Some bundles containing the fruits of the mahogany plant have been found on the market. Its color is deep red and darkens to an earthy color as it dries. Once this point is reached, the fuzzy-looking fruit opens to reveal numerous seeds of the same color.
We can still see them on the roadsides, and in markets and supermarkets we can find the seeds in bags, or already crushed and pressed into strips, or together with other ingredients to make a pre-made paste .
It’s achiote, an essential ingredient that gives some iconic dishes a Panamanian flavor: without achiote, our tamales would be pale yellow. The bright and appetizing shades achieved when decorating the tamales themselves, the guacamole or the sofrito of Salem are impossible to achieve without achiote.
The next time you eat macaroni with braised chicken (and you’re lucky enough to have it with white rice and slices), be aware that the red sauce isn’t made with tomatoes. It may have had some, but the color achieved by the pasta, and certainly the chicken, was entirely the responsibility of the mahogany.
plants and fruits
The tropical plant Bixa orellana grows mainly in Central America and the Andean regions bordering the Amazon. The tree is 4 to 5 meters tall, has a narrow crown, medium leaf density, pink flowers with separate petals, many stamens and fruits. shape, with many red seeds inside.
Its cultivation dates back to pre-Columbian times, with the Mayans in particular validating the potential of redwood for its color and aroma; as well as its medicinal properties. Annatto dyes everything: food, textiles, even skin. Additionally, it seasones and seasones food.
The seeds have a resinous and oily coating on their surface that contains a pigment called carmine.
In addition to traditional menu items, annatto is often used to color cheeses such as cheddar, American or French mimolette. In the food industry, it is known as E-160b.
latin american cuisine
In Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the Philippines, it is used in a variety of culinary preparations both as a coloring agent and as a flavoring agent, providing earthy, sweet, smoky, and slightly spicy flavors.
In Cuba, it is used under the name bijol to cook a variety of yellow rice, soups and stews. It is an essential ingredient in Hallaca, the typical Venezuelan Christmas dish. In Bolivia it is known as urucú and is used in Santa Cruz cuisine to make dishes such as locro, majao, chicken pie and asadito de chancho. It is also used as a flavoring and coloring agent and forms part of Yucatan cuisine in dishes such as cochinita pibil and mukbil pollo. It is also used with fish and chicken.
In Peru, where it is the main condiment in the famous dish “pollada,” annatto provides the chicken with its characteristic red color. In Brazil it is known as colorau or urucum and is often used in meat and fish dishes.
How to use it?
In some recipes, achiote powder is mixed with certain ingredients, but more often it is infused into water or oil. Currently, it’s easy to find the seasoning in powder, paste, or stick form, or even as an ingredient in dehydrated broths, but the traditional way to use it in Panama is in the preparation of oil.
Annatto oil
raw material
If you search online, you will find countless annatto oil recipes. In fact, the proportions depend on taste. We can tell you that the oil you use must have a mild or neutral flavor so that it doesn’t overpower the flavor of the seeds. Regarding seeds, we can give you the same advice as with any other spice: buy the seeds you are about to eat and do not store them for long periods of time, as they will lose their freshness and, with it, their organoleptic properties.
Elaborate
Add the oil to the pot along with the annatto seeds and heat over low heat. Don’t raise the temperature too much, you’re not trying to fry the seeds but to put them in. This will maintain the quality of the seeds and oil. The seeds will begin to release color.
Place the annatto in the oil seal for about five minutes, when the oil turns reddish, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Once cool, strain and store in an airtight container, preferably glass.
Use this oil to prepare Creole sofrito and color stewed chicken and tamales. In the kitchen, imagination is limitless and you can use it to season rice, meat and fish.
Come out of the kitchen
Native peoples of Central and South America used redwood as body and facial paint for religious ceremonies. In addition, it has different therapeutic properties:
Is it used to treat headaches, nerve pain, irritation, asthma, inflammation, abrasions, breathing difficulties, and pleurisy?
The ground seeds are used to treat measles, smallpox, stomach ailments, kidney ailments and dysentery. It has antipyretic, astringent properties and has a mild laxative effect.
Pulp is used to treat burns and blisters.
The leaves can treat throat discomfort, respiratory problems, kidney pain, skin and vaginal inflammation, fever, high blood pressure, vomiting blood, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, angina, abscesses, headaches, skin infections and conjunctivitis.
They are crushed or boiled and eaten to control vomiting and as an antidote to poisoning caused by consuming yucabrava, which contains hydrocyanic acid.
Women use the leaf infusion to cleanse their vagina, which is very effective in controlling inflammation caused by fungi and bacteria.
Next time you see these little seeds at the market, give them a chance. You won’t regret it.