How To See If The Saffron Is Real Or Fake - Seven Different way To Test Kashmiri Saffron At Home

By Agro Farmers Saffron | Pampore | Kashmir Published on 6 May 2026 | Last Updated On May 6 2026 : Reading Time is 8 Minutes

Table of Content

1 : Why is there So Much Adulterated Saffron in the Market

2 : What Stands Out Original Kashmiri Indian Saffron From The Rest?

3 : Different Ways To Check If the Saffron Is Fake Or Real At Home

4 : What does Original Kesar (Saffron) Smells , Tastes Or look like?

5 : How Does The Quality Certifications Protects you from Buying The Fake Or Adulterated Saffron

6 : Why To Buy 100 % Kashmiri Mongra Saffron From Agro Framers From Pampore

7 : FAQs

Introduction

India is a very Big saffron Consuming Market in the world yet one of the most adulterated .

People Pay Millions every Year  For Pure natural Kashmiri saffron and get fake kesar or scammed most of time, dyed safflower petals, coloured synthetic corn , fake saffron powder mixed with artificial colours and chemical. The Problem is not Only Cost wise. Mostly pregnant women uses saffron as a Ayurvedic benefits  but if consumes adulterated saffron that Ould be a huge health problems.

So what is the solution for this?

We are Agro Farmers from Pamper Indias Oldest and most Trusted Saffron Suppliers with a legacy of Over More than 200 Years From The Time Of Maharaja of Kashmir ,we  Are from The Mir Lineage Family Also Known As Mir Zaaldars of Pampore,

We Are The Fifth Generation saffron family from pamper. The Mir Family Of Pampore has grown Saffron for Over 200 Years ,we Supply saffron to over hundreds of MNCs and export saffron to more than 30 countries .Every Batch Is GI- Tagged & ISO 3632 lab tested. In this article we are give 7 legit ways to see if the kesar is genuine or fake and these tests are simple you can even do it at your home .

Why is there so much adulterated saffron Common in India?

There are more than 20 qualities of Kashmiri saffron ,it usually costs from Rs 150 - Rs 600 per gram as per the Quality of the saffron grade. Some Random sellers can create fake saffron or imitation for less the Rs 4 per gram and sell it for Rs 200 per gram under their name of Kashmiri Saffron. These sellers Use Corn silk dyed with colours, dried grass and cheap saffron powder blended with Irani saffron and then they re label it as Kashmiri saffron.

How Does Real Kashmiri saffron Look like?

Kashmiri saffron is dark red strands, not orange now light red ,its like burgundy red collar from top to below.  Kashmiri Saffron is Bitter in taste when you put it under your teeth its a bit bitter and if its sweet that means its fake! And it smells heavenly its got very strong aroma which you can smell from distance thats why a lot of perfume companies prefer Kashmiri saffron essence.

7 Different ways to test the Kesar at Home

No 1: The hot water Test ( Mostly Done)

Put 4-5 strands of saffron in the water and wait for at least 15 minutes. Pure Kashmiri saffron will slowly release its colour and you will notice a slow saffron infusion with gold colour and the strands will still be red. And if the water turns reddish and fast colour release that means the saffron is fake! The fake saffron releases its colour in seconds and the threads become a bit dull.

Conclusion : If the water turns Golden yellow after 15 minutes that means it's real.

No 2 : Testing with the Milk ( Best for people use consume ever now and then)

Again Put 4-5 saffron strands in the glass of Luke warm milk and leave it for 15 minutes again without mixing.

If its real Kesar then It will Gradually Release an amazing gold colour and turn the milk yellow with heavily taste and smell.

If its fake Then it’ll Turn orange in second to 1 minute and taste of chemical or no taste at all just colour . Thats a fake saffron right there.

No 3 : Testing In  The Cold water

Place few threads of kesar in the colour water and observe how it releases the colour .The is the most common test Used by people To Check the adulteration. If its Real you will notice the it releases a golden yellow colour with 10 minutes and if it does release the colour in 1-3 minutes and its orange in colour that means its adulterated with artificial dyes.

No 4 : Testing With baking soda

Take a pinch of small amount of baking soda and mix it in water , add few strands of saffron and wait for at least 10 minutes .

If it is pure and real then  you will notice the water will turn golden or yellowish and if its fake then the water will turn red or muddy or even brown.

No 5 Rubbing It with your finger Test.( Its a visual test)

This test only takes unto few seconds . You take a saffron strand and you firmly rub it with your thumb and your finger for few seconds.

If it's genuine then you will see golden stain with a deep saffron smell of kesar.

And if its fake then it’ll come out muddy and red, orange stain .

No 6: Checking The Smell ( You Can Never fake This)

The Smell of a real kesar smells heavenly and is very hard to fake.

How you do it? You put your nose close to the the saffron and take breath from your nose.

If its Real then it smells very strong , Powerful and beautiful aroma . And has its own notes with strong floral smell.

If it’s fake then there will be no smell and often smells of chemicals.

No 7 : The Taste testing on tongue

Take few strands and put it on your tongue for at least 40 seconds and don’t chew.

If it's genuine then you will feel flavours and bitterness on tongue.

And the fake ones taste almost like nothing its bland tasteless.also it taste sweet sometimes, thats a fake saffron.

Things To check Before Buying Saffron Online in India

These are the warning signs!!

Prices Too Low : As I mentioned even the lowest grade of Kashmiri saffron costs Rs150 per gram, Any kesar or someone selling Kashmiri saffron below Rs 100 is most likely fake saffron.

They Don’t Have Any Quality certification Or lab testing: A legit suppler of kashmiri saffron will always have a GI- Tagged mentioned or is lab tested as per ISO 3632 standards , If a seller doesn’t mention you the certifications or lab test  be careful!.

Not telling About The Origin or where its been Sourced:

A Genuine Farm Direct seller Like Agro Farmers saffron will be transparent with the origin of the saffron lot, Sellers who rant confident about its origin say its from kashmir without any details of which farm.

Where to Purchase real 100 % Pure and natural Kashmiri Saffron with Guarantee.

It’s always best to be protected as saffron is a high end product, so trust plays a vital role in it.

At Agro Farmers saffron, You are Purchasing the best saffron possible because you are directly sourcing from the Mir family - with a trust and legacy of 200 +years , managing 240 plus Kashmiri saffron farmers that are experts in saffron and we have a huge reputation in the market that we built over centuries.

Every Gram Your Purchase is

• GI -Tagged: States a true origin of Kashmiri saffron.
• ISO 3632 Lab tested : tested as per the highest standards internationally.
• LAB TESTED : Every batch is tested and certified with replacement warrantee for 1 month.
• STRAIGHT FROM PAMPORE: No middlemen , no mixing & no Adulteration .

Show now : www.agrofarmerssaffron.com

FAQ’s

Question 1: Whats the quickest way to see if the kesar is fake?

Ans: The hot water test is the fastest way you can check, take few strands and put in in hot water and observe for 10 mins and see if it releases gold yellow colour that means its real and if releases red or orange in 60 secs then its fake or adulterated.

Question 2 : Is there a possibility that a fake saffron can pass the test anytime?

Answer: some time a good fake can delay its colour a bit but a real saffron will always have its straws red even after soaking.

Question 3: What colour should the water turn after putting real saffron?

Answer: A real Kashmiri saffron turns the Water golden after putting few strands of saffron , the fake ones turn red or orange.

Question 4: Is it still safe it consume the fake saffron if it dint pass the test?

Answer: No a fake saffron is very dangerous to consume as it contains artificial dyes and chemicals that can be toxic, which could be dangerous for a pregnant woman or infants.

Agro Farmers Saffron — Founded by the Mir Family, Zaaldars of Pampore, Kashmir. 200 Years of Pure Kashmiri Kesar. Zero Compromise.

www.agrofarmerssaffron.com | Pampore, Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir — 192 121