Caloric content and chemical composition of annatto. Useful properties, harm and contraindications to the use of annatova bixa. How the fruits of Orellana are eaten. Recipes from their seeds and interesting facts about them. Note! The benefits of annatto are manifested when the seeds are consumed both raw and cooked, they retain their properties well during heat treatment.
Contraindications and harm annatto
They say that annatto causes harm if you eat it more than 200-300 g - then your stomach may ache, diarrhea and nausea may appear. This is due to the fact that the seeds are quite heavy and can increase the acidity in the stomach. That is why they are recommended to be consumed only with other foods or after meals, and not on an empty stomach. There is also information that annatto extract or dietary supplement in large quantities can provoke a sharp jump in blood pressure, although in fact it lowers it.
Sometimes you can hear that the dyes contained in the seeds of these fruits are toxic. In this regard, you need to be careful for pregnant women and children, as well as people with allergies to any berries.
How to make annatto spice and color
Fruit seeds can also be used in their pure form, but are often used as a spice from which an extract is prepared. To do this, the fruits are first washed well, dried, divided into two parts and the contents are taken out of them. It is also washed, poured onto a film in a thin layer and taken out in the sun, leaving for 2-3 days. All this time, they must be thoroughly mixed so that they do not dry out on either side.
The seeds can also be prepared in the oven by keeping them there at a low temperature (up to 150 degrees) for about 2-3 hours. Then all this should be grinded with a coffee grinder, poured into a glass jar, tightly closed with a lid and left in a dry, dark place. You can store the finished spice for a year or even longer.
At home, it is possible to independently obtain a dye from seeds. For this purpose, they are poured with boiling water, so that they are completely covered with water, and insisted for 1-2 hours. Then all this is filtered, the raw materials are dried and ground in a coffee grinder. The finished powder is poured into a glass container, closed and stored in a dark place with a low humidity level.
Annatto recipes
Residents of the countries of South America practically do not eat seeds in their pure form, but prepare a spice from them and add it to various drinks, meat, seafood. In Venezuela, it is put into the traditional Christmas dish Hallaca, in Spain it is eaten with potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and even chocolate. In Europe, annatto powder is also consumed more often than fresh seeds, due to the difficulties in their transportation. Here they are used to make cheeses, yoghurts and other dairy products. Among all the recipes with annatto, the following can be distinguished:
- Spice mix … Combine powder of dried annatto (3 tablespoons), oregano and coriander (1 tablespoon each), cloves (3 pieces), garlic (5 cloves), apple cider vinegar, lime juice or orange juice of your choice (4 tablespoons). L.), sea salt, cumin and Jamaican pepper (1 tsp each). Add the seasoning obtained from annatto to soups, borscht, porridge, salads, to any meat dishes.
- Shrimp pancakes … Wash, chop and place in a blender bowl (250 g). Add here sprouts of pre-sprouted beans (2 cups) and salt of your choice. Then add chopped green onions (1 cup). Beat all this until a homogeneous gruel is formed and set aside for now. Next, pour the annatto seeds (30 g) with boiling water (80 ml), soak them for 20 minutes, strain and knead the dough. To do this, combine the resulting infusion, baking powder (1.5 tsp.), Egg (1 pc.), Flour (200 g), corn starch (200 g), salt and pepper to taste. Then pour shrimp broth (350 ml) and seed infusion into this mixture, add the bean mass. Knead all this well, form the cakes and fry them in a small amount of boiled vegetable oil.
- Soup … Peel and chop 1 carrots and onions. Then lightly fry them in coconut oil (25-40 ml), pour over with orange juice (300 ml), sprinkle with caraway seeds and black pepper. Simmer this mixture, covered, for about 5 minutes. Next, boil the shrimp (300 g) in 2 liters of water, remove them from the broth and pour the steamed onions and carrots into it. Then pour in the peanut butter and add the annatto seeds (40 g). Whisk this mixture and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, cilantro, pepper and salt to taste on top. Garnish the soup with pre-cooked shrimp on top.
- Bread … Pour molasses (1 tablespoon) and unsweetened kvass (300 ml) into a baking dish. Then add premium wheat flour (500 g) and salt (1 tsp). Then add mustard (3 tablespoons) and butter (1 tablespoon). Make a small hole right in the center and put the dry yeast in it. Then select the "Normal, medium crust" mode, after kneading the dough, sprinkle it with annatto seeds (to taste) and leave until cooking. Chill the bread before eating.
- Cheddar cheese … Hold homemade fat milk (8 l) in a water bath to heat up to 30 degrees and dissolve 1 tsp in it. annatto powder. Stir it all the time with a spoon so that the temperature rises evenly. Then enter into it a 10% solution of calcium chloride diluted with water at the rate of 0.5 tsp. for 8 ml. Then add here dry mesophilic starter culture (0.5 tsp), rennet dissolved in water, which needs 0.5 tsp. for 50 ml of liquid. Mix all this well, cover and leave for 2 hours. Then strain the curd, cut it into cubes with a thin knife and leave in a water bath for 5 minutes. After heating to 38 degrees, transfer them to a colander covered with gauze and keep on low heat for another 20 minutes. After this time, take out the clot that has gathered together, put it on a board, cut it into thin layers, put it in a metal colander, put it on fire and swap them for 20 minutes, laying them on top of each other. Then repeat the same 2-3 more times. After that, put the resulting mass on a large plate, wrap it in cheesecloth and press down with a press. Leave it as it is for 3 days, changing the gauze every day. Next, wrap the product with a special cheese film and keep in the basement for at least 8 months.
Interesting facts about annatto
There are several tribes in South America that use the seeds of the fruit of this tree to paint their bodies. They consider them a symbol of blood and do so to protect them from evil spirits. The Indians of North America acted in the same way, only their goal was to instill fear in opponents in battle and scare away mosquitoes.
In the English variation, the plant is known as the lipstick tree, which in Russian sounds like "lipstick tree." The coloring properties of its fruits explain why the Americans called annatto that way. Bixa extract is widely used commercially for the production of cheese. It is included in the list of approved food additives. It is used to give products a presentation and a pleasant taste. It is a common ingredient in breads, cereals, smoked meats, margarine, oils, and custards. He also found application in the field of the cosmetic industry, where fruit seed powder is used to make creams, lipsticks, and eye shadows. In medicine, the contents of annatto fruits are also used to create preparations for burns and mosquito bites. Annatto is an evergreen with large, smooth and shiny, heart-shaped leaves. During the flowering period, small pink inflorescences with purple veins appear on it. Already after 1-2 days, when the time for fruit ripening comes, they disappear, changing to rounded boxes of red or burgundy, visually consisting of two parts. Collect them after they unfold on their own. Watch the video about annatto:
The main exporters of annatto are Peru and Brazil, while the key importers are Guatemala and Mexico, where this ingredient is a classic in the local cuisine. It is also quite popular in the Caribbean, where oil is most often made from it. Filipinos have also looked at this product for making pancakes, chicken, oxtail.
