Annatto
uh-NAH-toh
Bixa orellana
Earthy, peppery, mild, mainly color.
What it is
Annatto is the rusty-red seed of Bixa orellana, a tropical American shrub, valued mostly as a natural coloring that lends a warm orange-to-red hue with only a mild, earthy, peppery flavor. It is the achiote of Latin American cooking, steeped in oil or ground into paste to color and lightly season rice, meats, and stews, and it is what gives many cheeses and smoked fish their orange tint. The color is its main job; the flavor is subtle. It is one of the most widely used natural food colorings in the world.
What it pairs with
Goes wrong with: dishes where its orange stain is unwanted.
Common in Mexican, Caribbean cooking.
Whole vs ground
The hard red seeds are used whole, steeped in warm oil or lard to release their color, then strained out, or ground into a paste and spice blends like achiote.
How to handle it
Warm the seeds gently in oil until it turns deep orange, then discard the seeds and cook with the colored oil. Do not let it scorch.
Storage
Airtight and dark. Whole seeds keep their color a long time; ground annatto and pastes are best used within months.
Buying note
Buy whole seeds for steeping or a ready-made achiote paste. The deeper the red, the stronger the color.
Classic dishes
achiote rice, cochinita pibil, annatto oil, colored cheeses.
Out of annatto? Substitutes
No substitute is exact. These are the closest by flavor behavior, with the ratio to start from and how the result will differ.
| Use instead | Ratio | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Turmeric, for color | use less | yellower than annatto's orange-red, more earthy flavor |
| Paprika, for color | to taste | redder and fruitier, adds more flavor |
One odd thing
Annatto is one of the world's most common natural food colorings, giving the orange tint to many cheeses and smoked fish.