Understanding why cheese and milk have different colors

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When you think of cheese, you likely picture a distinct yellow or orange hue–in addition to its taste, of course!

Source product

But if cheese comes from milk, and milk is white, why is cheese yellow or orange?

Beginning with diet

To understand the natural reasons for cheese's color, we need to consider the process of milk production. Animals such as cows, buffalo, goats, and sheep, in their natural, non-industrialized environment, primarily consume grass.

Nutritious and colorful

Lush, green, seasonal grass contains beta-carotene.

Milk tint

As animals graze on lush pastures, this pigment-rich compound is absorbed into their bloodstream and transferred to their milk.

Here comes the tone

The cheesemaking process transforms milk, revealing the hidden pigment. As the milk curdles and the whey is drained off, the fat globules disintegrate, revealing the beta-carotene.

Why so white?

That's also the reason why not all cheeses are yellow. Some, like cottage cheese and feta, remain white.

Seasonal impact

Turning to market factors, the increased nutritional content of spring and summer grass results in higher levels of beta-carotene in milk. So the naturally yellower and higher-quality cheese produced in spring and summer established a desirable standard.

Butter vs. cheese

Cheese glow-up

Back in the 15th century, farmers discovered that they could dye cheese to mimic the appearance of a higher fat content.

Not sustainable

But saffron and marigold were expensive and didn't color the cheese enough, so farmers sought a more cost-effective alternative.

Natural treasure

They discovered a promising alternative in the annatto seed, derived from a South American shrub.

Cheese dye

Cheeses were colored using annatto in two methods: surface application, as seen in Dutch Gouda, or addition to the milk, as practiced in the production of English hard pressed cheeses such as Cheshire and cheddar.

We keep tinting

But because we've been used to centuries of saturated colors of cheese, none of that really matters when it comes to marketing. We still expect our cheddar to maintain a golden hue, and we can still thank annatto for that.

Personal preference

Today, we can find a variety of cheeses at grocery stores, from the intensely yellow-dyed to the more natural, white cheddar. Cheese enthusiasts often prefer cheese from grass-fed cows, naturally tinted with beta-carotene.