Annatto

Annatto, or ANATTA, also known in commerce as Arnotto, Roucou, and Orleana, is the reddish pulp surrounding the seeds of the Bixa orellana, a medium-sized tree growing in Guiana and other parts of South America. The fruit having been bruised and macerated with water, the juice is allowed to stand till the colouring matter subsides to the bottom (an operation hastened by the addition of vinegar), when it is strained and the residue dried. Sometimes fermentation is allowed to take place, when an article superior for dyeing purposes, but having a disagreeable odour, is produced. Annatto is used in the dyeing of cloth, to which it imparts a bright orange tint, of slight permanence, however; and it also enters into some bright-coloured varnishes. It is in the manufacture of butter and cheese that it finds its widest application, although its value in this respect is purely a sentimental one, depending on the taste for a high-coloured article. As met with in this country, it contains flour, chalk, and other foreign substances, which, however, can hardly be regarded as adulterants, being necessary to adapt the crude article to its various uses.