Substitute for achiote?

In the pic I posted above (post#2), you can see a light brown, hairy, pointed pod to the left. That's the seed pod. If you break the pods open and expose the seeds, they will (to paraphrase Ian Dury & the Blockheads) " hit you with their flavour stick". They'll also stain your fingers for a week.
 
A thing I've noticed with groups of posts chopped or moved to new threads is that they can lose part of the original context.

I saw the original query and discussion as twofold. There's the dish in general, it's originality along with its cooking method, its characteristics and ingredients and the experience and enjoyment of eating it, variations, and the question of substitution of an ingredient.

The thread becomes about a single ingredient which makes the topic much more narrow. Absolute authenticity of a regional dish is a topic. Another is about making a dish with most of the original attributes that is nonetheless in the same ball park and still authentic, but a variation.

I too think annatto is a extraordinary spice. After having bought a small package the first time I made Cochinita Pibil I was blown away and ended up buying a large jar of the stuff and use it in many dishes, many Mexican and Latin that take on a unique depth of flavour that is also described by its colour, its visual flavour.

I also don't think the annatto is the make or break of this dish and think you could make a pretty good Cochinita Pibil version without annatto. It would probably be a little closer to pork marinated and roasted in an adobo paste - ground mild chile, spices, garlic, vinegar etc, but the experience would be there, like a regional variation.
 
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Interesting. Also mentions turmeric. I like Karadekoolaid's fenugreek as well, for the hint of pungency. Kashmiri chili, as you prob know, is the one used for max colour and flavour in Indian cooking, so good choice. Mexican/New Mexico chiles come in many milder, sweeter pungent forms (including paprika of course) many of which are not easily found elsewhere, which is what I'd use if not annatto was available.

Good sub for fresh Seville orange juice is a mixture of fresh lime juice and fresh grapefruit juice.

edited to add:
If you can get hold of whole dried corn/maize kernels (dried mealies) you can make your own corn tortillas from scratch. Not hard.
 
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badjak said:
This seemed a pretty balanced article The Best Annatto Substitutes for Color and Flavor
For me, I'll go to kashmiri chili powder, knowing it will be different, but nice.
First needing to buy a chunk of pork though
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Yes, those subs sound better than the other link.

I'm sure you know, but for newbies, saffron can be difficult to use. Too much and you end up with a medicinal, unpleasant flavor. So, I wouldn't suggest using it as a sub except for risotto or paella type dishes, where a very small amount is used.
 
Z-Cook said:
Good sub for fresh Seville orange juice is a mixture of fresh lime juice and fresh grapefruit juice.

edited to add:
If you can get hold of whole dried corn/maize kernels (dried mealies) you can make your own corn tortillas from scratch. Not hard.
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You can use a mixture of orange and lime juice as well, equal parts. Latin markets sell bottled naranja as well.

Masa Harina works for corn tortillas and you can also get blue corn flour. Both are a lot less work than corn kernels, which involves getting the pickling ash or equivalent, boiling for hours, then grinding.
 
medtran49 said:
Masa Harina works for corn tortillas and you can also get blue corn flour. Both are a lot less work than corn kernels, which involves getting the pickling ash or equivalent, boiling for hours, then grinding.
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Suggestion for where masa harina and many ingredients are specialities and are hard to come by if at all, like annatto for e.g. 😎
 
badjak said:
I thought you needed treated corn flour?
Nixta-something?
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You do, but it's the dried corn kernels that are treated.
karadekoolaid said:
Yes, you're right. "Nixtmalizado" - treated with lye to remove the husks.
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Exactly. They're boiled, after which they're ground/blitzed/zapped into a dough - the Masa. The nixtamalization process greatly enhances the nutrients and nutritional quality of corn, especially the availability of proteins and trace minerals.

I'm in an area where it's routinely done for posole/hominy stews. It's only one step more to grind into the masa, the dough.

It's a faff, but actually quite simple and very rewarding if you have the time, the ingredients, and into from-scratch cooking 😎
 
badjak said:
I'll look into the process....
But now I need to find food-grade lime as well :)
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The original method is to burn salt brush (where I am) or dried corn cobs to an ash, sift the ash and use when needed, by adding to the boil water of a pot of corn kernels. I have a large jar of cooking ash. Around here it's a standard kitchen ingredient and local people diy from time to time for own use and some do it to sell.

It is some trouble to go to, and most people who don't make that type of food routinely wouldn't bother unless they had to or wanted to. But it's the original method and does work 😎
 
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