[Sca-cooks] cheese color

[Pixel, Queen of Cats]

On Wed, 25 Jul 2001, Philip Troy wrote:

> On Wednesday 25 July 2001 02:28, you wrote:
> > From: "chirhart_1" <chirhart_1 at netzero.net>
> >
> > > Its what gives cheese its color
> <snip>
> > Huh? Achiote is a New World item. Didn't the cheese produced before
> > Columbus have a color? Or those produced today using Old World
> > techniques? Hey, I want to see some of this transparent cheese. :-)
>
> I was going to mention this, but I figured you'd spot it anyway, Stefan ;  ) .
>
> I believe Chirhart means that it figures in modern(ish) yellow cheeses such
> as Cheddar and its various industrial derivatives, and considering that
> Cheddar as we know it today is more or less post-Columbian, it shouldn't
> really matter to us.
>
> On the other hand, well-aged cheeses, even ones without added colorings, can
> get pretty yellow just from their butterfat content, but I've never known one
> to get that deep reddish-orangey-yellow that modern Cheddar acquires.
>
> Adamantius,


I am remembering a passage in one of the "Little House" books by Laura
Ingalls Wilder where someone was watching their mother make butter (it was
probably Almanzo in _Farmer Boy_, but I could be wrong) where she colored
the butter with a carrot that she grated and squeezed the juice from.

Granted, orange carrots aren't necessarily always appropriate for us,
but could you color cheese with carrot juice? The beta carotene would
certainly make it orange or yellow.

Margaret FitzWilliam