what is annato?

Answer 1

It's a spice. It's often used in foods to give it a yellow coloring.

For more info, check here:

http://www.thespicehouse.com/product/product_Annato-Seed.php

Answer 2

They are little dark red seeds. You heat them up in oil and it becomes very bright yellow/orange in color. It is used as a saffron substitute in Latin cooking. There are also little powder packets with annato, garlic, cilantro that can be used to flavor rice and soups etc. I use the SazonGoya packets to add a nice flavor to rice when cooking Latin foods.