The use of carotenoid preparations for colouring Cheddar cheese

Abstract

Annatto extracts prepared from Bixa orellana have traditionally been used for enhancing the colour of Cheddar cheese made in winter in Southern England or throughout the year in Scotland, and also to produce the deep red colour of certain varieties of cheese, e. g. Leicester. Double Gloucester, Red Cheddar and Cheshire. However some of the colour passes into the whey and this can lower the commercial value of powder made from the whey.A series of Cheddar cheeses was made to compare carotenoid preparations based on β‐carotene as the colouring agent with the traditional carotenoid colourant norbixin present in annatto solutions. The β‐carotene preparations were found to enhance the colour of Cheddar cheese, made in Southern England from winter milk, to that of Cheddar cheese made from summer milk, or to the colour of New Zealand Cheddar, with only traces of the colourant passing into the whey.For colouring milk to make Leicester, Double Gloucester, Red Cheddar or Cheshire cheeses, β‐carotene preparations are too yellow and would need the addition of carotenoids with a more reddish colour. However, even at the highest level used, little of the β‐carotene passed into the whey.