Frederic Melton
Annatto is a natural colourant derived from the seeds of the Achiote tree (Bixa Orellana), which is native to South America and the Caribbean. It is used to give cheese its distinctive orange or red hue. The use of annatto in cheese can be traced back to 16th-century England, where cheese makers would use colouring agents such as turmeric, carrot juice, marigold petals, and even saffron. The practice of using annatto in cheese is believed to have started in southwest England, particularly Gloucestershire, and later spread to surrounding counties. Today, annatto is widely used by cheese manufacturers to colour cheese and is added directly to the milk at the start of the cheese-making process.
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What You'll Learn
Annatto is a natural colourant
Annatto has been used for centuries to dye textiles, cosmetics, and even Aztec paintings. It is also used in cooking in many parts of the world, including Peru, Vietnam, and the Philippines, to lend colour and/or flavour to marinades, braised dishes, soups, and stews. In the Yucatán, the seed is called achiote and it is added to seasoning pastes to give meat, fish, and chicken a ruddy colour.
The use of annatto in cheese-making can be traced back to 16th-century England, particularly in Gloucestershire and other counties in the southwest of England. Traditional British territorial cheeses were initially coloured with a variety of agents, such as carrot juice, turmeric, marigold petals, and even homegrown saffron. However, in the 18th century, imported annatto from the Americas began to replace locally sourced colourants, as it produced a more vibrant colour with less impact on texture and flavour.
One theory about the use of annatto in cheese suggests that it was originally used to disguise the colour of cheese made with skimmed milk or winter milk, which tended to be suspiciously pale or thin. By adding annatto, cheesemakers could make their cheese look more like the higher-quality cheese made with full-fat milk or summer milk, which had a more yellowish hue due to the carotenoid beta-carotene found in grass. Today, annatto is still used in cheese-making to create a visual impact and enhance the appearance of the cheese.
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It is added to cheese to enhance its appearance
Annatto is added to cheese to enhance its appearance. It is a natural colourant derived from the seeds of the Achiote tree (Bixa Orellana), which is native to South America and the Caribbean. These seeds are characterised by their brick-red colour and have been used for centuries to dye textiles, cosmetics, and even Aztec paintings.
The use of annatto in cheese-making dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly in southwest England, where cheese makers would use colouring agents such as turmeric, carrot juice, marigold petals, and even homegrown saffron. The practice of adding annatto to cheese is believed to have started in Gloucestershire and later spread to surrounding counties such as Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, and Leicestershire.
The colour is extracted from the seeds by drying them before soaking them in an alkaline solution. This solution is then added to the milk at the beginning of the cheese-making process, giving the curds their distinctive orange and red colour. Different concentrations of annatto are added depending on the cheese recipe and/or variety.
Annatto is used to enhance the appearance of cheese by giving it a more vibrant and uniform colour. In the past, when milk quality was inconsistent, cheese makers added annatto to winter milk to give it a deeper orange or yellow hue and to mask the translucent appearance of low-fat cheeses. Today, annatto is still added to cheese to create a visual impact and make the product stand out at the cheese counter.
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Annatto has been used for centuries to dye textiles and cosmetics
Annatto, a colourant derived from the seeds of the Achiote tree, has been used for centuries to dye not only cheese but also textiles and cosmetics. The Achiote tree, also known as Bixa Orellana, is native to South America and the Caribbean. The seeds of the tree are brick-red in colour and are used to lend a distinctive orange or red hue to cheeses such as Cheshire, Red Leicester, Shropshire Blue, Cheddar, and Mimolette.
The use of annatto in cheese-making dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries in England, particularly in the southwest counties of Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, and Leicestershire. At the time, cheese makers would use various colouring agents such as carrot juice, turmeric, marigold petals, and saffron to enhance the appearance of their cheese. However, in the 18th century, annatto was discovered among imported goods from South America, and its ability to produce a vibrant colour without impacting texture or flavour made it the preferred choice for colouring cheese.
One theory suggests that the use of annatto in cheese-making may have originated from English cheesemakers in the 17th century who realised they could increase their profits by skimming the cream from their milk to make butter and then using the skimmed milk to make cheese. However, this reduced-fat cheese had a suspiciously pale colour, so annatto was added to make the cheese appear darker and more appealing.
Today, annatto is still used in cheese-making to create a visual impact and enhance the appearance of cheese. It is added directly to the milk at the start of the cheese-making process, and different concentrations are used depending on the recipe and variety of cheese. Annatto is also used in other parts of the world, such as Peru, Vietnam, and the Philippines, to add colour and flavour to various dishes, including marinades, soups, and stews.
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It is believed that annatto was used to make cheese seem higher quality
The use of annatto in cheese can be traced back to 16th-century England, specifically the southwest of the country, including Gloucestershire. At the time, milk quality was inconsistent, and cows fed on pasture-based diets in the spring and summer months produced a flavoursome yellow milk due to the carotenoid beta-carotene found in the grass. In the winter months, cows were fed silage and hay, which contained low levels of beta-carotene, resulting in variations in the natural yellow colour of milk.
Cheese made with high-quality milk from cows that graze on fresh grass tends to have a yellow hue. It is believed that some farmers introduced annatto to make cheese seem like it was made with higher-quality milk. Annatto was added to winter milk to give it a deeper orange or yellow hue, and it was also used to mask the translucent appearance of low-fat cheeses.
In the 17th century, English cheesemakers realised they could increase profits by skimming the cream from milk, churning it into butter, and making cheese with the leftover skimmed milk. However, this reduced-fat cheese was suspiciously pale, so annatto was added to make the cheese darker.
Over time, cheesemakers may have gradually increased the amount of annatto, making the cheese oranger and oranger, until it became more of an aesthetic statement. Today, annatto is used to create a visual impact and make the cheese stand out. It is believed that coloured cheese is psychologically perceived to taste better and be more flavourful than its white counterpart, even if the quality is equivalent.
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Annatto does not impact the flavour of cheese
The use of annatto as a colourant does not impact the flavour of cheese. It is added to enhance the appearance of cheese, making it more visually appealing to customers, who often associate colour with flavour.
Annatto is a natural colourant derived from the seeds of the Achiote tree (Bixa Orellana), which is native to South America and the Caribbean. The seeds are hard and brick-red in colour and have been used for centuries to dye textiles, cosmetics, and even Aztec paintings. In many other parts of the world, such as Peru, Vietnam, and the Philippines, annatto seeds are used to add colour and/or flavour to various dishes, including marinades, soups, and stews.
The use of annatto in cheese-making dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries in England, particularly in the southwest counties of Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, and Leicestershire. Traditional British territorial cheeses were initially coloured with various agents, such as carrot juice, turmeric, marigold petals, and even saffron. However, in the 18th century, imported annatto from the Americas became the standard colouring agent due to its ability to produce a more vibrant colour with less impact on the flavour and texture of the cheese.
One theory suggests that the practice of using annatto originated when English cheesemakers realised they could increase their profits by skimming the cream from their milk to make butter and then using the skimmed milk to make cheese. This reduced-fat cheese was suspiciously pale, so cheesemakers turned to annatto to make their cheese appear darker and more appealing.
Today, annatto is still used to create a visual impact and make cheeses stand out. It is added directly to the milk at the beginning of the cheese-making process, giving the curds their distinctive orange and red hues. While annatto may have been used historically to disguise the quality of milk or cheese, modern feeding regimens for cows have eliminated these inconsistencies, so annatto is now purely aesthetic.
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Frequently asked questions
Annatto is a natural colourant derived from the seeds of the Achiote tree, which is native to South America and the Caribbean. It is used to enhance the appearance of cheese, making it more appealing to customers.
The colour is extracted from the seeds by drying them and then soaking them in an alkaline solution. This solution is then added to the milk at the beginning of the cheese-making process, giving the curds their distinctive orange and red hues.
The tiny amount of annatto used in cheese contributes no flavour. However, some people believe that coloured cheese tastes better than its white counterpart, even when the quality is equivalent.
