I'm getting Baader-Meinhof'd so hard right now. I also had never heard of (that I remember) what a horchata was until yesterday... Now I come across this post. I'll have to try a recipe sometime too.
Love the serving size for those cereals. I probably ate 4-5 servings of cereal every morning as a kid, and fortunately had a high metabolism or I’d be the size of an ox now
It's originally a Spaniard drink, done with something called Chufa. The Mexican variant apparently is an imitation using rice as a replacement. Being in Europe I'd go for the real thing tbh.
It tastes like sweet almond milk, kinda, probably because chufa is called ground almond in english. You might get a similar taste if you mix rice and almond milk but don't tell any Valencian I said that.
The recipe u/pelespirit posted looks legit. I would tend to use less sugar. Cinnamon and vanilla are key. Whole milk will give a creamier texture, but that's a matter of taste. Some athletes use a combo of water, carbs, protein. Horchata is like an old school version of this, fwiw.
The fact that you will be nearer to the place where the real horchata is made? The Mexican horchata is an imitation of the one made with Chufa in Spain.
I live in Indiana and have never seen a single one. There are a few crappy Greek places that serve gyros, but they don't have the whole vertical rotisserie thing, which I feel is a pretty big part of it
Cold enough that you don't need ice but you'd probably still want some. They used to do this thing for like $7 a month you could get a drink everyday. I was putting down 44oz of horchata every day.
Place the rice and cinnamon stick in a large glass bowl and add the 4 cups of hot water. Cover the bowl with a dish or plastic wrap, then let it soak overnight, or at least 8 hours. *Please seeNOTES
The next day, pour the rice, cinnamon, and water into your blender and process until it becomes a smooth, watery paste.
Using a strainer or sieve, strain the mixture into a wide mouth pitcher, stirring to help the liquid pass through.
Add the milk (if using), vanilla extract, and the rest of the water. Stir in the sugar, adjusting the amount to fit your taste. Let the drink chill in the refrigerator. Stir the Horchata before serving, since the rice mix tends to settle at the bottom. Serve in glasses with ice cubes.
NOTES
If you have a Vitamix or other high-performance blender, you won’t need to rest the rice to soften it, as the blender will be powerful enough to grind the hard rice grains. Additionally, you probably won’t need to use a sieve or strainer to strain the rice water, as the rice mixture will be very finely processed.
Always taste the drink before adding the sugar. You might need more or less sugar than the amount indicated in the ingredients.
If you feel that the consistency of the Horchata is too thick or dense for your taste, simply add more water.
A light suggestion would be to put a little less sugar and then add sugar to taste. I would probably like more sugar than most people, so check that part. Also, don't sweat the cinnamon being Mexican only. It's great but not necessary for it to taste awesome. You can also buy rice milk already processed if you're pressed for time.