Annatto Seeds

WHAT IS IT?

Annatto seeds come from the achiote tree and are primarily used in Latin and Carribean cooking but can occasionally be found in Vietnamese & Filipino cuisines. It’s mainly used as a natural colouring agent to change oils to a bright yellowish red hue and used for stews, rice and noodle soups.

HOW IS IT USED?

Annatto seeds are generally used as a colouring agent for recipes. They can be infused into oil or grounded up finely and used directly in marinades or pastes.

The colour it imparts ranges from a golden hue to a bright orange red

Common usages are:

• Marinades
• Stews and Soups
• Rice Dishes

Recipes that use Annatto Seeds:

• Spicy Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (Bun Bo Hue)

WHERE DO I FIND IT?

You can find annatto seeds at Latin, Carribean and some Asian grocers in the spice aisle. Look for bright colour seeds when picking them up at the store. Dark coloured seeds usually means they are old and stale.

They are also easy to find online as well if they cannot be found locally.

• Annatto Seeds

FLAVOUR PROFILE

It has a very mild nutty and sweet scent. It is a very light flavour and not usually detectable if you are using it in small quantities.

TEXTURE PROFILE

Hard nubby seeds that’s pretty tough to bite through. You don’t generally eat these, once they are infused in an oil or liquid, they are usually discarded.

They can be grounded finely as well and used that way.

STORAGE

Keep Annatto seeds in an air tight sealed container with your spices away from the sun.

Disclaimer: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, however I provide these links to make items easier to find if you cannot purchase this locally and I would never recommend anything I don’t own myself or highly recommend. I would prefer you buy your items locally if possible to support your local shops (and chances are they are cheaper locally as well!) 🙂