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Bixa Orellana
Annatto is a profusely fruiting shrub or small tree that grows 5-10 m in height. Approximately 50 seeds grow inside prickly reddish-orange heart-shaped pods at the ends of the branches. The trees are literally covered by these brightly colored pods, and one small annatto tree can produce up to 270 kg of seeds. The seeds are covered with a reddish aril, which is the source of an orange-yellow dye.Traditionally, the crushed seeds are soaked in water that is allowed to evaporate. A brightly colored paste is produced which is added to soups, cheeses, and other foods to give them a bright yellow or orange color. Annatto seed paste produced in South America is exported to North America and Europe, where it is used as a food coloring for margarine, cheese, microwave popcorn, and other yellow or orange foodstuffs. Throughout the rainforest, indigenous tribes have used annatto seeds as body paint and as a fabric dye. It has been traced back to the ancient Mayan Indians, who employed it as a principal coloring agent in foods, for body paints, and as a coloring for arts, crafts, and murals. Although mostly only the seed paste or seed oil is used commercially today, the rainforest tribes have used the entire plant as medicine for centuries. A tea made with the young shoots is used by the Piura tribe as an aphrodisiac and astringent, and to treat skin problems, fevers, dysentery, and hepatitis.
Found growing In the gardens of Rock view lodge in Guyana however Annatto is known as achiote in Peru and as urucum in Brazil. It grows throughout South and Central America and the Caribbean.
Spotted on Sep 9, 2012
Submitted on Feb 28, 2013
2 Comments
HI Aunt Nance, Thats great that your Grandmother used to use it, I found it in the grounds of an Eco lodge in Guyana and was just attracted by the texture and colour of it, the owner siad it was called a lipstick plant as they used the die for cosmetics also but when I looked that up it was something else, however this is where I found my information
http://rain-tree.com/annato.htm#.US9kt2e...
and thankyo for the great link to more info, Its great when you can learn new things all the time!
How interesting, Debbie; I didn't realize annatto grew on trees. I remember my grandmother talking about when she was younger that one her tasks was
breaking the annatto capsule in a dish of margarine and kneading it into the butter sustitute.
"As undyed margarine looks unappetizingly like lard, early margarine manufacturers added annatto to make their product more closely resemble butter. In response, the butter lobby pushed through laws that forbade such coloring at the factory. Using a legal loophole, manufacturers began to include a capsule of liquid annatto with their tubs of pale margarine. Some senior citizens may remember helping their mothers by stirring this natural dye into softened margarine."
(http://www.soprissun.com/Home/archives/2...).