The annatto, a native of tropical America, was introduced to the Philippines by the Spanish. It has spread to other parts of Southeast Asia, where it is a common shrub, grown for its decorative furry red seed pods which look somewhat like an elongated rambutan fruit.

            When the annatto pods are ripe, they turn brown and split open to reveal bright red seeds. These are used pri­marily as a food colouring or dye in the Philippines, but are not used in other Southeast Asian cuisines. Filipino cooks usually fry them gently in a little oil so that the oil takes on a bright red colour. This oil is then used to cook paella and other rice dishes. The seeds can also be soaked in water and the resulting liquid used in recipes where oil would be inappropriate. Today, commercial food colour­ing has largely replaced the use of annatto seeds.

            Annatto is ground and used as a spice in parts of Latin America, although it is not used in this fashion in the Philippines.