Horchata
Long-grain rice soaked for hours, blended with cinnamon and its own soaking water, then strained and sweetened with vanilla. The drink traces to North African tiger-nut beverages that spread to Valencia, Spain under Muslim rule, but tiger nuts weren't available when Spanish colonizers brought the drink to Mexico, so it was genuinely reinvented there using rice, making Mexican horchata a real New World adaptation rather than the same recipe as the original Spanish chufa horchata.
Vegan-optionalVegetarian
⚠ Contains: Dairy. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 1 cinnamon stick, plus extra for garnish
- 4 cups hot water, for soaking
- 3 cups cold water, for blending
- 3/4 cup sugar, adjust to taste
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk or evaporated milk, optional
- Ice, for serving
Steps
- Combine the rice and cinnamon stick in a bowl or blender jar, and pour over the hot water. Cover and soak at room temperature 4-6 hours, or overnight in the fridge.
- Blend the soaked rice, cinnamon, and soaking water on high until as smooth as possible, 2-3 minutes.
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a pitcher, pressing to extract all the liquid, and discard the solids.
- Stir in the cold water, sugar, and vanilla extract until the sugar dissolves. Add milk if using a creamier style.
- Chill at least 1 hour. Stir well before serving over ice, dusted with a pinch of ground cinnamon.