Annatto

• KINGDOM:  Plantae
• CLADE:  Tracheophytes
• CLADE:  Angiosperms
• CLADE:  Eudicots
• CLADE:  Rosids
• ORDER:  Malvales
• FAMILY:  Bixaceae
• GENUS:  Bixa
• SPECIES:  Bixa orellana

• English: annatto, annatto seed, annatto seeds, lipstick tree, achiote, bija, bixa, roucou, urucu, urucum
• Spanish:  achiote, achote, bija, onoto, urucú
• Portuguese:  urucum, colorau / colorífico (Brazil; prepared powder or coloring blend. In Portugal, they mean paprika)
• French:  rocou, roucou, achiote
• Italian:  anotto, achiote
• German:  Orleanssaat
• Dutch:  orleaan
• Hungarian:  achiote, orleánfa
• Polish:  arnota właściwa
• Greek:  anátto
• Swahili:  mzingefuri, mzingifuri
• Russian:  biksa, pomadnoe derevo, pomadnoye derevo
• India
  • Hindi:  latkan, latkhan, sinduri
  • Marathi:  sendri
  • Tamil:  sappiravirai, japhara
• Thai:  kham saet, kam set, kham thai, kam tai
• Vietnamese:  hạt điều màu, điều nhuộm, xiêm phụng, dầu điều (annatto oil)
• Malay:  kesumba keling, jarak belanda, kunyit jawa
• Indonesian:  kesumba, kesumba keling
• Filipino:  atsuete, achuete
• Chamorro:  achote, achiote
• China
  • Mandarin:  hóng mù, yānzhī shù, yānzhī shù zǐ
  • Cantonese:  jin zi syu
• Japanese:  anatō, beninoki

Note:  Languages that use only the common English spelling and have no distinct or widely used local name are not listed.

Annatto and achiote are the same thing: the seed of Bixa orellana. Annatto is the English trade name; achiote is the Spanish one, from the Nahuatl achiotl. Everything below has either been sold as annatto or shares a name with it.

• Achiote Paste / Sazón / Bijol (blends)
  • All three are made with annatto, and all three are sold under its names, but none is annatto alone. Achiote paste, the recado rojo of the Yucatán, is ground annatto with garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, allspice, and sour orange or vinegar. Sazón is a packet blend of ground annatto with cumin, coriander, salt, and garlic powder, and Bijol is ground annatto cut with cornflour and cumin. Each takes its color from annatto but seasons the pot as well, so a recipe calling for plain annatto (achiote molido) will taste different if you use one. Labels swap the names freely, so check whether you're buying the seed or a blend.
• Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus radicans)
  • Annatto is the lipstick tree; the lipstick plant is an unrelated Southeast Asian houseplant. Neither is named after the other: the annatto tree got its name because its seeds were used as a natural lipstick, the houseplant because its red flowers look like lipstick coming out of the tube.
• Paprika (Capsicum annuum)
  • The word colorau means two different things. In Portugal, colorau is paprika. In Brazil, colorau (also colorífico) is ground annatto mixed with cornmeal, used the way paprika is and sometimes in its place. So a Portuguese recipe calling for colorau wants paprika and a Brazilian one wants annatto. The two color a dish alike, but annatto colors far more than it flavors.
• Saffron (Crocus sativus)
  • Annatto is called poor man's saffron because it turns rice the same gold for a fraction of the price, and across Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean it colors rice in saffron's place. The two share nothing but the color: saffron is the stigma of a crocus, annatto is the coating on a seed, and their flavors are unrelated.

The USDA has not released nutrition facts for annatto. However, the massive food database from Nutritionix shows the following for annatto paste:

For a serving size of 0.5 oz (14g):

• Calories:  26.5
• Total Fat:  1.7g
• Sodium:  162mg
• Total Carbohydrates:  2.9g
• Dietary Fiber:  0.4g
• Sugars:  0.5g
• Protein:  0.8g
• Calcium:  14mg
• Iron:  0.5mg
• Potassium:  55.3mg

Flavor emerges from the combined effects of aroma, taste, and mouthfeel, but a spice like annatto is prized as much for its color, and even its flavor leans more on aroma than on taste. These are the compounds behind its aroma and color:

Aromatic Compounds

• Ishwarane
  • Ishwarane is one of annatto’s more distinctive aromatic compounds, though its concentration varies and its contribution to annatto's character is not quite clear.
  • Warm, peppery, and subtly floral.
• Geranylgeraniol
  • A large, heavy compound that makes up a good share of the seed oil but carries only a soft, faintly floral note rather than a bold aroma.
  • Faint, soft, and floral.
• β-Caryophyllene
  • Also found in black pepper, cloves, and hops, β-caryophyllene adds a faint peppery, woody edge.
  • Peppery, woody, and warm.
• Other Aromatic Compounds
  • Annatto seeds may also contain α-pinene, β-pinene, germacrene D, bicyclogermacrene, α-humulene, spathulenol, and other terpenes.
  • Earthy, woody, herbal, and peppery.

Pigments

• Bixin
  • Bixin is the signature pigment of annatto and accumulates in the reddish coating surrounding the seeds. Because it dissolves in fat far better than in water, heating annatto seeds in oil readily draws out their rich yellow-orange to red-orange color.
• Norbixin
  • Norbixin occurs naturally in smaller amounts but is also produced commercially by hydrolyzing bixin. It disperses more readily in water, extending annatto’s usefulness beyond oils and fats.

Understanding Composition

• Chemical composition can vary widely, mainly in the concentrations of certain compounds. This variation causes differences in quality, which is why the best spices and herbs are often graded by the levels of key compounds that drive flavor, aroma, and color.
• Quality is affected by variety, age and freshness, region and terroir, environmental stressors, and potential adulteration. It's then further influenced by how the plant is handled at every stage: cultivation, harvesting, processing (drying, curing), shipping, storage, and preparation (grinding, grating, infusing, toasting). A magnificent spice or herb is a celebration of an immense journey, shaped by nature, the people who produce it, and the cook who delivers it to a dish. 

• Cultural and Spiritual Significance
  • Indigenous Latin American Cultures:  Annatto seeds are ground into a paste for ceremonial body paint, often representing vitality and protection. Tsáchila men in Ecuador still shape their hair into a red, pod-shaped cap with achiote paste and grease. According to Tsáchila tradition, the practice began as protection against smallpox. The Spanish called them Colorados, "the red ones," and the province of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas is named after them. Across the Amazon, peoples such as Brazil's Kayapó and Zo'é paint their bodies with annatto, called urucum there, for ceremonies and as a mark of identity and spiritual meaning.
• Traditional Medicine
  • Across South and Central America, annatto is used in folk medicine for fever, diarrhea, diabetes, bronchitis, and wounds, and as an aphrodisiac. Indigenous peoples also apply the seed paste to their skin as a sunscreen and insect repellent, and healers in the Peruvian Amazon use juice from the fresh leaves for eye infections.
• Modern Medicine Research
  • Annatto extracts have been studied in the lab and in animals for antioxidant, antimicrobial, antimalarial, blood-sugar-lowering, and insect-repellent effects. Tocotrienols, a form of vitamin E extracted from the seeds, have been tested in small human trials, including one on bone loss in postmenopausal women and an early safety trial in patients with pancreatic tumors.
• Dye
  • Annatto has long been used as a natural dye, and Indigenous peoples of South America still dye fabric with it. Depending on how it's extracted, it gives shades from golden yellow to deep orange-red.
• Cosmetics
  • The bright red seed coating gave the achiote its nickname, the lipstick tree. Today, annatto colorants tint lipsticks, face and skin care products, soaps, and shampoos, and regulators in the US and EU permit it in cosmetics, including products used around the eyes.
• Ornamental Plant
  • The achiote is grown as an ornamental and hedge plant in tropical gardens for its pink or white flowers, heart-shaped leaves, and spiny red seed pods. The dried pods are also used in flower arrangements.
• Fiber
  • The tree's inner bark provides fiber that's twisted into rope.

• Paprika
  • Sweet paprika adds a reddish-orange color, though slightly deeper and redder than annatto. Its mild earthiness and sweetness can also stand in for annatto's flavor in a similarly understated way, making it a great all-around substitute for annatto. Use an equal amount of sweet paprika. Like annatto, its color comes out best in fat, so warm it gently in oil, since paprika scorches easily.
• Turmeric
  • Offers a bright yellow hue with an earthy flavor. While the color leans more yellow than annatto’s deep orange, it works well in rice dishes, curries, and sauces where color is paramount. But be mindful of its flavor—it's much more potent and bitter than annatto's and can quickly dominate a dish if the other spices and ingredients aren't complementary. Start with ¼ to ½ tsp turmeric for every 1 tsp annatto.
• Paprika + Turmeric
  • For the closest color match, combine the two, since paprika brings the red and turmeric the yellow. About ¾ tsp sweet paprika plus a scant ¼ tsp turmeric replaces 1 tsp annatto.
• Saffron
  • Saffron imparts a luxurious golden-yellow hue, similar to annatto’s color in rice and liquid-based dishes. But saffron’s flavor is much more floral and complex than annatto's, so it should be used lightly. It's also much more expensive, so this would have to be a high-end dish to warrant the substitution. A small pinch of about 10 threads, steeped in a few tablespoons of warm liquid, replaces about 1 tsp annatto powder.

Substitution Tips

• Incomplete Substitution:  All spices and herbs are too complex to match exactly, so focus on which aspects of their flavor, aroma, texture, or color you wish to replicate.
• Quantity:  Start with a small amount of the substitute and adjust to taste. It won't be a 1:1 exchange in flavor or potency.
• Context:  Consider the entire dish and how the substitute's full flavor profile will merge with the other ingredients.
• Experimentation:  Playing with substitutions is a great opportunity to explore how different flavors interact. If you approach it with curiosity, you may really enjoy the process and make some delicious discoveries along the way.

From the Caribs and Taíno to countless Amazonian communities, annatto was used to create striking orange-red body paint, which is why it's also known as the lipstick tree. It was also used to dye textiles. The spice's Spanish name, achiote, comes from the Nahuatl word "achiotl," the language of the Aztecs. They, as well as the Maya, mixed annatto with cacao to give their chocolate drinks a rich, reddish hue.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, annatto caught the attention of European explorers, traders, and merchants. By the 17th century, annatto was being exported to Europe, where Dutch traders sold it as "verw," meaning "paint," after buying it from Indigenous communities in Guyana and Suriname. It found favor as a natural textile dye, and cheesemakers adopted it to imitate the rich golden color of cheese made from summer milk. The earliest known record of annatto in cheese dates to 1743, and the practice gave us orange cheeses like Red Leicester and colored Cheddar.

Spanish ships carried annatto across the Pacific to the Philippines, and it spread through Southeast Asia, where it remains an essential cultural and culinary ingredient to this day, from the Philippines to Vietnam and parts of Indonesia.

While annatto's early appeal was mainly as a natural dye, its culinary uses grew with time. In Mexico and Central America, annatto seeds are ground into achiote paste, a key seasoning for iconic dishes like cochinita pibil, a slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatán Peninsula. Annatto oil is used across the Caribbean to color and flavor rice, stews, and meat dishes, and in the Philippines, as atsuete oil, it colors dishes like pancit palabok and kare-kare stew.

Today, annatto's pigments, bixin and norbixin, are extracted and refined into the natural food coloring E160b, which is used in foods like cheese and butter as well as in cosmetics. Annatto has certainly left its mark on the very palette (and palate) of human creativity.