Cheese dye

[Kent Wang]

I just read this Straight Dope article "Why is cheddar cheese orange?"

Sure orange is easy to spot, but how about yellow? The Kraft American cheese is probably dyed, but I've also had Tillamook (which I think is a pretty good product) that's yellow. Of the more artisanal cheeses it seems all are much less yellow, more like a beige or cream, with the exception of hard cheeses like parmegiano -- I assume because they're more concentrated they take on more of the color.

Does dye have any effect on flavor?

[Lisa Shock]

I would like to point out that years ago I made some cheese and butter from milk/cream that I got fresh, directly from a Jersey cow. Both turned bright orange and I did nothing to color them. (I didn't even salt the butter.) So, natural beta-carotene in milk can do the trick, I guess levels of it just aren't extremely consistent.

That said, annatto has a fairly mild flavor and I don't think that most people can taste it in the concentrations used in cheese. You can find it occasionally at large asian markets or spice stores if you wish to taste it for yourself. -It's certainly not like the flavor of the artificial red dyes, which I taste in all sorts of foods. (The Costco berry smoothie is really annoying in this regard.)