In most western parts of the world, a deep yellow candy might signify that the candy might be lemon or banana. In the Middle East however, a deep yellow colour like this is more likely going to be saffron. While saffron is not unknown in western cooking, it’s very popular in the Middles East. Saffron also has the reputation as being the most expensive spice in the world. The good thing about this spice is that you need very little of it to give you that deep yellow colour and its distinct flavour. For me however, I find that the flavour is really only good in certain applications, mainly baking.

I’ve had saffron many times, and I generally find that it tastes a little bit more like an antiseptic than a nice herb or spice. Whenever I eat a candy with a saffron flavour, I feel like they’re using this flavour because it’s expensive and not because it actually makes the candy better. I’m sure some people, who grew up in cultures that use this spice more than me might have a bit of nostalgia for the flavour, and might enjoy saffron candies.

While I generally don’t like saffron in candies, these were probably one of the more balanced uses for it. There’s no doubt that these are saffron flavoured, as it’s the flavour that dominates this entire chewy nougat. There are a few nuts in it, but all they do is give it a little crunch, and they don’t really add anything to the flavour. The texture of the nougat is very light, I prefer a chewier nougat, but I feel like the light flavour works better with sophisticated flavour of the saffron. In other words, this nougat feels a little fancier than other nougats, and it’s both in flavour and texture.

I guess my problem is that I don’t really understand some sophisticated flavours, truffles and caviar are other flavours I just don’t get. It’s not that I think they’re bad, they’re just not something I really enjoy. These nougat squares are probably in that same area, I feel like they’re a fairly fine quality, but I just can’t get into the flavour, even though it’s pretty fancy.