What is Achiote Paste?
Achiote paste, also known as recado rojo in Spanish is a spice blend used in Mexican and Belizean cuisines. Achiote is another word for annatto seeds which is one of the primary ingredients of achiote paste and imparts the red colors that denote this spice blend. Cumin, garlic, cloves, black pepper, allspice, and salt accompany annatto seeds in the spice paste. The flavors are spicy, earthy, and nutty with a hint of tartness. It is used in mole sauces, tamales, and a number of savory dishes.
What does Achiote Paste Taste Like?
Salty is one of the five main tastes. It has a satisfying and addictive quality with hints of sourness. Salty foods include cheeses, cured meats, chips, and olives. It is used in almost every dish and prepared food. Salt is added to enhance flavor and offer a distinctly salty taste.
Umami is one of five main tastes. It is savory with a depth of flavor. Umami is a taste in many foods, including meat, seafood, beans, and nuts. It is both naturally occurring and created through the specific use of ingredients to create a satisfying taste. Umami is characteristic of proteins and savory dishes.
Spicy is a flavor that brings heat and fire to food by creating a burning sensation in the mouth or sinuses. Spicy flavors come from hot peppers, horseradish, and wasabi. Spicy adds a kick and sometimes complexity to a dish and releases endorphins, creating a mildly addictive quality.
Ingredients
Lemon juice is made from the flesh of the pulpy yellow lemon fruit. The juice is squeezed from the flesh of the lemon and is a pale yellow color. The flavor is very sour and bright. Lemon juice is used in multiple cuisines around the world to brighten and enhance the flavors of the other ingredients. Lemon juice is used to make lemonade and goes well on fish. It has many uses.
Orange juice is a sweet and tart beverage made from the juice of the orange. Oranges are round and have a pulpy and extremely juicy flesh. This flesh is pressed and squeezed to remove all of the juice. The result is an orange colored fruit juice with a sweet flavor and a tart edge. Orange juice is sold with the pulp, giving it texture, or pulp free for a smoothly textured drink.
Vinegar is made from alcohol. It can be made from wine, fermented apple, grains and other sources. Healthy bacteria is used to ferment this product. The final result is a thin liquid used to season foods. All vinegar is sour. White vinegar has a sharp sour flavor and is clear. Red wine vinegar is a clear red color and tastes a bit more rounded. Balsamic vinegar is dark red or brown and tastes rich, fruity and sour. There are many other kinds of vinegar, each with its own unique flavor profile. Some types of vinegar are suited to specific flavors and cuisines. It is used in sauces and in dishes both sweet and savory.
The habanero is an extremely hot pepper. Botanically speaking it is a fruit, but by culinary standards it is a vegetable. The pepper is roughly the size of a shelled walnut with a crinkled body and semi-teardrop shape. The color ranges from green, to orange to bright red. The skin is shiny and the flesh is thin, with hot seeds inside. Even with their intense heat, habaneros have a floral aroma, which is sometimes in the flavor also. They are used in salsas, hot sauces and dishes that require a spicy heat.
Annato is a natural coloring agent from the seed of the achiote tree.These small seeds are dark reddish-orange and are wrinkly and dried. Annatto is a natural way to add a yellow or orange color to food. It has a mild flavor that is nutty, with a hint of nutmeg and pepper. Annatto is used in small amounts to add color to rice and other dishes common to Latin American cooking.
Garlic is used in cuisines around the world and is extremely popular for its depth of flavor. The garlic bulb forms underneath the soil and is harvested once it reaches maturity. The bulb typically has thin, dry, white and flaky skin, surrounding the individual cloves. Often there are 10-12 cloves to a bulb/head of garlic. The cloves are cream colored with a strong smell and flavor that is spicy and sharp. Garlic takes on a nutty flavor in addition, when cooked. It is used in countless dishes, sauces, breads and more.
The peppercorn plant grows in tropical climates and produces tiny black fruit. The fruit is dried and becomes hard. It has a flavor that is spicy, pungent and sharp. Pepper is an extremely popular spice, and lends a gentle heat to dishes. There are different varieties of black pepper and the flavor changes subtly because due to this.
Allspice is a spice made from the dried berries of the pimenta dioica plant; a member of the myrtle family. Allspice is ground into a powder that is a dark rich brown color and used to flavor baked good and added to some savory dishes. The flavor is similar to a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and a hint of black pepper.
Salt is a mineral composed mostly of sodium chloride. It is the main flavoring used in food and is naturally occurring in certain foods, such as cheese, beets, meat and celery, plus many others. Salt is white and has finer granules than sugar. Many commercial salts include iodide, while others exclude it. Most salts are white, while some are naturally pale pink with minerals. Salt brings out the flavor of something and can create a tangy mouthfeel, if used in excess.
Tequila is a popular liquor distilled from the agave plant. Tequila has its roots in Mexico and is in fact distilled only there in the state of Jalisco. This liquor is 80 proof and varies in color from white to gold. The flavor corresponds to the color. White tequila has a sharp flavor and gold tequila is more mellow. Tequila is used in mixed drinks and can be found in some desserts and savory foods.
Cumin is a spice used in many cuisines around the world. The seed which cumin is ground from, has a thin and long body with tapered ends. Cumin is just a few millimeters in length and has a light brown or tan tone, which can look a bit grey. The flavor is spicy, earthy and nutty.
Cloves are the buds of the Syzygium aromaticum tree. They are dried and can be used whole or ground as a spice. Cloves have a strong, sweet and peppery flavor that can be used in both sweet and savory dishes.
