Annatto extract can be found in many forms. It may be a powder, paste, oil or as a chunk. Apart from this the annatto seeds can also be used in food for culinary enhancements and flavoring. The procedure to make any of them is a little time taking as well as tedious.
If annatto seeds are being used as it is, it is not really tough. The seeds have a coating of an oily paste that contains bixin. Bixin is a yellow orange carotenoid. It is extracted using aqueous alkaline solution and vegetable oil solvent. Vegetable oil solvent gives oil soluble bixin, Alkaline solution gives water soluble norbixin and Propyline Glycol yields a combination.
For powder form, annatto seeds need to be dried and crushed to extract the powder. Deriving the paste form needs addition of a water, vinegar and other herbs too at times.
Annatto oil is available in flavored as well as unflavored form. It is basically reddish orange colored oil which needs putting a little bit of edible oil in annatto seeds. It is used for cooking in a number of cuisines, but primarily in South America, annatto oil is quite popular.
As a more simple answer, I'd heat a 3 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil in a pan, not very hot, certainly not smoking. Then sprinkle in about 1 teaspoon of the annatto powder. Mix gently with a whisk (careful not to splatter) and then allow to cool, The powder should settle to the bottom, allowing you to pour off most of the oil without the powder making it cloudy. You could also put it through a coffee filter, which will remove all of the powder residue.
Answers
August 24, 2010
Annatto extract can be found in many forms. It may be a powder, paste, oil or as a chunk. Apart from this the annatto seeds can also be used in food for culinary enhancements and flavoring. The procedure to make any of them is a little time taking as well as tedious.
If annatto seeds are being used as it is, it is not really tough. The seeds have a coating of an oily paste that contains bixin. Bixin is a yellow orange carotenoid. It is extracted using aqueous alkaline solution and vegetable oil solvent. Vegetable oil solvent gives oil soluble bixin, Alkaline solution gives water soluble norbixin and Propyline Glycol yields a combination.
For powder form, annatto seeds need to be dried and crushed to extract the powder. Deriving the paste form needs addition of a water, vinegar and other herbs too at times.
Annatto oil is available in flavored as well as unflavored form. It is basically reddish orange colored oil which needs putting a little bit of edible oil in annatto seeds. It is used for cooking in a number of cuisines, but primarily in South America, annatto oil is quite popular.
August 25, 2010
As a more simple answer, I'd heat a 3 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil in a pan, not very hot, certainly not smoking. Then sprinkle in about 1 teaspoon of the annatto powder. Mix gently with a whisk (careful not to splatter) and then allow to cool, The powder should settle to the bottom, allowing you to pour off most of the oil without the powder making it cloudy. You could also put it through a coffee filter, which will remove all of the powder residue.