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Next: about 31 Oct to 1 Nov 2026

Fiesta de la Rosa del Azafran

In La Mancha, the saffron rose festival of Consuegra, with contests of peeling the flower and windmills as the backdrop.

Saffron threads, Weinviertel (producer: Niederreiter), Karmelitermarkt, Vienna, Austria, February 2015
Photo: Hubertl, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Spices for Fiesta de la Rosa del Azafran

Every autumn the Castilian plain around Consuegra turns purple with crocus, and the town holds a festival that includes a contest in which teams strip the stigmas from the flowers as fast as possible. La Mancha saffron, which has a protected designation of origin, is the spice of paella, of the rice dish arroz a banda and of the Spanish fish stew zarzuela. Saffron entered Spain with the Moors, and still gets its Arabic name, azafran.

The spices

SaffronLa Mancha saffron, protected by origin.PaprikaPimenton de la Vera pairs with it in Spanish kitchens.
About this page

Written by the EveryMasala desk with AI assistance. Background: "Saffron" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven spices you may not know, what is cooking this week, and one blend explained step by step.