Precious crop worth labour

By ELLEN READ

Errol and Rosemary Hitt established New Zealand's first commercial saffron-growing enterprise after hearing about this rare and exotic spice on the radio.

The inspiration came some years ago, when Errol was fascinated by what he heard about saffron on Brian Edwards' Saturday morning National Radio programme.

At the time, the Hitts' passion was organic gardening. They owned a quarter-acre garden in Rangiora and did not act on the possibilities of saffron until they bought more property - a 16ha farm at Okuku.

Errol, a teacher at Leeston School until his retirement last month, established his saffron beds on the farm, where he also ran deer.

Financed privately, the Hitts searched around until they found an importer who could sell them the saffron corms they needed.

It was a steep learning curve because there was no one around to give them advice, but after eight years their saffron beds are in full production.

"When we first produced a bottle of saffron we expected to be able to smell it," he said. "We couldn't because what we didn't know then was that you have to leave it to develop for a month or so."

The saffron cropping complemented deer-farming because saffron was harvested in April and May, a time when the deer did not require a lot of attention.

The harvesting season runs for four to eight weeks. Processing, which includes careful picking, drying, sorting and packing, is entirely manual and is carried out by the Hitts, helped by a small, trustworthy team.

Saffron is the dried red stigma of the purple Crocus sativus.

It is valued for not only its distinctive flavour and colour but also for its medicinal and aphrodisiac properties.

The annual crop varies from 2 1/2kg-3kg. Considering a glass phial of saffron contains a mere 30 threads, the actual size of this harvest is significant, as is the fact that saffron is expensive - it sells for $12-$15 per gram.

The Hitts' saffron is considered to be of the highest quality and has stood up to the scrutiny of world experts.

The couple export to Australia and have also sold the spice to customers in Britain and the United States.

Recently they began producing exotic saffron oil and saffron honey under their Eight Moon brand.

Further ideas are on the boil, including saffron cookies, sweets and a cookbook with saffron recipes.

Errol said that, although learning about the plant and its processes was difficult, learning how to run their own small business was straightforward.

"A bill comes in, you pay it. It's pretty simple," he said.

The couple had a rough idea of how to market the product when they began. They targeted the top end of the market because the spice is exotic and expensive.

"We have a world-class product down here. I don't know why but I've been told it's to do with our central Otago climate," he said.

The Eight Moon Saffron name was a natural choice. Eight years ago, as the couple were planting their first crop - on the eighth day of the eighth month at 8am, they saw a new moon.

The Hitts recently won the Platinum award in the Cuisine magazine/Matua Valley innovation and excellence awards, a win Errol said was a great thrill.

The judges were unanimous in their decision, saying there had been spin-offs for the whole industry in New Zealand.

Errol started an innovative agricultural project with no prior knowledge and, with experimentation and determination, developed it into a viable industry.

He has also helped others cultivate the spice - in particular, he has helped Ngai Tahu develop commercial cultivation of saffron at Tuahiwi in the South Island.