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Sally Francis (1990, Biology) on her passion for, and work with, saffron<br />
My passion is plants, especially those <strong>of</strong><br />
current or historical economic importance.<br />
After a first degree in Botany, I stayed on at<br />
the Department <strong>of</strong> Plant Sciences in <strong>Oxford</strong> for<br />
my DPhil in barley powdery mildew disease. I<br />
worked in agricultural research for some years,<br />
then took the decision to become a selfemployed<br />
writer and consultant specialising in<br />
crops. My first major undertaking was writing,<br />
illustrating and publishing British Field Crops, a<br />
book which has become the standard text on<br />
the subject. I am involved in many interesting<br />
freelance projects, including scoping studies<br />
on ‘alternative crops’ for cultivation in the UK.<br />
More recently I have added a new venture. I will<br />
hazard a guess that this particular pr<strong>of</strong>ession<br />
is unique amongst Catz alumni: I am a saffron<br />
grower.<br />
My saffron enterprise began because <strong>of</strong> a<br />
birthday present <strong>of</strong> just twenty plants back<br />
in 1997. After many years <strong>of</strong> growing a<br />
little saffron in the garden at my parents’<br />
smallholding in North Norfolk, I<br />
discovered by chance that a<br />
completely forgotten, but highly<br />
important, saffron-growing<br />
industry had once operated in<br />
nearby villages. Saffron from<br />
Norfolk was held in high esteem<br />
both in Britain and overseas.<br />
Valuable consignments <strong>of</strong> the spice were<br />
regularly exported from Norfolk ports like Wellsnext-the-Sea<br />
(where I had gone to school) to<br />
the Low Countries in the early seventeenth<br />
century, though a paucity <strong>of</strong> surviving customs<br />
records means we only have the merest<br />
glimpse into this intriguing trade.<br />
In 2009 I started transforming my hobbygrowing<br />
into commercial production. It required<br />
all my botanical and farming expertise to<br />
develop agronomy techniques that would allow<br />
the plant to be grown in field conditions, rather<br />
than a very sheltered garden, and to produce<br />
an economically viable amount <strong>of</strong> saffron per<br />
woman-hour invested. There were masses<br />
<strong>of</strong> technical challenges to overcome, but my<br />
first small field-grown harvest was gathered<br />
in 2010. The following year I applied for Rural<br />
Development Programme funding to help<br />
buy more stock, design and make bespoke<br />
machinery, as well as produce Saffron: the<br />
<strong>St</strong>ory <strong>of</strong> England’s Red Gold. Researching<br />
this book revealed the specialist vocabulary<br />
used by the crokers (saffron growers)<br />
from the Tudor period until saffron’s<br />
abandonment in England in the 1820s.<br />
Saffron is not an easy crop to grow and<br />
the associated work is very exacting and<br />
painstaking, which I love! Unlike most<br />
other crops, saffron has defied mechanisation<br />
and is still grown in a similar way to when it<br />
was first domesticated in Bronze Age Crete.<br />
It is exceptionally labour-intensive and huge<br />
amounts <strong>of</strong> work are needed to grow even a<br />
tiny area, so I do not operate on the same scale<br />
as other farmers. Harvesting is only possible by<br />
hand. Between 150 and 200 flowers are needed<br />
to yield just one gram <strong>of</strong> dried product, which is<br />
why saffron comes at a price.<br />
My focus for my business, Norfolk Saffron,<br />
has been on quality and sustainability. After<br />
much research, I developed a harvesting and<br />
drying method which produces rich, dark red<br />
saffron threads that are as strong and potent<br />
as possible. I only sell saffron from the most<br />
recent harvest, never older stock, which means<br />
the saffron’s superb flavour can be enjoyed to<br />
the full. In recognition <strong>of</strong> this, last year we won<br />
a Gold Great Taste Award. My work is always<br />
interesting and varied, ranging from R&D<br />
experiments to driving the tractor. I enjoy the<br />
seasonal nature <strong>of</strong> saffron growing, meeting<br />
people as passionate about saffron as me, and<br />
above all I love the harvest. It’s just so very<br />
satisfying to grow something useful.<br />
For more information, and for online sales,<br />
please visit: www.norfolksaffron.com and<br />
www.britishfieldcrops.co.uk n<br />
ST CATHERINE’S COLLEGE 2012/45