Annatto

May 26th, 2007

Botanical Name: Bixa orellana (LINN.)
Family: N.O. Bixaceae
Synonyms:—Annotta Orellana Orleana.
Other Names:
Achiote, Anatta, Annato, Annotta, Aploppas, Arnotta, Arnotto, Orellana, Orlean, Orleana
French: rocou, roucou
German: Annatto
Italian: annatto
Spanish: achiote, achote
Argentine: urucu
Caribbean: bija, bijol, foucou
Indian: latkhan, sendri
Philipines: achuete, atsuwete

Part Used:—The dried pulp of the fruit.
Habitat:—Tropical America, East and West Indies. Widely cultivated in Asia and Africa.

Description:
A shrub indigenous to the Caribbean and Central America, with shiny heart-shaped leaves, sometimes with reddish veins. An attractive pink flower made it popular as a hedge plant in colonial gardens. The fruit capsule is heart-shaped, like a beech pod, with opposing clefts and red prickly spines. When ripe, the pod splits in half to reveal about fifty seeds encased in a red pulp. The pulp is used in many commercial dye products.

Cultivation:
The Bixa orellana is commercially grown for the dye product and for its seeds as a spice. It requires a tropical setting in a loamy soil at altitudes below 1,000 m (3,000 ft). It is sown from seed or from cuttings. The ripe fruits are collected then macerated in water. The dye settles and is collected and dried into cakes and the seeds are separated and washed.

Annatto, sometimes called Roucou, is a derivative of the achiote trees of tropical regions of the Americas, used to produce a red food coloring.

Annatto is produced from the reddish pulp which surrounds the seed of the achiote (Bixa orellana L.). It is used in many cheeses (eg Cheddar, Red Leicester, and Brie), margarine, butter, rice, smoked fish and custard powder.

Annatto is commonly found in Latin America and Caribbean cuisines as both a coloring agent and for flavoring. Central and South American Natives used the seeds to make a body paint, and lipstick. For this reason, the achiote is sometimes called the lipstick-tree.

In Venezuela, annatto (called locally ‘onoto’) is used in the preparation of hallacas, perico, and other traditional dishes.

In Brazil, both annatto (the product) and the tree (Bixa orellana L.) are called Urucum and the product itself may also be called Colorau.

In Cuba and other Caribbean islands, both fruit and tree are popularly called Bija (pronounced bee-ha) instead of Bixa since in Spanish the X between two vowels is pronounced as “j” like the H in Hospital. Similar examples are “Mejico” [Mehico] instead of Mexico or “Tejas” [Tehas] as opposed to “Texas”. Agronomists and Botanists though, when referring to the scientific name of the plant, will revert to ancient pronunciation and will say “Bixa”.

The Seeds:Annatto seeds are brick red, triangular in shape, 3 - 5 mm (1/8â€ - 3/16â€). The seeds are available whole and can often be purchased in a block or paste form at Latin American markets.

For On line availability of seeds click on:…………..(A) and (B)

Culinary Uses:
Annatto is used for colouring cheeses, confectionery, butter and cheeses. It is more widely used in the Caribbean and Latin America, especially Guatemala and Mexico. The seeds are also particularly associated with Filipino cuisine, in dishes like; ukoy, shrimp and sweet potato fritters; pipian, chicken and pork in an annatto oil sauce; and kari-kari, a brightly coloured vegetable and oxtail stew.

Taste: slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg
Flavour: slightly sweet and peppery.
Medicinal Properties:
Annatto was once used to control fevers, dysentry and kidney diseases, though is now used mostly as a dye in medical preparations such as ointments and plasters. In India the pulp is used as an insect repellent.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annatto

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/annat042.html

http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/annatto.html