Mexican
Horchata
Rice and a cinnamon stick soak in cold water, then blend and strain into milk sweetened with sugar. A short warm-up of the cinnamon milk is the only time the stove is on.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 8 min
- Total
- 28 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Easy
Why you’ll love it
- The rice soaks in the refrigerator, not on the counter, so it stays cold while it softens.
- Blending and straining leaves the starch in the drink and the grit behind.
- Warming the milk with cinnamon and sugar dissolves the sugar and blooms the spice, then it is cooled.
- The drink settles. It needs a stir before every pour.
Ingredients
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Instructions
- 1
Rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs mostly clear. Put the rice, 1 cinnamon stick, and the 4 cups water in a jar.
- 2
Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours. Do not soak it on the counter.
- 3
You can warm the milk while the rice is soaking, or the next morning before you blend. Put the milk, the second cinnamon stick, and the sugar in a saucepan over medium-low.
- 4
Heat just until the milk is steaming and the sugar dissolves, about 5 to 8 minutes. Do not boil it. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Cool, then refrigerate until cold. Discard that cinnamon stick.
- 5
Remove the cinnamon stick from the rice. Blend the rice and its soaking water until the liquid looks milky, about 2 minutes.
- 6
Strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth, pressing on the solids. Discard the pulp.
- 7
Stir the strained rice liquid into the cold cinnamon milk.
- 8
Serve over the ice and dust with the ground cinnamon. Stir before pouring. This makes about 6 glasses.
Pro tips
- If you skip the strain, the drink is gritty. A clean flour-sack towel works if you do not have cheesecloth.
- Boiling the milk makes it skin over and can curdle when it meets the rice liquid. Steaming is enough.
- Leftover horchata separates in the fridge. Shake the jar before you pour.
Easy substitutions
- whole milk
- unsweetened almond milk
- granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup honey, stirred into the warm milk
- cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon stirred into the milk, then strained
Storage and reheating
Storage
Refrigerate in a covered jar up to 3 days. Stir or shake before serving.
Reheating
Do not reheat. Serve cold over ice.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 151
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 28 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 0 g
Budget friendly · Stovetop, No Cook
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From the kitchen
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A heavy 12-inch skillet
Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.
An air fryer with a real basket
The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.
A half-sheet pan
Drumsticks, potatoes, sausage, and carrots all use one. A dark pan browns faster than a very shiny one.
A sharp chef’s knife
These recipes do not need a specialty blade. A sharp 8-inch knife is faster and safer than a dull one.
A large cutting board
Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.
Dry cups and a liquid cup
Desserts in particular expect level dry measures and a separate cup for milk.
An instant-read thermometer
Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.
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