Silkworm poop as cheese whitener?

[Deborah Stevenson]

In <370244FA.F26551F9 at iamerica.net> TMOliver <swrctmo at iamerica.net> writes:

>Annato, a red seed popular as both a flavoring agent (toasted) and
>color-additive (cheap substitute for saffron) in Caribbean, Mexican and
>Central American cookery, makes a fine choice for cheese-coloring ('cuz
>traditonal customers like orange "cheddar" and "merkin").

>The "flavor" which adds to its use as a spice is mild/non-existent until
>after toasting, so I suspect the coloring task is carried out by
>untoasted versions.  For folks who make "Spanish Rice" or the Mexican
>restaurant standard "sopa seca", among traditionalists annatto, not
>tomato juice/paste/sauce, is the coloring agent, and while high class
>"Yellow Rice" and "Paella" might be touched by saffron's angel thread
>(muy caro), most places rely on cheap annatto.

Though I did once consume a fruit yogurt (I'm thinking it was a Yoplait
relative) with an oddly inappropriate but recognizable flavor, and I
finally realized I was tasting the annatto in with the peach or whatever.

Cheerios apparently use turmeric for similar natural colorations with
spices you otherwise wouldn't expect.

Deborah Stevenson
(stevenso at alexia.lis.uiuc.edu)