FitttZee » Drinks » Horchata Drink Recipe

Horchata Drink Recipe

Should we embrace changes or shun them? Many things in life would have perished long ago without adapting to the new environment including the Horchata.

How much do we change when take the leap to leave our old life behind and start something else, somewhere else? Do we take the whole of ourselves with us or parts of us remain behind like shreds of memory scattered along the road?

What was before the change?

As we, humans tend to be social organisms or at least this is what helped us survive the long years without internet, we seek belonging wherever we are. As getting into groups gave us an evolutionary edge and helped us in the wilderness, it got burned into our DNA.

Groups are not always happy to accept new people though. Especially not if the group was not created to be a fan of something but to ensure survival of the tribe. However, if more members join the tribe, the easier the everyday tasks and food sourcing gets, the more they need to sustain their existence.

As early humans weren’t really able to think outside the box or rather their hunting territory, so they were forced to live by the rules of nature and live off what the land provided. If someone was casted out of such tribe for not being nice, was meant certain death, rather sooner than later. One may have tried to apply for a position at other clans but as all other clans were rivals, probably most applications requests were turned down.

What has changed?

Once they started to bend the environment to their needs, things started to be bit brighter. Suddenly humans had surplus of goods. As trading the same thing among themselves quickly got boring, they needed to find a way to save their markets so started to seek export opportunities.

The rival tribes soon became trading partners and allowed bear skins to be swapped to barley or in case of mutual trust just to shells with indication of how much each party owns to the other. Money Heist would have been a much less elaborate series about a road trip to the seaside back then.

Moving between people became a thing. Someone could move from one place to the other without being killed. Even more exciting, people could be accepted into different communities as a fully-fledged member, given that they respected the rules of said group.

What hasn’t changed?

As our reptilian brain doesn’t leave anything behind that once helped us to survive, we carried our ability of belonging to society the new age too. It’s a pretty basic thing really. We just need to show the new group that we are one of them by doing the same thing they do.

In case of bear hunters, we have to kill a bear, in case of investment bankers simply wear a pair of black shoes or in case wanted to be excluded from any group try sandals with socks.

As with everything in life -and especially things with our primitive brain in the modern era- that has advantages, it has disadvantages too.

Copying others caused the Covid-19 toilet paper craze and the following shortages in flour, yeast and vanilla. This is why we behave like sheep and follow the one in the front during events when we have no idea what’s going on.

What’s the price of change?

Similarly, this is why people who smoke, drink or being fat have friends and family who are more likely to smoke, drink and being overweight. Even if we know that smoking, drinking or putting on weight is bad as long as our unconscious sees it as normal behavior, we don’t feel inclined to act upon it.

Seeking something new always requires sacrifices on the altar of hope without us knowing if the price we pay will be worth it at the end. If we don’t try though, we can only lose. Just imagine what would have happened if the Spanish had given up upon Horchatas when they realized that there are no tiger nuts in the Americas.

How has Horchata changed?

Horchata de chufa is a Spanish drink made of tiger nuts. Originally though as its name implies, it’s made of barley but since traveled through the Atlantic and took up a new home in Mexico, it’s made of rice. Another thing that traveled from the old continent and survived the best it could.

Originally from Valencia, Spain where legend says that after the king has first been served by a cup of Horchata, he said in Valencia “Açò és or, xata!” which translates to “It’s gold, pretty girl

It definitely sounds better than the linguistic explanation that roots in the Latin expression of “made from barley” but anyone can pick the version closest to one’s heart.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom

Ingredients

Type 1 – Horchata made from Tiger nuts

  • 1 cup / 200g Tiger nuts
  • 4 cup / 1000ml Water
  • ½ cup / 70g Almond (optional)
  • 1 stick Cinnamon (optional)
  • ½ stick Vanilla (optional)

Type 2 – Horchata made from rice

  • 1 cup / 200g Rice
  • 4 cup / 1l Water or Milk
  • ½ cup / 70g Almond (optional)
  • 1 stick Cinnamon (optional)
  • ½ stick Vanilla (optional)

Milk or evaporated milk can be used instead of water to dilute the horchata.

How to make Horchata

Type 1 – Horchata made from Tiger nuts

  1. Rinse the tiger nuts.
  2. Soak the tiger nuts in 2 cups of water for 8 to 24 hours.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  3. Place the soaked tiger nuts and some soaking water into a food processor.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  4. Add the optional almonds, cinnamon and vanilla too and give it a whirl.  Depending on the size of the food processor, we may need to do this in batches.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  5. If it doesn’t seem to be blending nicely then add a bit more water and process it until there is a uniform mixture.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  6. Pour the pureed nuts into a sieve.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  7. Add the remaining water along with the soaking water. We can use more water but be mindful of that too much water will dilute the mixture, making it too watery.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  8. Let the whole thing soak for about 15 minutes then lift the sieve and press out all of the liquid from the nuts. Alternatively a cheesecloth can be used or even better invest in a vegan milker.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  9. This is the time to taste the Horchata and add sweetener if necessary.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  10. Pour the Horchata into a pitcher or bottle and place it into the fridge until serving.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom

Enjoy!

Type 2 – Horchata made from rice

  1. Rinse the rice.
  2. Soak the rice in 2 cups of water for 8 to 24 hours.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  3. Place the soaked rice and some soaking water into a food processor.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  4. Add the optional almonds, cinnamon and vanilla too and give it a whirl.  Depending on the size of the food processor we may need to do this in batches.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  5. If it doesn’t seem to be blending well then add a bit of more water and process it until there is a uniform mixture.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  6. Pour the pureed rice and nuts into a sieve.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  7. Add the remaining water along with the soaking water. We can use more water but be mindful of that too much water will dilute the mixture making it too watery.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  8. Let the whole thing soak for about 15 minutes then lift the sieve and press out all the liquid from the nuts. Alternatively a cheesecloth can be used or even better invest in a vegan milker.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  9. This is the time to taste the Horchata and add sweetener if necessary.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom
  10. Pour the Horchata into a pitcher or bottle and place it into the fridge until it’s been served.Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom

Enjoy!

Note: It is crucial to soak the rice before blending it otherwise it won’t break up into small enough pieces, resulting a too thin watery mixture.

Horchata-recipe-SunCakeMom

Print

Star this recipe!

Horchata Drink Recipe

Should we embrace changes or shun them? Many things in life would have perished long ago without adapting to the new environment including the Horchata.
Course Drinks
Cuisine Dairy free, Gluten free, Mediterranean, Mexican, Sugar free recipe
Prep Time 1 day
Cook Time 0 minutes

Ingredients

Type 1 - Horchata made from Tiger nuts
  • 1 cup / 200g Tiger nuts
  • 4 cup / 1000ml Water
  • ½ cup / 70g Almond optional
  • 1 stick Cinnamon optional
  • ½ stick Vanilla optional
Type 2 - Horchata made from rice
  • 1 cup / 200g Rice
  • 4 cup / 1l Water or Milk
  • ½ cup / 70g Almond optional
  • 1 stick Cinnamon optional
  • ½ stick Vanilla optional

Instructions

Type 1 - Horchata made from Tiger nuts

  • Rinse the tiger nuts.
  • Soak the tiger nuts in 2 cups of water for 8 to 24 hours.
  • Place the soaked tiger nuts and some soaking water into a food processor.
  • Add the optional almonds, cinnamon and vanilla too and give it a whirl. Depending on the size of the food processor, we may need to do this in batches.
  • If it doesn't seem to be blending nicely then add a bit more water and process it until there is a uniform mixture.
  • Pour the pureed nuts into a sieve.
  • Add the remaining water along with the soaking water. We can use more water but be mindful of that too much water will dilute the mixture, making it too watery.
  • Let the whole thing soak for about 15 minutes then lift the sieve and press out all of the liquid from the nuts. Alternatively a cheesecloth can be used or even better invest in a vegan milker.
  • This is the time to taste the Horchata and add sweetener if necessary.
  • Pour the Horchata into a pitcher or bottle and place it into the fridge until serving.
  • Enjoy!

Type 2 - Horchata made from rice

  • Rinse the rice.
  • Soak the rice in 2 cups of water for 8 to 24 hours.
  • Place the soaked rice and some soaking water into a food processor.
  • Add the optional almonds, cinnamon and vanilla too and give it a whirl. Depending on the size of the food processor we may need to do this in batches.
  • If it doesn't seem to be blending well then add a bit of more water and process it until there is a uniform mixture.
  • Pour the pureed rice and nuts into a sieve.
  • Add the remaining water along with the soaking water. We can use more water but be mindful of that too much water will dilute the mixture making it too watery.
  • Let the whole thing soak for about 15 minutes then lift the sieve and press out all the liquid from the nuts. Alternatively a cheesecloth can be used or even better invest in a vegan milker.
  • This is the time to taste the Horchata and add sweetener if necessary.
  • Pour the Horchata into a pitcher or bottle and place it into the fridge until it's been served.

Notes

It is crucial to soak the rice before blending it otherwise it won't break up into small enough pieces, resulting a too thin watery mixture.

 

Pin now, Enjoy later!

Horchata-drink-recipe-Pinterest-SunCakeMom

1 thought on “Horchata Drink Recipe”

  1. 5 stars
    Oh my, I love horchata. I always buy the sugar free version in the supermarket. It’s very delicious, refreshing and healthy.
    Now, thanks to your recipe I can make my own.
    Thanks you!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Starring is caring, Star this recipe!