Horchata is a Mexican beverage that translated to Cinnamon Rice Milk. It is made by boiling rice in  a large amount of water and flavoring the “milk” with cinnamon, vanilla, or other flavors of choice such as peach. Sunny Anderson, the host of Cooking for Real on the Food Network, introduced viewers to this delicious drink. This is a fairly simple recipe, both in preparation and execution. I found this to be a very enjoyable drink on a cold, wintry day (like today!).

If the thought of rice milk seems just a little odd, keep in mind that rice milk is also sold at the supermarket as an alternative to dairy milk (along the lines of soy milk, or even coconut milk, which can be used to flavor beverages and dishes). For this recipe, do not use instant rice. Look for long-grain white rice, not brown. If fresh peaches are not available, frozen peaches can be substituted (thaw before using). The trick to this beverage is to blend the mixture completely, then strain the solids to make sure the texture is consistent.

Peach Horchata
adapted from Sunny Anderson

1 cup white rice (not instant)
8 cups cold water, divided
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (3 inch) cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp salt
1 ripe peach, pitted and sliced into 8 wedges
5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed (optional)
Ground cinnamon, for serving

In a large saucepan, stir rice with 6 cups of water, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon stick, salt, peach slices, and cardamom pods (if using). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 40 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and cardamom pods.

Working in batches, puree rice mixture in a blender. Pour puree through a fine sieve, pushing through the solids and discarding the large pieces. Return to saucepan and add remaining 2 cups of water. Stirring occasionally, return mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving pitcher.

To serve hot: pout into mugs, dusting with ground cinnamon as desired.

To serve cold: allow mixture to cool to room temperature, then chill for 2-3 hours. Mixture might be slightly thicker when served cold. If to thick, add a small amount of cold water.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 5th, 2009 at 5:05 am and is filed under Beverages, Recipes, Special Projects, Turkey Talk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.