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In: Biology
The process of adding annatto is one of those “if a little is good a lot is better” situations. When cows grazed on mountain pastures in the late spring and early summer the grass was richer in beta carotene, which gave the cheeses a yellow-ish pale orange hue. Cheese mongers figured out that those cheese sold better, better more complex flavors, to the exclusion of the winter/spring cheese as the flavors were leaner. Some makers decided that adding a little coloring into their milk helped sell those other cheese then it became a race to the limit. You’ll notice that there is now a trend to not color cheese, especially cheddar and that people think that “white cheddar” is a totally new thing.
As someone who went to school in Cheddar I am shocked and appalled. “Distinctive orange colour” my arse. Cheddar cheese is a [creamy yellow](https://www.cheddaronline.co.uk/product-category/traditional-cheddar-cheese/).
There’s a lot that happens between the original cows milk and resulting orange cheddar cheese. The milk is white, and during processing, mostly the enzymes and bacteria that is added to make cheese, the colors change depending on the type of cheese.
The orange color is added after the milk is gathered. It’s a natural seed called annatto and is added to the milk to give cheese from multiple milk sources a uniform color.
Grassfed cow’s milk will have a natural yellow tint from the beta carotene in the grass. If no annatto is added, the cheese will be yellowish. Think Kerrygold.
It’s an additive when making the cheese. Cows don’t eat it but it’s called annatto and provides the dark orange hue.
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