By admin 
The history of food is a fascinating journey, filled with unexpected twists and turns. A perfect example of this is the story of orange carrots and annatto.
Carrots, as we know them today, are bright orange root vegetables that are a staple in many diets around the world. However, they were not always orange. In fact, the earliest records show that carrots were originally purple or white. The transformation to their now-iconic color is believed to have happened in the 17th century in the Netherlands as an homage to William of Orange who led the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule.
Dutch farmers selectively bred carrots for their orange pigment until only those remained. Over time these became popular throughout Europe and eventually worldwide due to their sweet flavor and robust growth characteristics compared to their purple counterparts.
On another note, there’s annatto – a natural food coloring derived from get the complete picture achiote tree native to tropical regions from Mexico down to Brazil. This little-known spice has been used for centuries by indigenous communities not only as a food coloring but also for its medicinal properties.
Annatto is often referred to as “poor man’s saffron” because it imparts a similar vibrant yellow-orange hue at much less cost. It’s primarily used in Latin American and Caribbean cuisine but its use spans across various cultures globally including Filipino and Vietnamese cuisines where it’s used in traditional dishes like longanisa (Filipino sausage) or bánh xèo (Vietnamese crepe).
Interestingly enough, annatto plays an important role in one very well-known product: cheddar cheese. While cheddar cheese naturally has a pale white color due to cow’s milk, many consumers associate cheddar with an intense yellow or even orange color which comes from adding annatto during production.
This practice started back in the 17th century when English cheesemakers discovered that high-quality cheeses developed an appetizingly rich color due to the cows eating certain types of grasses. To mimic this effect in lower-quality cheeses, producers began adding annatto.
The story of orange carrots and annatto is a testament to how food, culture, and history are intrinsically linked. It’s a colorful tale that underscores the lengths humans will go to manipulate nature for their own purposes – whether it’s creating a vegetable in honor of a national hero or altering the color of cheese to give an illusion of quality. These stories remind us that what we eat is not just about sustenance but also carries historical significance and cultural symbolism.