Classic Refreshing Horchata Recipe

Horchata is a drink known throughout Latin America and Spain, but in the United States, many of us are familiar with the Mexican version that is often sold by food trucks and restaurants. That is the type of horchata that developer Deniz Vergara is replicating here, a drink she calls "both creamy and refreshing with a flavor that is very similar to rice pudding."

While horchata can be enjoyed on its own or as an after-dinner dessert drink, Vergara also points out that "it is perfect alongside a spicy meal." Science backs her up on this, since both milk and sugar have been proven to help neutralize (or at least minimize) the pain that capsaicin can inflict on your tastebuds. A pitcher of horchata, therefore, is good to have on hand in the event that you overdo it on the habanero salsa or find your camarones a la diabla to be too hot to handle.

Vergara makes her horchata from long-grain white rice, milk, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt. She also uses both cinnamon sticks and blanched almonds for flavoring.

Place the rinsed and drained rice, almonds, cinnamon sticks, and 2 cups of water into a bowl. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours and up to overnight.

Once the rice has soaked, blend the rice-and-water mixture until very smooth.

Using a very fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth, pour the smooth rice mixture over a large liquid measuring cup or pitcher. Strain out as much liquid as possible, pushing the solids with the back of a spoon.

Pour the mixture back in the blender and add the milk, sugars, and salt. Blend until combined, about 30 seconds.

Chill before serving. Garnish with ground cinnamon, if desired.

While Vergara acknowledges that "You can absolutely buy almonds that are already blanched for convenience," she says that she starts with the skin-on kind and blanches them herself. It won't make a difference which kind you use, but if you only have natural almonds on hand, knowing how to blanch them can save you a trip to the store

If you've never tried to blanch an almond before, rest assured that it's not too difficult. "All you have to do is place the almonds in a heat-safe bowl and pour boiling water over them," says Vergara. Once the almonds have soaked in the hot water for about 1 minute, "the skins will pop off easily if you squeeze the almond in between your fingers," she says. You could also just leave the skins on the almonds, since there are some horchata recipes that call for natural almonds, as do some homemade almond milks. 

In Vergara's opinion, "regular, long-grain rice gives the most authentic flavor" to horchata, but she does allow that "you can use other types of rice." In fact, many horchatas throughout Latin America make use of grain substitutes, including sesame and calabash seeds, while Spanish horchata is made from tiger nuts. This means you're free to try out other ingredients as you see fit, although Vergara cautions that "some rice varieties have very distinct flavors and aromas that can distract from the cinnamon flavor," so you may want to use a little extra spice if you're a big cinnamon fan.

Vergara says that her second choice for horchata rice would be jasmine because that variety doesn't have a particularly distinctive taste. Brown rice is a possibility, as well, since it can impart a pleasantly nutty flavor to the beverage. Some people also enjoy horchata made from basmati rice, although this does have a strong flavor to it, so you may want to experiment with a smaller batch.