Annatto / achuete

Family name: Bixaceae
Botanical name: Bixa orellana

Aroma and flavour: brick-red, triangular seeds with a rich colour and no noticeable smell, with an earthy, slightly “peppery” taste. It has a strikingly beautiful orange-red colour when infused.  Described by the Mayan Indians as the ‘colour of fire’ ! The colour comes from carotenoids.

Culinary uses: used for flavouring and colour in cheese-making and in flavouring and dying oils.  It’s used in Jamaican and Filipino cuisine in various sauces and dishes, such as salt cod, ackee and adobo.  

Medicinal and other uses:  can be used safely as a dye and linked to several health benefits such as eye health, heart health, cancer prevention, as an anti-inflammatory, an antimicrobial and an antioxidant.