Some years previous (in 1835) a native gentleman, knowing that the cochineal was cultivated profitably in Honduras, thought it might be equally so in Teneriffe He therefore introduced the cactus ...

Cochineal’s significance as a red dye has guided human history in the Americas and beyond. So first, what is cochineal? Cochineal is the name of the insect and the red dye that is made from it.

But today, Peru dominates the market, and Mexico’s cochineal farms are disappearing. More from Big Business Cochineals are tiny bugs that live on prickly pear cactuses. The acid in their guts ...

Oh, and it's made from squashed bugs. Squashed female cochineal bugs, to be specific. They're tick-sized critters native to Mesoamerica where they suck the juice from prickly pear cactuses.

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The extract of cochineal tends to come up a lot. The cochineal bugs—a species of scale insect—are a centuries-old colorant. In the 19th century, chemists figured out how to make a synthetic ...

4. Place the remainder of the water in the “rinse” cup. 5. Arrange the bowl and spoon (or mortar and pestle), paper, paintbrushes, and dried cochineal bugs near the cups. Crush the bug into a fine ...