Hazelnut cream (60% hazelnut) with saffron - 180g

Mercuri Mario's farming business has been operating in the food industry for several years and has a long-standing reputation for their top-quality products and the thorough attention to packaging. The business activities of this family-owned company are based on an age-old passion for this fine spice, grown in the Sibillini mountains.

Saffron is a beautiful flower whose color varies from pale lilac to purple; its interior contains the pistil, composed of three filaments, which represent the precious spice. Today, saffron is used for preparation of refined foods; however, historically, saffron was used by ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans as a medicinal remedy, cosmetics, and for dyeing fabrics. Introduced in Europe by the Arabs, saffron is now produced in Italy, only in certain areas. It is available in limited quantities, but the quality is outstanding. The flower harvest takes place in autumn at sunrise before the sun is too high to assure the flower remains closed.

The task is laborious and requires patience, performed by individuals with skilled and gentle hands, trained not to break the stigma. Once the petals are removed and picked up, the precious stigmas are dried and placed on a sieve, at the right distance from the embers of the fireplace. At the end of this process, the weight of the rare spice is greatly diminished, but the smell and taste are intensified; this is why to obtain one kilogram of saffron requires about 160 000 flowers.