Frederic Melton
Cheddar cheese is one of the most popular cheeses worldwide, with the United States producing approximately 3,000,000,000 pounds of it in 2014. But why is it orange? The answer lies in its historical roots. In 17th-century England, cheddar cheese was produced from cows that grazed on grass rich in beta-carotene, resulting in orange-toned milk and, consequently, orange-hued cheese. This colour became associated with high-quality cheese, leading less scrupulous cheesemakers to add pigments from saffron, marigold, and carrot juice to their lower-fat, paler cheese to mimic the sought-after orange shade. This practice, born out of deception, has persisted, and today, annatto is commonly used to give cheddar its familiar orange colour.
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What You'll Learn
Beta-carotene in cows' grass diet
Beta-carotene is a provitamin A mainly found in pasture and grass and legume silages. It is a key element that controls the quality of follicles and has positive effects on the fertility and immune system of cows. Beta-carotene is also important for ovarian activity and insulin concentration in cows. In the winter months, dairy herds experience fertility problems, which may be caused by an undersupply of beta-carotene.
The beta-carotene content in the blood indicates the content in the feed. Beta-carotene supply can be divided into three areas: deficit, marginal, and optimal. A deficit is considered to be <1.5 mg/l, a marginal supply is 1.5-3.5 mg/l, and a supply of greater than 3.5 mg/l is considered optimal.
In the 17th century, cows in England grazed on grass that was high in beta-carotene, which gave their milk an orange pigment. This hue became a marker of high-quality cheese. The colour of cheese changes depending on whether the cows are eating beta-carotene-rich grass in the spring or hay in the winter. Today, some cheesemakers still add colourings like annatto, saffron, marigold, and carrot juice to their cheese to standardise its colour throughout the year.
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Fraudulent cheesemakers
The cheese industry has long been a target for fraudsters, with scams and thefts being commonplace. In a bid to protect their products and fight fraud, cheesemakers are now turning to 21st-century technology.
Cheese fraud has a long history, and one of the most famous examples is the case of 17th-century cheesemakers adding colour to their cheese to mask the fact that it was made from white milk. Cheesemakers would add saffron, marigold, carrot juice, and annatto to their cheese to make it appear more like the full-fat, naturally yellowish-orange cheese that was associated with high-quality cheese. This tradition of colouring cheese then carried over to the United States, with cheesemakers in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana wanting to ensure a uniform colour throughout the year and to distinguish their product from the white cheese made in New England and New York.
Today, cheese fraud continues to be a problem, with top-selling cheeses such as Manchego and Camembert being prime targets for fraudsters, but premium Italian cheeses are hit particularly hard. Fake Parmesan, for example, accounts for a significant portion of the market, with sales of around $2.08 billion, while authentic Parmigiano Reggiano sales are about $2.44 billion. To combat this, the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium has announced plans to use silicon tracking chips, in combination with casein markers, to track and authenticate their cheese. This technology has been in development since 2002, when Dutch company Kaasmerk Matec first supplied the consortium with a cheese marker made of casein, glycerol, and alcohol. The digital tracking chips are smaller than a grain of salt and can withstand the elements, offering unmatched tracking capabilities when combined with traditional casein markers. After two years of testing, the consortium plans to use this method to track 100,000 wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano in 2022, with the potential to expand to all production if successful.
In addition to the production of fake cheese, theft of cheese is also a significant issue. In 2024, fraudsters stole more than 24 tons of artisanal cheese worth over £300,000 from Neal's Yard Dairy, a London-based distributor and retailer of British artisan cheese. The scam involved a person posing as a wholesale distributor for a large French retailer, and the cheese was supplied by three cheesemakers, including Trethowan Brothers, who produced the Pitchfork Cheddar. Despite the financial loss, Neal's Yard Dairy honoured its commitment to small-scale suppliers by paying the cheesemakers in full.
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Annatto, a food colouring
Annatto is a natural food colouring and condiment derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (Bixa orellana), a tropical plant native to the Americas. It is often used to give food a yellow to red-orange colour, but it can also be used for its nutty, sweet, and peppery flavour, and its aroma, which is described as slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg. Annatto is commonly used in Latin American, Jamaican, Belizean, Chamorro, Vietnamese, and Filipino cuisines. In the United States, annatto extract is listed as a colour additive and is considered a natural colouring.
Annatto has been linked to various health benefits, including reduced inflammation, improved eye and heart health, and potential anticancer properties. It contains numerous plant-based compounds with antioxidant properties, including carotenoids, terpenoids, flavonoids, and tocotrienols. Research has also indicated that annatto may have antimicrobial properties and could play a role in food preservation.
In addition to its culinary uses, annatto has been used in art, cosmetics, and for medical purposes. It was used for ritual and decorative body painting, sunscreen, insect repellent, and manuscript painting. Today, it is widely used as a colouring agent in many processed food products, such as cheeses, dairy spreads, butter, margarine, custards, cakes, and snack foods like Goldfish crackers.
In the context of cheddar cheese, annatto is often used to impart an orange colour. While the colour of cheddar can vary from white to orange depending on the diet of the cows producing the milk, annatto is added to standardize the colour and create a uniform product. This practice originated in 17th-century England when cheesemakers added pigments to low-fat cheese to pass it off as higher-quality, full-fat cheese, which had a more yellowish-orange colour.
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Beta-carotene levels fluctuate seasonally
Beta-carotene is a plant-derived pigment (carotenoid) that gives red, orange, and yellow vegetables their vibrant colour. It is a source of vitamin A and a natural antioxidant. Beta-carotene is found in many fruits and vegetables, and eating five servings of these daily provides 6-8 mg of beta-carotene.
Today, the colour of cheddar cheese is often achieved through the use of annatto, a food colouring made from the seeds of the achiote tree, and/or paprika. While the colour of cheese is no longer indicative of its quality, the tradition of colouring cheese has persisted, particularly in the United States, where cheesemakers in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana continue to add colouring to their products.
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Orange cheese is expected
The orange colour of cheddar cheese is expected because of its association with cheese that dates back to the 17th century. Back then, English cheesemakers produced cheese with a yellow tone due to the milk from cows that grazed on grass high in beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is the same natural pigment that gives carrots their orange colour. This gave the milk an orange-yellow tone, and the resulting cheese a deeper yellow colour.
Over time, cheddar cheese with a yellow hue was seen as a sign of quality. Cheesemakers soon caught on and added colouring to their cheese to make it look like high-quality, full-fat cheese. They used colouring from saffron, marigold, carrot juice, and later annatto, a condiment and food colouring made from the seeds of the achiote tree.
The tradition of colouring cheese carried over to the United States, particularly in the northeastern states of Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, and New York. Cheesemakers wanted to ensure a uniform colour throughout the year, as the colour of cheese changes depending on the cows' diet. They also wanted to distinguish their product from the white cheese made in New England and other parts of the country.
Today, most people expect cheddar cheese to be orange, and annatto is still commonly used to achieve this colour. However, some cheesemakers, particularly in the northeastern United States, choose to produce white cheddar cheese, which has the same flavour and texture as its orange counterpart.
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Frequently asked questions
Cheddar cheese is orange because of the diet of the cows that produce the milk used to make it. In the spring, pasture-fed cows eat fresh grass that is high in beta-carotene, which gives their milk a more orange-yellow tone. In the winter, when cows eat mostly hay, the beta-carotene levels in their milk drop, resulting in whiter cheese.
The natural colour of cheese can fluctuate according to a cow's diet. In the early days of cheddar cheese, cheese lovers preferred the yellow cheddar, which was associated with higher quality.
Cheesemakers add colouring to their cheese to ensure a uniform colour throughout the year. This practice started in 17th-century England, when cheesemakers added colouring from saffron, marigold, carrot juice, and later annatto, to their cheese to pass it off as high-quality, full-fat cheese.
Annatto is a food colouring made from the seeds of the achiote tree, which grows in tropical regions in Central and South America. Annatto gives cheddar cheese its orange hue and has been used to dye cheese for more than 200 years.
