an indigenous Jiloca bulb for self-sufficiency, it is true that there are more producers in the area, we have provided them with the bulb to start with their crops and others have brought it from another area, possibly from La Mancha, some have done well, but others have not been acclimatized well and have lost much of the cultivated area.

In addition our bulb is ecological, we do not use any chemical fertilizer or herbicides that besides being harmful to the health in the long run the bulb also loses faculties, this is an important factor to take into account to start a crop.

9) How many flowers do Jiloca bulbs produce?

The flowering of each bulb is different, besides every year it is also different, the first year of flowering there are not many flowers produced by each bulb, at most two can come out, but there are also cases in which it does not give any , the second year the production is multiplied and can take 4 or 5 flowers for each bulb grown, the third and fourth year is when the production is at full capacity and can collect between 15 and 20 flowers for each bulb grown as long as the annual conditions in how much weather and water are suitable.

10) Where can bulbs be planted?

Bulbs can be planted anywhere as long as the land is well fertilized and drains the rainwater or irrigation water well so that it does not stay in bed a, should be planted at a depth of 15-18ctm.

Can be planted in open field, greenhouse, garden or pots provided the depth and the fertilizer is respected, in the case of garden or pots try not to be planted in a usual irrigation area to prevent the bulb from rotting.

11) Can bulbs be stored from one year to the next?

No, if they are not planted before mid from September of the same year in which the bulb has been extracted, it begins its flowering cycle and although it is not buried, it tries to bear fruit and since it does not have enough to feed on, it ends up dying.

If there are people who sell bulbs out of date and therefore in bad conditions, if the bulb is grilled (if you get appendixes "grillones") and it is very difficult to grab on the ground, the best way to avoid this type of scams is to always acquire them within the Porada (June - September)

12) Is it profitable to have a saffron crop?

The investment to be made is important, but in the medium term (4-5years) you start to see profitability, you have to take into account account that in addition to the saffron that is collected can also begin to recover the investment with the sale of the excess bulb, the amount of bulb that is extracted is at least three times greater than the one that was planted initially, so it can be expand cultivation area without further investing in bulb or can be sold to recover liquidity.

13) Which people usually buy bulbs?

First of all the producers in the Jiloca area who want to start or expand a crop, too Large quantities have been shipped to France and Italy for producers who wanted to In a smaller amount there are many interested people who like to have a self-cultivation of spices and aromatic plants, there is also demand for urban gardens that are so fashionable nowadays.

14) Where can you find the bulbs? 

For small quantities we have several formats for sale on the AragonGourmet.com website, from 10 units to formats per kilos of approximately 1000 or 2000 units. For larger quantities it is preferable that you contact us in

15) They send a bulb to everyone?

No , until a few years ago we only sold for cultivation in Spain and nearby countries, thanks to the web, new markets have been opened and currently it is being sent to all the countries of the European Union, there are also requests from third countries but it is already more complicated due to to phytosanitary and tariff issues, however with Europe there is a lot of travel and every year we exhaust the stock before the end of the campaign in September.