What makes some of your cheese a yellow color?

The exciting answer: cheesy magic! The less-exciting truth: annatto, a natural, plant-based food coloring extracted from the seeds of tropical annatto trees. Without annatto, cheese is the color of milk. Coloring has been added to cheddar cheese for centuries to regulate color variations in milk that can come from seasonal changes in the cow’s diet. These days, annatto helps ensure that each loaf of Tillamook cheese is the same color that our fans have come to expect. If you prefer a cheese that does not contain annatto, we also produce several white cheddar cheeses, too! Annatto does not affect the flavor of the cheese.