Some of the other ingredients: sugar, rice powder and vanilla.
Pouring in the sugar.
Pouring in the vanilla.
Everything whisked in including the cold water and then the rice powder.
A cool, refreshing glass of horchata-basically slightly sweetened rice milk.
Horchata
1 quart Milk
4 cinnamon sticks
1/3 c. uncooked rice, ground to powder in blender
¾ cup sugar
1 tbsp. Vanilla
2 quarts cold water
Bring milk and cinnamon sticks to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and pour mixture into a large bowl. Whisk in sugar (leave the cinnamon sticks in-it’s okay if they break up some-the mixture will be strained later in the process.) Whisk in the vanilla and cold water. Then gradually pour in the rice powder, stirring vigorously as you add it so that it does not clump into a mass of rice at the bottom. Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
Then strain mixture through a fine cloth ( I use a clean fine mesh dish towel) into a new bowl. Do not use a strainer or cheesecloth or a loose weave towel-these will allow sediment to get into the finished product and gritty rice powdery is not yummy to the palate. If desired, strain mixture again if you wish to get out more sediment. Throw away sediment and used cinnamon sticks. (Don’t try to save them-we’ve done that too-even trying to rinse them thoroughly-they just go moldy-not too appetizing. If anyone knows how to save the used cinnamon sticks I’m open to suggestions.)
Allow to chill thoroughly in a pitcher and enjoy! Makes 3 quarts- which is enough for Jessica for 24 hours or for a few days for the rest of us. We’ve been making this since 2001 and it’s still one of our favorite summer drinks.
Horchata has an interesting history. It’s known as an aguas frescas (Spanish for fresh (cold) waters) according to wikipedia. These drinks are also made with fruit in season and are light, refreshing and not too sweet. They nicely balance out a spicy meal or just provide a cool treat on a hot summer day.
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