The surprising truth about the turmeric yellow color of cheese

Behind the golden, delicious cheeses we enjoy is a fascinating and complex story of color change.

During the Middle Ages, specifically around the 12th and 13th centuries, sheep were the main milk producers. However, they faced a fundamental problem: sheep's bodies could convert grass into either wool or milk, but they could not produce both with the same level of efficiency.

This directly affected the milk supply, and according to Paul Kindstedt, a cheese expert and former president of the American Dairy Science Association, led to a major shift in the cheese industry.

The tradition of coloring cheese with annatto spans centuries.

The story of cheese color begins with the shift in milk producers . When humans switched from sheep to cows for cheese production, they realized that cow's milk contains beta carotene - a natural compound found in grass that gives vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes their characteristic orange or yellow color.

Beta carotene is metabolized in cows and accumulates in milk, which then gives cheese its natural yellow color, especially cheese produced in spring and early summer, when the grass is at its lushest. This creates a noticeable difference in the color of cow cheese compared to sheep cheese, which is naturally white because sheep do not retain beta carotene in their milk.

However, an economic factor also comes into play: cow's milk can be skimmed to make butter , a product that has a higher market value. When the cream is removed, the cheese loses some of its beta-carotene-containing fat, resulting in a lighter cheese color.

Cheesemakers quickly realized that they could solve this problem by coloring the cheese to make it look like it still contained enough fat and beta carotene. They began using natural substances like saffron, marigolds, and even carrot juice to color the cheese.

In the 16th century, a seed called annatto, brought back from South America by the Dutch, changed the game. Annatto became a popular dye because it was cheap and had a rich color that was in demand.

Since then, annatto has been widely used in cheese dyeing, not only in Dutch cheeses like Gouda but also in English cheeses like cheddar, giving them the appearance of being made from beta-carotene-rich spring milk.

The tradition of coloring cheese with annatto has lasted for centuries, and it is still maintained today. Even though cows no longer eat as much grass as they used to, and instead eat mainly corn and soybeans, the orange-yellow color of the cheese is still expected by consumers.

Annatto appears not only in cheese but also in many other products, from potato chips to cheese-related snacks, all of which carry this characteristic orange color.