A (Very) Brief History on Coloring Cheeses

A customer recently asked me what my favorite yellow cheese was. Yellow. Ummm, excuse me...???

She didn't even mention hard vs. soft or sharp vs. creamy. I get that there are many nuances to the way a cheese tastes and that not everyone can quite put their finger on what qualities they desire. But seriously, 'yellow' doesn't even reliably narrow it down. In this case, the color does not indicate taste. Milk is white (or at most has a golden tint), and aging doesn't change it all that much. Any time you see a bright yellow or orange cheese in the grocery store it is because coloring has been added, but there is no consistent guideline about which styles get the treatment.

So her question was utterly frustrating. I had to convince myself that she must be making some snazzy color coordinated party platter just to keep from smacking my forehead against the counter. Yes, that must be it...

And now, because you know not to ask such a silly thing but may still be wondering why and how people began coloring cheeses, here are some interesting tidbits:

- Certain cows, when grazing during summer on lush grasses high in beta-carotene may have a more golden tint to their milk. Its a sign of an excellent diet (as well as high butterfat content), and hence quality. In winter, when cows are fed grain and hay the milk is always white.

- Apparently, back in the 17th century some English farmers wanted to pass off their products as higher quality. They would skim off the cream (where the color is prevalent) to sell separately, and color the remaining milk, thus expanding their profits. I imagine they could have also colored some winter milk so the resulting cheese would appear to be from grass-fed cows.

- The practice originated in fraud, yet the tradition of coloring cheeses has persisted in commercial facilities to maintain visual consistency.

- Today annatto is responsible for the yellow/orange color we see in many cheeses, with cheddars being the most recognizable. It is derived from the seeds of the achiote plant. The amount required to color cheese does not add any flavor.