Annatto

Annatto(/əˈnætoʊ/or/əˈnɑːtoʊ/) is an orange-redcondimentandfood coloringderived from the seeds of the achiote tree (Bixa orellana), native totropicalparts of the Americas.It is often used to impart a yellow to red-orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its flavor and aroma. Its scent is described as "slightly peppery with a hint ofnutmeg" and its flavor as "slightly nutty, sweet, and peppery".
The color of annatto comes from variouscarotenoidpigments, mainlybixinand norbixin, found in the reddish waxy coating of the seeds. The condiment is typically prepared by grinding the seeds to a powder or paste. Similar effects can be obtained by extracting some of the color and flavor principles from the seeds with hot water,oil, orlard, which are then added to the food.
Annatto and its extracts are now widely used in an artisanal or industrial scale as a coloring agent in manyprocessed foodproducts, such as cheeses,dairy spreads,butterandmargarine,custards,cakesand other baked goods,potatoes,snack foods,breakfast cereals,smoked fish,sausages, and more. In these uses, annatto is a natural alternative to syntheticfood coloringcompounds, but it has been linked to rare cases of food-relatedallergies.Annatto is of particular commercial value in the United States because theFood and Drug Administrationconsiders colorants derived from it to be "exempt of certification".
The annatto treeB. orellanais believed to originate in tropical regions from Mexico to Brazil.It was probably not initially used as a food additive, but for other purposes, such as ritual and decorative body painting (still an important tradition in many Brazilian native tribes, such as theWari'); sunscreen; insect repellent; and for medical purposes.It was used for Mexican manuscript painting in the 16th century.Men of theTsàchilatribe inEcuadorare highly recognizable thanks to their traditional bright orange hair, which is achieved by using crushed seeds of annatto. It is believed they have been doing so for centuries.
Annatto has been traditionally used as both a coloring and flavoring agent in various cuisines fromLatin America, theCaribbean, thePhilippines, and other countries where it was taken home bySpanishandPortuguesecolonizers in the 16th century.It has various local names according to region.Its use has spread in historic times to other parts of the world, and it was incorporated in local culinary traditions of many countries outside the Americas.
Ground annatto seeds, often mixed with other seeds or spices, are used in the form of paste or powder for culinary use, especially inLatin American,Jamaican,Belizean,Chamorro,Vietnamese, andFilipino cuisines. InMexicanandBelizean cuisines, it is used to make the spicerecado rojo. InVenezuela, annatto is used in the preparation ofhallacas,huevos pericos, and other traditional dishes. InPuerto Rico, it is often simmered in oil or ground with seasonings and herbs to makesazónor used to makepasteles,arroz con gandules, and several other dishes, where it is one of the main ingredients. Annatto paste is an important ingredient ofcochinita pibil, the slow-roasted pork dish popular in Mexico. It is also a key ingredient in the drinktascalatefromChiapas, Mexico. In thePhilippines, it is used for the sauce ofpancit palabok. In Guam, it is used to make a staple rice dish flavored with annatto, onion, garlic, butter, and other spices.
In earlier times, the seeds of the plant were also used as a staple food in South and Central America. Today, an Inca recipe for beer made from cocoa, chilli, honey and annatto is available again. The recipe dates back to 1200 BC and is now marketed in North America under the trade name Dogfish Head Theobroma. In the prehistory and early history of South and Central America, the pure, soaked annatto seed was fermented with 5% honey for 10 days and sometimes used as a sole foodstuff. The continent's universities have now recognised the high nutrient content of the seed and are researching ways to reintroduce annatto as a foodstuff. However, practical solutions that would guarantee a basic food supply from the wild harvest have not yet been taken up again by the population.
Annatto is commonly used to impart a yellow or orange color to many industrialized and semi-industrialized foods, including cheese, ice cream, bakery products, desserts, fruit fillings, yogurt, butter, oils, margarines, processed cheese, and fat-based products.In the United States, annatto extract is listed as a color additive "exempt from certification"and is informally considered to be a natural coloring. Foods colored with annatto may declare the coloring in the statement of ingredients as "colored with annatto" or "annatto color".In the European Union, it is identified by theE numberE160b.
In cheese, the yellow and orange hues naturally vary throughout the year as the cow's feed changes: in the summer, with fresh grass and its naturalcarotenecontent, the milk produced would have a natural orange tint, as would the cheese made from it, while at other times of the year, the tint would be greatly reduced. As the pigment is carried in the cream, skimming the milk, which some farmers did to make butter or to sell it separately, the lesser-quality cheese from such milk would be white.
To fool the consumer, the cheesemakers introduced colorants to imitate the more intense colors of the finer summer cheese. Initially these colors came from saffron, marigold, and carrot juice, but later annatto began being used.
In the 17th century, the Dutch, who had established colonies in Guyana, traded in food, particularly an orange-red natural colorant, annatto, with the indigenous communities. Zeeland traders under the authority of the West India Company bought annatto from the inhabitants of the coastal regions of Guyana and Suriname and sold it in the Netherlands asverw('paint'). One contemporaneous description comes from Adriaen van Berkel, in a book published in 1695, though he does not mention whether it was used in cheese.
The earliest known documentation of annatto's use in cheese is in a 1743 Dutch volumeHuishoudelyk Woordboek(Household Dictionary), according to American scientist Paul Kindstedt of the University of Vermont. Other historical documents from the period confirm that annatto (then called "orleaan" or "orleans") was being used to color cheese by the mid-18th century.
England is another country that has used annatto to color its cheeses; colorants have been added toGloucester cheeseas early as the 16th century to allow inferior cheese to masquerade as the best Double Gloucester, with annatto later being used for that purpose. This usage was subsequently adopted in other parts of the UK, for cheeses such asCheshireandRed Leicester, as well as coloredCheddarmade inScotland.Many cheddars are produced in both white and red (orange) varieties, the only difference between the two being the presence of annatto as a coloring.That practice has extended to many modernprocessed cheeseproducts, such asAmerican cheeseandVelveeta. Cheeses from other countries also use annatto, includingMimolettefrom France andLeydenfrom the Netherlands.
Cheeses that use annatto in at least some preparations include:
The yellow to orange color is produced by the chemical compounds bixin and norbixin, which are classified ascarotenoids. The fat-soluble color in the crude extract is calledbixin, which can then besaponifiedinto water-solublenorbixin. This dual solubility property of annatto is rare for carotenoids.The seeds contain 4.5–5.5% pigment, which consists of 70–80% bixin.Unlikebeta-carotene, another well-known carotenoid, annatto-based pigments are notvitamin Aprecursors.The more norbixin in an annatto preparation, the more yellow it is; a higher level of bixin gives it a more orange hue.
Annatto condiments and colorants are safe for most people when used in food amounts, but they may cause allergic reactions in those who are sensitive.In one 1978 study of 61 patients with chronichivesorangioedema, 56 patients were orally provoked by annatto extract during an elimination diet. A challenge was performed with a dose equivalent to the amount used in25 grams (7⁄8ounce) of butter. Twenty-six percent of the patients reacted to this color four hours after intake, worse than synthetic dyes, such asamaranth(9%),tartrazine(11%),sunset yellow FCF(17%),allura red AC(16%),ponceau 4R(15%),erythrosine(12%) andbrilliant blue FCF(14%).
Annatto is not among the "Big Eight" substances causinghypersensitivity reactionswhich are responsible for more than 90% offood related allergic reactions.TheUS FDAand experts at the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP) of the University of Nebraska do not include annatto in the list of major food allergens.