richca@teklds.UUCP (Rich Caldwell) (03/12/85)
********************** Does anyone in net.cooks land know what achiote otherwise known as annato seeds is used for? We have a jar and don't know how to use it. .......................Rich Caldwell richca@teklds tektronix!teklds!richca
reid@Glacier.ARPA (03/13/85)
> Does anyone in net.cooks land know what achiote otherwise > known as annato seeds is used for? We have a jar and don't > know how to use it. Achiote (ah chee OH tay) is used for coloring things yellow. It is the customary source of the yellow in "Natural" yellow Cheddar cheese. It is cheaper than saffron. It has very little flavor of its own. -- Brian Reid decwrl!glacier!reid Stanford reid@SU-Glacier.ARPA
jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) (03/14/85)
> > ********************** > Does anyone in net.cooks land know what achiote otherwise > known as annato seeds is used for? We have a jar and don't > know how to use it. > .......................Rich Caldwell richca@teklds > tektronix!teklds!richca Annato is a natural source of vivid red coloring for food and has no other particular use that I know of. -- jcpatilla "'Get stuffed !', the Harlequin replied ..."
phil@osiris.UUCP (Philip Kos) (03/15/85)
> Achiote (ah chee OH tay) is used for coloring things yellow. > It is the customary source of the yellow in "Natural" yellow Cheddar > cheese. It is cheaper than saffron. It has very little flavor of its own. > -- > Brian Reid decwrl!glacier!reid > Stanford reid@SU-Glacier.ARPA No, no, no - the yellow coloring in Cheddar cheese and many other foods is not achiote but carotene (or sometimes "keratin" - same stuff, I believe). Phil Kos The Johns Hopkins Hospital ..seismo!umcp-cs!aplvax!osiris!phil
alan@mtxinu.UUCP (Alan Tobey) (03/16/85)
> > ********************** > Does anyone in net.cooks land know what achiote otherwise > known as annato seeds is used for? We have a jar and don't > know how to use it. > .......................Rich Caldwell richca@teklds > tektronix!teklds!richca Achiote/annato is the traditional source of the coloring agent that gives cheese that "real cheese" yellow-to-orange color. (Compare English cheddar with New York State white cheddar for the difference). You can make a water- or oil-based extract by heating annato in either for 5-10 minutes; watch the oil so it doesn't get too hot and char the annato. It also has a mildly spicy and quite distinctive flavor. Try adding some of the extract to rice before cooking to get a sense against a neutral background. I use it as part of the mix of spices I use in making refried beans: coriander, cumin, ancho and jalapeno chiles, oregano, achiote. Alan Tobey / Mt Xinu, Berkeley
harmon_c@h-sc1.UUCP (david harmon) (03/16/85)
> > Achiote (ah chee OH tay) is used for coloring things yellow. > > It is the customary source of the yellow in "Natural" yellow Cheddar > > cheese. It is cheaper than saffron. It has very little flavor of its own. > > -- > > Brian Reid decwrl!glacier!reid > > Stanford reid@SU-Glacier.ARPA > > No, no, no - the yellow coloring in Cheddar cheese and many other foods > is not achiote but carotene (or sometimes "keratin" - same stuff, I > believe). > > Phil Kos > The Johns Hopkins Hospital > ..seismo!umcp-cs!aplvax!osiris!phil WHAT did you say? I hate to tell you, but carotene and keratin are NOT the same thing. Carotene is the yellow pigment found in carrots. I think it can be synthesized fairly easily, so it might be used for "non-natural" coloring. Keratin, however, is the hard tissue which comprises the horns and hooves of most animals, as well as human toe- and finger-nails. Dave Harmon harmon%h-sc4@harvard
tjj@ssc-vax.UUCP (T J Jardine) (03/18/85)
> Does anyone in net.cooks land know what achiote otherwise > known as annato seeds is used for? We have a jar and don't > know how to use it. > .......................Rich Caldwell richca@teklds > tektronix!teklds!richca Thought that I had seen this name before, so looked it up in ye old Webster first. Annatto is the name of a tropical American tree that yields seeds that are used among other things to produce a red-orange dye. In Spanish- speaking areas of the Caribbean and Central Latin America the seeds are called achiote. The reference I remembered I found again in our Foods of the World book "The Cooking of the Caribbean Islands". The Puerto Ricans apparently use achiote in a similar fashion to the Indian use of saffron. An example given is creating a basis for sauces by stirring a small amount of achiote into lard or oil until a vivid red-orange color is obtained. The achiote seeds are removed and such things as cilantro, sweet peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and salt pork are added. Simmering these ingredients makes a sauce called sofrito. This sauce is the beginning of such dishes as asapao, ropa vieja, and various vegetable dishes. If you have access to the book I mentioned, there are references on pages 38, 41, and 146. I wasn't able to find any more specific recipes than what I have indicated here. Hope this helps some. Ted Jardine TJ (with Amazing Grace) The Piper Boeing Artificial Intelligence Center ...uw-beaver!ssc-vax!bcsaic!ted -- TJ (with Amazing Grace) The Piper Boeing Artificial Intelligence Center ...uw-beaver!ssc-vax!bcsaic!ted
clark@sdcsla.UUCP (Clark Quinn) (03/20/85)
> Does anyone in net.cooks land know what achiote otherwise > known as annato seeds is used for? We have a jar and don't > know how to use it. > .......................Rich Caldwell richca@teklds > tektronix!teklds!richca > One other reference to achiote/annato seeds (besides the other posted bits of information) comes from "Ethnic Cuisine: The Flavor-Principle Cookbook" by Elisabeth Rozin (a very interesting concept cookbook, that there are principle flavor combinations that characterize ethnic cuisines). In it, she says One great regional variation (talking about Mexican food), that of the cuisine of the Yucatan, should be noted. The same basic foods are used here as in the rest of Mexico, but influences from Europe, the Caribbean, and America gave rise to the unique combination of sour orange, garlic, and achiote. Later, in the Foreign Ingredients section, she notes that Achiote (annatto): a small, hard red seed used primarily as a coloring agent in both Mexican and Indian cooking. Try to buy it already ground, but if not available, buy the seeds and grind them yourself. Adobo paste: small compressed squares of ground achiote, garlic, vinegar, and other spices. The book is published by The Stephen Greene Press, Brattleboro, Vermont. -- Clark Clark N. Quinn Institute for Cognitive Science C-015 University of California, San Diego La Jolla, California 92093 (619) 452-2541 (UCSD): (619) 481-0952 (Home) {ucbvax,decvax,akgua,dcdwest}!sdcsvax!sdcsla!clark OR clark@nprdc
jeff@rtech.ARPA (Jeff Lichtman) (03/21/85)
> Does anyone in net.cooks land know what achiote otherwise > known as annato seeds is used for? > .......................Rich Caldwell richca@teklds Annato seeds are used for coloring. I believe they have no flavor. They are commonly used to give butter and cheese a yellow color. -- Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.) aka Swazoo Koolak