Saffron noted as hay-like and sweet. Saffron also contributes a luminous yellow-orange colouring to foods. Saffron is widely used in Persian, Indian, European, and Arab cuisines. Confectioneries and liquors also often include saffron. Saffron is used in dishes ranging from the jewelled rice and "khoresh" of Iran, the Milanese "risotto" of Italy, the "paella" of Spain, the "bouillabaisse" of France, to the "biryani" with various meat accompaniments in South Asia. One of the most esteemed use for saffron is in the preparation of the "Golden Ham", a precious dry-cured ham made with saffron from San Gimignano. Common saffron substitutes include safflower
History of saffron its cultivation in the village of Foxton during the 16th and 17th centuries, "usually by people holding a small amount of land"; an acre planted in saffron could yield a crop worth a kingly 6, making it "a very profitable crop, provided that plenty of unpaid labor was available; unpaid labor was one of the basic features of farming then and for another two centuries." In France, saffron production became very important in the 17th and 18th centuries, reaching a few tons. By then, saffron farming had spread throughout the entire Kingdom. Saffron was especially grown in Albigeois, Angoumois, Gascony,