As someone who is lactose intolerant, I’m not supposed to eat anything with dairy in it. Of course being the food lover that I am, it’s hard to avoid, and I usually toss caution to the wind to indulge in some creamy dairy goodness. There are milk substitutes for vegans and broken people like me, but none quite capture the essence of the rich white velvety liquid that blankets your tongue in a comforting layer of creamy sweetness. Of all the dairy substitutes I’ve found that rice milk is the closest to the milk that comes from cows, which is probably why I love Horchata so much.
Horchata is a beverage that was originally made with tigernuts, and came to the New World along with settlers from Spain. Today, you’ll see a huge glass mason jar filled with ice and horchata at almost every taqueria in Mexico and it’s a great way to quench the fire when you’ve gone overboard with the _Tapatío.
It’s not as rich as milk, but it is sweet and creamy with a nice zing that comes from the cinnamon. I normally make it using almonds, but Syrie from Taste Buddies posted about making cream from raw cashews a couple weeks ago and I had to try it in Horchata. It worked out great, giving it a wonderfully creamy texture, without imparting a lot of its own flavour.
Units
Ingredients
- ½ cups uncooked long-grain rice
- 1 cup raw cashew nuts
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup evaporated cane sugar
- 2 ½ crushed ice (or 1 1/2 cups water)
- ground cinnamon for dusting
Instructions
- Wash the rice and cashews to remove any starch or debris on the exterior then add 2 cups of cold water and a toasted cinnamon stick. Toasting the cinnamon releases the flavourful oils in the stick and will enhance your finished horchatta. Soak for at least 3 hours, or preferably, overnight.
- Dump the water, rice, cashews and cinnamon into a blender and blend for a few minutes until it is very smooth. Add the sugar and an additional 2 cups of water and continue to blend for another few minutes.
- Pour the mixture through a double mesh sieve into a bowl with a spout. Then pour the mixture through a sieve with even smaller holes (I used one made for separating oil from water). You could also wash your double mesh sieve and line it with a quadruple layer of cheesecloth. Use a spoon to stir the solids around, which will help the liquid pass through.
- Your horchata should now be free of any chalkiness. If you want to serve it right away, add 2 1/2 cups of crushed ice. If you're going to store it, add 1 1/2 cups of water and refrigerate. Dust with ground cinnamon when serving.
Marc Matsumoto says
Nice catch, it uses uncooked rice. I’ve clarified above.
Angela says
I love horchata. I drank it all the time when I lived in Mexico but I never knew how to make it. Thanks for this delicious-looking recipe. I’m now inspired to make it!
Angela says
I love horchata. I drank it all the time when I lived in Mexico but I never knew how to make it. Thanks for this delicious-looking recipe. I’m now inspired to make it!
Maureen says
Is it at all possible to make this with ready-made rice milk?
Maureen says
Is it at all possible to make this with ready-made rice milk?
Marc Matsumoto says
Sure, just replace the rice and water with rice milk. I’d still blend it with the raw cashews though otherwise you won’t get the same creaminess.
Marc Matsumoto says
Sure, just replace the rice and water with rice milk. I’d still blend it with the raw cashews though otherwise you won’t get the same creaminess.’, ‘0
Cpettigrew2 says
hey when you say RAW cashew nuts, can i just use any bag of cashews?
Marc Matsumoto says
They need to be unroasted (they should be a very pale creamy color).
Once they’re roasted, they won’t work properly. They should either be
labelled “raw” or “unroasted”, they sell them at Wholefoods.
no milk for me says
Actually there is no milk in cream or butter so if you’re lactose intolerant you can have those.
Marilia says
Do you have to use cashews or is walnuts okay?
Marc Matsumoto says
I’ve never tried it with walnuts, but I don’t think it will be creamy
like it is when you make it with cashews.
El La_makota says
Thank you, thank you, thank you and thank you. I’ve been looking for a recipe on how to make horchata. You made my day. THANK YOU AGAIN:-)
MA.NYC says
hmmm… not sure what you mean here, cream and butter are both dairy products and not suitable for the lactose intolerant.
Todd Appel says
I have been making cashew, almond, macadamia, steel cut oat orgeat/horchatas for a while now…I love the cashew!!