horchata
Horchata is a delicious Latin dessert drink that is smooth, rich and refreshing. This popular drink is made slightly differently in every region - in Spain it’s made with soaked tiger nuts while in Latin America the main ingredient is traditionally soaked white rice. This recipe is for the Mexican version (horchata de arroz) using soaked white rice and cinnamon sticks as the base. Because this recipe uses two types of milk and vanilla for flavor it makes a great base for other things as well like homemade horchata ice cream!
More about Horchata
Horchata is rooted in Spain but quickly made a spot for itself in the Americas when the Spanish brought the drink over to the New World. Instead of tiger nuts they used what was available in the new environment which was white rice. Because horchatas base is soaked white rice being delicious is not the only benefit this drink has - it’s packed with vitamins that promote healthy skin, hair, and nails as well as anti inflammatory benefits that could reduce pain for people with chronic health conditions.
How to make horchata?
Making horchata from scratch is so easy you will never want to buy it again! First wash your rice and break the cinnamon sticks into smaller pieces. Then place them in a large bowl and pour in 5 cups of water, cover and refrigerate over night. Next day pour the mixture in a food processor and blend until smooth, then place a fine sieve or a cheesecloth over a pitcher. Pour the mixture into the pitcher through the cheesecloth and squeeze all the liquids out before discarding the solids. Stir in 4 cups of water, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla. Add ground cinnamon and sugar to taste. Refrigerate until cold for best flavor.
Tips
Horchata can last up to 5 days in the refrigerator, just stir well before pouring a glass as the spices fall on the bottom!
Don’t skip using the cheesecloth over the fine sieve! It will help catch the smaller particles making sure the horchata isn’t gritty, and after pressing all the liquids out you can just simply pick up the cheesecloth and throw it in the trash making the clean up much easier!
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Horchata
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash rice and break cinnamon sticks into smaller pieces. Place the washed rice in a bowl with 5 cups of water and cinnamon sticks. Cover and refrigerate over night.
- Using a food processor, blend the water/rice mixture in two batches until smooth.
- Using a fine strainer or cheesecloth, pour the mixture into a pitcher and squeeze all the liquid out. Discard the solids. Add the remaining 4 cups of water into the pitcher, then add the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla. Add ground cinnamon and sugar if needed. Refrigerate until cold.
- Serve over ice and garnish with ground cinnamon!