Horchata - A Mexican Rice Milk Non-Alcoholic Drink
You may think that Horchatas originated in Mexico, but ancient word has it that the Horchata got its start with the ancient Egyptians! Those King Tut lovers made their horchata from barley, which makes me think it was more like beer back then.
Those adventurous and thirsty explorers of the times brought the Horchata to the Mediterranean area, where it became popular in Italy and Spain. The Romans made theirs from tiger nuts or chufa, which are really a tuber, grown underground.
Horchata beverages became popular in Spain as early as the 13th Century, but it was still made with tiger nuts. When the Spanish explorers ventured into New World, their beloved drink was in danger of becoming extinct, as there were no tiger nuts! Being industrious and again - thirsty, they substituted rice and cinnamon for the tiger nuts, and the modern-day Horchata was born in the Americas!
The Horchata de chufa (or tiger nut horchata) is still live and well in some African countries, such as Nigeria.
This recipe was give to me a couple of decades ago, when we lived in Houston. The mother of one of my students used to make it and send a bottle to school for me!
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Makes about 2 liters.
Ingredients 2 cups long-grain rice 2 & 1/2 cups hot water 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon or 1 medium cinnamon stick 1/2 cup sugar (plus more to taste) 4 cups cold water 1 cup ice 1 & 1/2 cups of whole milk 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon for garnish |
Steps
- Place the uncooked rice and the cinnamon in a bowl. Add enough hot water to cover the rice. Give it a stir, then cover the bowl with a clean dishcloth, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.
- Pour the bowl contents: rice, cinnamon, and water into a blender.
- Add 4 additional cups of cold water and 1 cup of ice and blend for 2-3 minutes or until smooth.
- Carefully pour the rice mixture through a strainer into a jug or pitcher. Throw away or compost any solids left in the stainer.
- Stir in sugar until it dissolves. Taste test, adding more sugar, if necessary.
- Add milk and stir in. Do another tast test to see if you need a little more sugar or not.
- Refrigerate at least an hour before serving over ice with a garnish of cinnamon! Place the pitcher in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour until cold.
- Stir and serve cold over ice. Garnish with ground cinnamon if desired.
