Achiote: why cheddar cheese is orange

This post is only a little bit about cheese -- it is really more about a curiosity, colonialism, and culinary arts -- but if you are beginning to think I have cheese on the brain, you would not be wrong.

This week, we finished off a sizeable block of cheddar cheese that the Okura Bailey family brought when they visited in February. Yes, we have been rationing. Luckily, our most recent guests, the Garvin Tilneys, gifted us a big chunk of sharp white cheddar; I am pretty sure I can make it last our final eight weeks. 

Here is the thing: the first block was orange; the new one is white. Have you ever wondered why most cheddar cheese is orange? Would you believe that it is colored with a natural plant dye that is from Latin America? And that this type of tree grows right here in La Josefina?!

Achiote, also known as annatto, is a natural food dye used worldwide to color cheese, margarine and chorizo, among other food products. Achiote grows on a small tree native to tropical South America, probably originating in the Amazon basin. The tree's botanical name is Bixa Orellana, after none other than Spanish explorer and conquistador, Francisco de Orellana. 

(As an aside, the seed pods of the achiote have a spiky outer casing that closely resembles the Southeast Asian fruit known in the US as rambutans. In Ecuador these fruits are called achotillos, and they are currently in season. Dillon just went on an outing to pick achotillos and brought back a huge sack, which he and his friends promptly gobbled up in one sitting).

In contrast to the sweet eye-ball like achotillo fruit, the small hard achiote seeds are glossy red with white specks. When rubbed, the exterior disappears, revealing a bright red liquid that literally bursts outward with color. The word achiote comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec) language, which translates as "seed of fire" or "seed that shines".

Cheddar cheese originates far far away from South American in an English village aptly named Cheddar. There are natural caves there that provide the perfect temperature and humidity for maturing cheese. It turns out that when cows eat fresh spring grass, they produce milk that is high in beta carotene (the same thing that gives carrots their color); this gives the spring cheese a natural orange-tinge. Those same cows, however, when fed dry hay, produce milk that has less beta carotene, resulting in cheese that is naturally less orange. It has long been held that the beta carotene-rich cheese from spring milk is creamier and more flavorful.

While the Brits were perfecting their cheese-making, halfway across the world, Spanish conquistador, Francisco de Orellana, was encountering the indigenous peoples of South America using achiote to paint their faces and bodies, among other things. He noted a golden tinge to their skin, believing that they might be harboring gold in the region. This observation and obsession with uncovering gold led him on an expedition that resulted in the European "discovery" of the Amazon River. (There he found no gold but plenty of achiote).

Achiote has been used by the indigenous people of the Amazon since pre-Colombian times for a variety of uses: as sun protection, mosquito repellent, a salve for cuts/scratches/wounds, for mystical and spiritual purposes, and for battle paint.

Back in Northern Europe, cheese producers found they could increase their profits by dyeing their cheese. The idea was simple; beta-carotene tinged cheese, already considered higher quality, was more expensive. If orange cheese were available year round, people would preferentially purchase it, and cheese makers could charge more. These crafty businessmen used carrot juice, turmeric, marigold and even saffron to color their cheese. 

By the early 1700s, British cheese makers realized that achiote was a superior natural food dye because it added color without changing texture or flavor of the cheese. And so today, achiote is one of the most common natural food dyes used world wide. Annual global production of achiote seeds is approximately 14,500 tons. Latin America leads global production, providing 60% of the world's achiote.

Achiote is used commonly in Ecuadorian cuisine as a food colorant, particularly in soups and on grilled meats, but never in Ecuadorian cheese. Many of my Ecuadorian friends do not cook meals without it. It is up for debate whether or not achiote has any flavor. It is believed to be safe for consumption except in rare cases of allergy. 

Achiote also appears frequently in Colombian, Mexican, and Caribbean cuisines. It is in plenty of North American food too -- in margarine, butter, cheese, mayonnaise, snack foods and cereals, and meat sausages. Remarkably, 90% of all cheese sold in the US is cheddar, and the majority of cheddar continues to be dyed with achiote. I think we are simply used to cheddar being orange, though white cheddar (sometimes called Vermont cheddar)  is also widely available.

Lucia used the seeds of her mother-in-law's achiote tree to sprout two seedlings, which she planted on her land and now bear achiote fruit on her finca. When we go to the finca, my kids love to use it to paint themselves with achiote . . .as you can see in the pictures below.