Safflower is a thistle-like flower whose dried orange-red florets are used as an inexpensive coloring and mild seasoning, lending dishes a golden hue. Often called bastard saffron, it colors like saffron but has only a faint, earthy taste and none of saffron's aroma. In the Marche it traditionally tints certain fish broths gold.
Where it comes from
An Old World crop originating in the Near East, grown around the Mediterranean and beyond.
In the kitchen
Golden coloring and mild seasoning