Homemade Horchata Recipe (Easy)

You can make this traditional horchata recipe easily at home with just a few ingredients and you can experiment by making your own versions too.

Horchata sometimes called orxata and horchata boba is a typical drink from the Valencia region of Spain, but has also been . It is made with the tubers of earth almonds aka Tiger Nuts (Cyperus esculentus L.). According to The Real Academia Espanola, the authentic horchata is a mixture of chufa or tiger nut tuber, water and sugar.

Horchata is an organic drink based on chufa and is typical of the Valencia region. It’s one of the most popular drinks in Spanish gastronomy and has been popular lately as also a traditional Mecican drink. It’s rich in amino acids, starch, mineral salts, natural fiber and potassium and is often recommended for diabetics and sportsmen.

This gluten-free milk drink can be consumed at any age and is highly appreciated in hot summer days too.

The edible chufa nut is from a perennial tuber plant belonging to the family Cyperaceae. Botanically referenced under the Latin names of cyperus esculentus or cyperus tuberosus Pursh, the stem bears different names according to the regions or countries it is grown:

tuberous stem, sweet stem, Sultan stem, tracer stem, edible stem, creeping stem, Earth almond, trasi, chufa, earth almond, ground almond, northern nut-grass, nut-grass, rushnut, yellow nut-grass, yellow nut sedge,…

The rhizomes are elongated and bear at the ends of the tubers (oblong to rounded, 5-20 mm in length).

Uncultivated stump is usually considered a weed, it spreads easily in Sandy and moist soils, in the sun.

Cultivated strains can yield a harvest of about 3 kg per m2. They are harvested in autumn when the leaves are completely dried. The bulbs set to dry shrivel. Those intended for cultivation are stored dry and cool and will serve as “seed” for the next year. Like a seed to germinate, these tubers remain alive for a long time.

The chufa milk is a great natural alternative plant / nut milk to cow milk. It is consumed plain, sweetened or served as a substitute for milk in many culinary preparations.

What is Horchata?

It is known that the stem was grown in Neolithic Egypt because the remains of the plant were found in offerings made to the gods. Thanks to archaeological studies, it is also known that it was consumed raw or dry and rehydrated.

There are many references to the stem in different places around the world throughout history. However, the first document to mention the Horchata dating from the eighteenth century says that the word horchata was born in 1732. But it is true that another similar drink was consumed in ancient Egypt but it was made from barley.

There are several legends about the origin of the word horchata. One of them speaks of an Aragonese King from the time of the reconquest. The story goes that a peasant woman had given to the king of the horchata. He then asked her for the name of this drink and the girl replied “chufa’s milk” , to which the King replied: “Això è or, xata “(“this is gold, little one”).

The first recipe for horchata dates back to 1786 in “Alcaldes de Casas Y Cortes”.

With Spanish horchata, sugar has almost become the main ingredient. But in recent years, sugar-free horchata and other variants have been marketed to meet the needs of people worried about their health.

Such a good drink had unsurprisingly spread to many other countries of the world. In Italy and Malta, there is a drink called “orzata” based on bitter almonds. In France, this is called orgeat. The drink even crossed and conqured the hearts over the Atlantic: in Mexico horchata is made with rice, and in Cuba and Puerto Rico it is prepared from sesame seeds.

Horchata is mainly consumed in the long summer months when the heat is difficult to bear. The horchata is then ideal for cooling off. However, you will find them throughout the Year in supermarkets in Spain, if you go to Valencia, then do not miss absolutely to taste this specialty of the region in the “horchaterías”.

Put in the fridge and serve well chilled!

Did you know: horchata is a vegetable plant milk drink that has been served in Valencia (Spain) since the dawn of time, well as far back as 13th-century actually, and is made from chufa (” chufas ” in Spanish), a small tuber grown in Alboraya, a municipality located on the outskirts of the city.

It is also where you can find all the horchata factories in the area, and I even had the opportunity to visit one during my vacation. Hey yes ! I spent three weeks in Valencia and so I take the opportunity to offer you recipes from the region.

If you are walking in Valencia, you will find some stump for sale from the street horchata sellers of the city but also at the market, in the souvenir shops… if you have a blender and a Chinese, it is worth bringing some to make a delicious horchata “home”. Otherwise, do not panic, we find STEM (also called tiger nuts) in bios stores or on sale online.

The tiger nut (cyperus esculentus lativum) is the tuber of the stem, of the same family as the papyrus growing at the edge of the water and loving moisture.

This tuber is originating from Egypt was imported into Spain during the war against the Moors. Its culture dates back 3000 years.

How To Prepare It Yourself At Home?

The horchata de chufas as it’s called in Spain is served freshly made and often as a cooled drink, accompanied by fartóns, small sticks of brioche bread that you dip directly into the glass. I’ll give you the recipe in a next ticket. For the record, this is the pastry we see in my photo, behind the glass of horchata tea drink.

Necessary material: 1 blender, a Chinese and its pestle or a fine strainer and a pestle. Optional: a thin cloth to sift the mixture (see note).

Stir well before pouring into the glasses, and serve well cool, accompanied by fartons.

Horchata is stored no more than 2-3 days in the fridge. Do not forget to mix well before each serving.

In Alboraya, I was recommended to pass the mixture once mixed in a fine cloth to eliminate any pasty consistency. In fact, once the mixture passed to the Chinese, I found that it was not worth it. But if your colander is not thin enough to sift the mixture, you may need it. As a result, the operation is also more tedious.

The commercially sold horchata has on average 80 g of sugar per liter. I find it too sweet, and the “homemade” versions normally has about 60 g of sugar per liter and you can easily adjust this or just use a natural sweetener like honey. With 40 g sugar, I got it at a sugar dosage that suits me, but it may not be your case. So, it’s up to you to adjust the quantities according to your tastes and needs.

The taste resembles that of orgeat syrup.

Strain tubers can be eaten as they are if they are of good quality, and their taste is somewhat reminiscent of coconut.

My friends in Alboraya, told me that large local agri-food producers are now cultivating the strain in Africa, to lower costs. These tubers are less good, for a beast matter of harvesting method. Indeed, in Spain, once harvested, the stem tubers are put to dry in dedicated spaces, where they are returned regularly until the right texture is obtained.

This also helps to concentrate the flavors, while in Africa, the STEM is left to dry out on its soil. The tubers are then larger, since they were left to continue their growth, but less concentrated in taste.

Easy Horchata Latte Recipe (Traditional Mexican Drink )

How To Make An Authentic Rice Milk Horchata Latte Drink Recipe At Home

No matter how you drink your coffee-with sugar, black, with cream or milk – this recipe for horchata latte will surely become your next favorite homemade drink.

Horchata Ingredients

• A cup of white rice, strained
• A cinnamon stick broken into small pieces and other spices to decorate
• Four cups of water
• Agave to taste
• 2 cups of whole milk (optional and you can replace this with almond milk or other plant/nut based milk or just skip it entirely)
• 4 small cups of espresso coffee, at room temperature

Preparation

1. Mix the rice with the cinnamon stick in a blender with water. Blend for two minutes until the rice mixture is a thick paste.
2. Pass the rice mixture into a bowl and cool for an hour. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a jar. Add the agave nectar and beat.
3. Add the milk to the rice mixture and cool for another hour. Add ice cubes to a glass. Add two small cups of espresso and enough horchata until the Cup is filled.
4. Decorate with a cinnamon stick and enjoy.

Horchata is nutritious, energizing and rich in minerals and vitamins E and C. It is served chilled, sometimes with crushed ice (granizado).

Enjoy!

Horchata No Milk Recipe

Well, in the authentic horchata recipe there’s no cow milk really, so if you don’t want to consume any animal milk in your drink then you are good to go. The “milk” in this latte is a plant based and is made from nuts (in case you are  using tigernut or almonds) or rice if you made rice milk for the recipe. You can use any other vegan nut or seed milk really.

Horchata Almond Milk Recipe

Ingredients

• 400 g Peeled almonds
• 300 g Powdered sugar
• 2 l. clean filtered Water
• 1 Cinnamon stick

Method

1. Mix the almonds with a little water to get a cream. Heat the water, remove from heat, add almond cream and cinnamon.
2. Cover and leave for at least 1 hour at room temperature. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Filter, 2 times if necessary.
3. Set aside 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving with crushed ice (optional).

 

Coconut Horchata Recipe (With Coconut Milk)

Ingredients

Servings: 6 cups

• 1 cup uncooked white rice
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 ½ cups water, divided
• 2/3 cup light coconut milk
• 1/3 cup fine sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation steps
Preparation: 15min “extra time: 3h for soaking” ready in: 3h15min

1. In the bowl of a blender, combine the raw uncooked rice, cinnamon and 3 cups of water; grind until rice begins to expand, for about 1 minute.
2. Transfer the blended mixture to a large bowl and add the remaining water (1 ½ cup); let it soak for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Over a large bowl, pour the mixture into a colander to remove the pieces of rice. Discard the rice leftovers.
4. To the liquid, add coconut milk, sugar and vanilla. Refrigerate before serving.

There you go, you have your homemade horchata drink recipe to enjoy and share with friends or family.