Annatto is widely used in Mexican, Latin and South American cuisines,
where it is blended with other spices to flavor empanadas, red tamales,
grilled and roasted meats, rice dishes and other foods. Sazón, a popular
seasoning mix brand known to most Americans that literally translates to
“seasoning” in Spanish, primarily consists of annatto powder,
garlic powder,
cilantro,
cumin,
coriander and
salt.
Annatto seed was once used as ink for ancient Mexican scrolls. The seed
is still used to produce a natural dye for cloth and body paint. Hindu
women mark their foreheads with a cosmetic powder made from crushed
annatto seed to show that they are married. Select men of the Tsáchila
tribe of Ecuador dye the top portion of their hair on otherwise shaved
heads with a paste made of crushed annatto seed. This practice began
when a shaman was led by spirit to use the herb as whole body dye and
antidote to smallpox. At the time, however, the Spanish referred to
these men as Colorados, which means “red-colored,” because they thought
that was the true skin color of the indigenous people.
