Annatto seed vs Annotto powder
March 19, 2019 3:54 PM   Subscribe

How do I appropriately substitute Annatto powder for Annatto seed?

The recipe calls for one Tablespoon of Annatto seed and three Tablespoons of Olive Oil over medium low heat until "until the seeds have become dark amber in color and the oil has become fragrant and saffron-colored."

How do I substitute Annatto powder for this?

With luck, Picadillo on the menu!

Thank You
posted by leafwoman to Food & Drink (3 answers total)
 
Best answer: I don't have any direct experience with this but I do flavor oil with ground spices pretty regularly for different applications. You have to be more careful about burning things, but the low heat should be good. You should probably use less powder than seeds because you've got more surface area to mix with the oil, and also because it's a powder you won't be able to effectively filter it out so less powder means less potential grittiness. I wouldn't worry too much about the grit though because it'll all mix into the picadillo in the end. I've flavored oil with ground and whole cumin and I think I've used like half the amount of ground to whole. I'd go more by smell than by color to determine when things have infused enough because the powder is going to make that hard to determine. If the powder does get weird and clumpy you can try to filter it out with a fine mesh strainer if you have one.
posted by Mizu at 4:10 PM on March 19, 2019


Best answer: Honestly achiote is more of a colorant than a flavoring. I'd just put a teaspoon or two into your oil and not work about it. To the extent it had a taste it's kind of earthy and mild so overdoing it won't be a catastrophe
posted by JPD at 4:45 PM on March 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


2nding JPD, this is one that’s hard to overdo!
posted by brilliantine at 6:12 PM on March 19, 2019


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