Rucu: The One That Is Not Hot At All

Rucu is annatto: the seed of the achiote tree, which colours and flavours an enormous amount of Caribbean and Latin American cooking. It is what gives rice, stews and marinades that deep orange without any chilli at all.

Ours registers zero on our own heat scale, which occasionally confuses people who came looking for fire. It is not a mild version of anything. It is a base, in the way a good stock is a base.

Use it where you want colour and a warm, earthy savouriness: in rice before the water goes in, rubbed onto chicken before it roasts, stirred through a pot of beans.

It comes in a jar rather than a bottle, because it is thicker than the sauces and you will be spooning it.