Flavor & Coloring

The annatto extract, popular in Latino and Caribbean food for flavoring, is also used for body paint as well as lipstick. The heart shaped fruit has grown in popularity in Asia, India, Malaysia, as well as in the Philippines. The fruit when opened shows a dark red annatto seed whose covering is used as a commercial food dye throughout third world countries. The annatto extract that is made into dye is prepared by mixing the seeds into water or sometimes oil is used. The fruit itself cannot be eaten.

History

Initially annatto extract was used for body paint in ancient Aztec ceremonies to rid the tribes of evil spirits and was also a great repellent for bugs of any and all kinds. The Aztecs used the red extract for their paintings in the 15 and 16 centuries. The extract was only used later, especially in Jamaica, for flavoring, sunscreen, upset stomachs, and insect repellent. Countries like the Philippines, the Caribbean islands, Venezuela, Honduras, and most of Brazil use it mostly to flavor and color their indigenous foods to the delight of their diverse populations.

United States

Annatto extract in the United States is considered a color additive and a natural coloring that has become released from certification. Cheese makers in early America found that they could sell their wares if their cheeses had a warm look thus the addition of annatto extract to give it that colorful flair like we have in Cheddar. Apparently the sales were better when the orange color of annatto extract was used. The coloring was used in the cheaper cheeses to fetch a higher price. In the chemical makeup the more norbixin in the color of annatto the yellower it is. A high level of norbixin will give it a more red shade.

Allergies

Annatto extract when used as a food coloring has been linked to allergies that are apparently coloring related. It is possible this is the only natural food coloring that is linked to food allergies that cause these type of reactions in humans. In 1860 cheese lovers of London say a report that stated Londoners liked the adulterated cheeses better even though it caused many minor allergies after consumption. The British preferred the warmer colors because it was thought to contain higher fats that lent to more nutrition. The sales for the warmer colors always exceeded the paler, yellower cheeses.

The achiiote tree is found in the tropical regions of the Americas mostly South America and the Caribbean’s. These cultures often use annatto as a seasoning and coloring in their cuisine. Its scent is a light peppery with hints of nutmeg and the flavor is also of a mild peppery taste with a hint of sweetness. The annatto is used to color many cheeses Cheddar, Red Leicester and even Brie. It Is also used to color butter, margarine, rice and smoked fish. Since it is grown and not produced in a lab, the foods that it is used to color can be labeled with “natural coloring”. When steeped or roasted in oil; and then mixed with other spices it creates a paste that can be added to beans, meats, stews, soups, tamales and even rice to add flavor. It is used in many different cuisines like Caribbean, Asian and Southwestern.

Brazil is thought to be the origin of annatto. Given the bright red dye that can be made from the pulp surrounding the seeds it is thought to have been originally used for body paints to drive away or ward off evil spirits. The ancient Aztecs found a use for the red dye that could be made from the orange pulp; they used it for Mexican manuscript painting in or around the 16th century. Given the bright red dye that can be made from annatto it has been used in the making of many lipsticks giving the achiote tree the nickname “the lipstick” tree.
Indigenous rainforest tribes have also used it for medicinal purposes. They have used it as an acid reducer to treat heartburn, to stimulate digestion and as a mild laxative. They have also used it to kill bacteria, germs and parasites. It is also used to increase urination, liver health and to aid in the reduction of high blood pressure. It is used to reduce fever, phlegm and inflammation. The leaves, seeds, flowers and roots are utilized. Young shoots of the plant are also used as an aphrodisiac.

To use as body paints to ward off evil spirits or to steep and use to ward off heart burn there are many uses for annatto. To season and color the foods we eat or to make into paint for the ancient Aztecs to produce artwork we can find annatto in our past and most certainly in our futures.

The popularity of the Annatto seed grew and was taken west and introduced Europe 17th to 19th centuries by an explorer called Francisco de Orellana which becomes another name for the Annatto seed, along with the names, such as achuete and atsuwete. The seed are used for dying and a natural dye for coloring foods such as butter, margarine, smoked fish, confectionary and cheese such as Cheshire, Leicester, Edam, Munster and Colby. The dye is also used for textiles and cosmetics such as lipsticks and soaps.
The Annatto seeds are used as a spice because some cooks says it has a slightly sweet taste while others say it slightly bitter or peppery. Some cooks say it has no taste at all and they use it for the color.

The Annatto seeds are excellent used as spices in food such as beef, chicken, eggs, fish, legumes, squash, sweet potatoes, sweet peppers, tomatoes, pumpkin, soups, stews, okra beans and rice. Because of its many uses with Mexican dishes and its natural healthy non-fat properties, it has become a favorite of the naturalist and the vegetarians.

Some of the recipes which you can find online are Cochinita Plib, pork dish Maya style,
Achiote Recado, and Maya chicken with orange spicy orange paste. Some of these recipe are cooked in oil from the Annatto seed. The oil is made by heading a half a cup of seeds to a cup of corn oil, you then dip the seeds out and add oregano, black pepper, all spice, cumin, garlic and Yucatecan chiles. Some believe Aztecs colored their drinking chocolate with the dye from the seeds.

When used as a dye remember that the color of the dye is affected by the age of the seeds. The dye can range from yellows to brownish-yellow. South American Warriors were suppose to have dyed their faces with this dye.

To purchase simply click on one of the pictures to the right.

But what exactly is annatto food coloring? Most everyone has heard of carotenoids – those natural organic pigments that give carrots their orange hue and nutritional punch. Carotenoids are also responsible for the yellow, golden, and rust tones contained in annatto seeds. These all-natural food colors result from drying and extracting the carotenoids bixin and norbixen from the seeds within the fruit of the annatto tree. Bixin and norbixen are both natural compounds, and are each used in coloring different types of foods. Many delicious Caribbean and Mexican dishes feature a concentrated paste from annatto seeds, called achiote paste, and it’s impossible to create authentic Yucatan cuisine without it.

Some may wonder why even a natural food color would be added to foods, but a quick look at history and worldwide culture reveals that presentation, appearance, and color have long played an important role in preparing and serving food. Meals are about more than just sustenance: They represent holidays, traditions, expectations, and even affection. Eye-appeal is an important part of the entire process. Through the use of annatto extract, foods can be made attractive shades of yellow and deep orange, and every color in-between – naturally.

But annatto’s carotenoids are more than just “pretty.” They are powerful antioxidants, compounds believed by scientists and medical researchers to aid in combating a variety of ills caused by free radicals and toxins, both of which occur naturally as byproducts of human metabolism. Antioxidants are believed to support heart health and to combat carcinogens.

Annatto coloring is used in more than just cheese. If you’ve had an orange snowcone, a smoothie, onion dip, ice-cream, sausage, fried chicken, a layer cake, or buttered toast, then you’ve likely already sampled how annatto enriches the appearance of foods. Its status as a natural product, along with the attractive color it adds, makes it a favorite with cooks and consumers. Along with tumeric, it is very popular as an alternative to another natural but prohibitively expensive famed yellow colorant, saffron, and is added to festive rice dishes featuring a bright yellow hue.

With its rich color and rich history, annatto color is an excellent choice for those who value natural, wholesome foods created with beautiful, traditional recipes and only all-natural ingredients.

What Is Annato Oil and Where Does it Come From
Annatto comes from the fruit of a South American Tree known as the Achiote tree. The fruit of this tree is dark brownish in color and not good for human consumption. However, when the fruit bursts open inside there are seeds surrounded by pulp that is known as achiote or annatto seeds. Both the pulp and seeds are used for many things in South America. This pulp and the seeds are used to color food, as a dye and in make-up particularly lipstick. The Achiote tree is sometimes referred to as the lipstick tree by natives to South America.

The Annatto seeds are also infused to make a type of oil used in cooking. By mixing 1 cup of olive oil with ½ cup of annatto or achiote seeds and cooking it over a medium heat for 5 minutes you can make your own oil. This oil will be a yellowish orange to red color when it is strained.

Both the seeds and the oil have a very light gingery and peppery taste.

What is it Used For
Commercially Annatto oil is used to add color to certain foods likes cheeses, butter, margarine and salad dressings to give these foods a more distinctive and attractive color. The amount of oil used will vary the color of the food considerably. Manufacturers of skin and body care products are also beginning to use annatto oil for these types of products.

Restaurants and home cooks use this oil in everything from rice to potatoes, to fish and poultry to pork. They even use it in homemade salad dressings and in making some deserts more yellowish orange in color. Achiote oil is believed to contain antioxidants which are healthy for you.

The light flavor and the great color that annatto oil adds to all types of food has earned it the nickname “poor man’s saffron” since it can give food the same distinctive coloring at a much lower price. There are several online sites that explain how to make this oil as well as different recipes for those wishing to create new and distinctive dishes for family and friends.