of orange, yellow, and red. Some of these are
soluble in water, others in oil; large food
manufacturers use annatto extracts to give a
vivid color to cheddar-style cheeses, butter,
and other products. Annatto seeds are hard,
and difficult to grind finely, so they’re often
heated in a liquid to extract their flavor and
color and then are strained out. Commercially
ground annatto pastes are also available. The
aroma of annatto is dominated by the woody,
dry terpene humulone, which is also found in
hops.
Cardamom Cardamom is the world’s third
most expensive spice after saffron and vanilla.
It’s the seed of a herbaceous plant in the
ginger family that is indigenous to the
mountains of southwest India, and was grown
only there until around1900. German
immigrants then brought it to Guatamala,
which is now the largest producer. Cardamom
seeds are borne in clusters of fibrous capsules