Annatto
A yellow-orange dye and flavour from the seeds of the achiote tree
No single value: Annatto is a material, and its colour varies. The background shows its family, orange.
Annatto is a natural colouring and flavouring made from the seeds of the achiote tree, which grows in tropical parts of the Americas. Its pigments, mainly bixin and norbixin, give foods a yellow to orange shade and a mild, peppery taste. Annatto is widely used in cheeses, baked goods, and traditional dishes across Latin America, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia.
- Annatto comes from the seeds of the achiote tree
- Used to colour cheeses like Red Leicester and Mimolette
- Main pigments are bixin (fat-soluble) and norbixin (water-soluble)
- Traditional body paint for some Amazonian peoples
- Colour ranges from yellow to orange-red
What colour is Annatto?
Annatto produces a yellow to orange-red colour, depending on how it is prepared. It is made from the reddish coating of seeds from the achiote tree. The main colouring agents, bixin and norbixin, are carotenoids, which are also found in carrots and other plants. Annatto is unusual among natural dyes because its pigments can dissolve in both fat and water, which is rare for this group of compounds.
Where does Annatto come from?
The achiote tree, source of annatto, is native to the tropical Americas, from Mexico to Brazil. Before it was added to food, people used the seeds for body paint, sun protection, and as an insect repellent. Indigenous groups such as the Tsàchila of Ecuador have used it for centuries, including for hair colouring. Annatto spread to other parts of the world after the 16th century, carried by Spanish and Portuguese colonisers.
How is Annatto made?
To make annatto, the seeds of the achiote tree are ground into a powder or paste. Sometimes, the colour and flavour are drawn out by soaking the seeds in hot water, oil, or lard. The resulting extract can be added directly to food. The key pigments, bixin and norbixin, are found in the waxy outer layer of the seeds. Bixin dissolves in fat, while norbixin is water-soluble.
Where Annatto is used
Annatto is widely used to colour and flavour foods. It is common in cheeses, butter, margarine, baked goods, and snacks. In Latin American, Caribbean, Filipino, and Vietnamese cooking, it appears in spice pastes, sauces, and traditional dishes. Annatto is also used for body decoration and was once used in manuscript painting. In the cheese industry, it helps give products like Red Leicester, Gloucester, and Mimolette their orange hue.
Orange around the world
What the orange family means from country to country.
For the Day of the Dead, altars and graves are covered in orange marigolds, cempasuchil. Their colour and scent are said to guide the souls of the dead home.
Sacred and holyMourning and deathNostalgiaSource: Day of the DeadOrange is the colour of the royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau. On King's Day, 27 April, the whole country dresses in orange for street markets and parties.
Royalty and powerFestival and celebrationPrideJoySource: KoningsdagNational teams play in orange and are called Oranje. The craze that takes over streets and shops during big football tournaments has its own name, oranjegekte.
Festival and celebrationPrideEnergySource: OranjegekteOn the King's birthday and other royal days, an orange pennant is flown above the national flag.
Royalty and powerSource: Flag of the NetherlandsThe lowest band of the flag is orange, often called apricot, after the national fruit. The constitution says it stands for the creative talent and hard work of the people.
Politics and protestNature and renewalPrideSource: Flag of ArmeniaThe flag is split corner to corner. The orange half stands for the Buddhist tradition, and the white dragon across the middle for purity.
Sacred and holySource: Flag of BhutanShades and relatives of Annatto
Annatto's colour can range from yellow to deep orange, depending on the balance of bixin and norbixin in the preparation. The more bixin, the more orange the result; more norbixin gives a yellower shade. Annatto is sometimes confused with other natural dyes like saffron or marigold, which were also used to colour cheese before annatto became common.
Questions people ask about Annatto
What colour is annatto?
Annatto gives foods a yellow to orange-red colour, depending on how it is prepared and which pigment is most present.
Where does the name annatto come from?
The name annatto refers to the colouring made from the seeds of the achiote tree, which is native to tropical parts of the Americas.
What foods use annatto for colouring?
Annatto is used in many cheeses, butter, margarine, baked goods, snacks, and traditional dishes in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia.
How is annatto made?
Annatto is made by grinding achiote seeds into a powder or paste, or by extracting their colour and flavour into oil, water, or lard.
Is annatto safe to eat?
Most people can eat annatto without problems, but in rare cases it may cause allergic reactions.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Annatto", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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