This year it felt like summer never left, and with a blistering temperatures ahead of us, it’s important to stay hydrated, fresh, and cool. If you’re looking for a new way to cool down, why not try drinking some horchata? Horchata (the h is silent) is a refreshing drink popular in Spain and Latin America. Vampire Weekend sang about it’s warm variant on their sophomore album Contra, but it can also be served cold to ease long summer nights. Horchata varies from country to country, and my personal favorite is of course Salvadorean horchata (my mom is from El Salvador so I’m obviously biased about this). Distinct from other horchata recipes is its inclusion of morro seeds from the jicaro plant. Horchata has a flavor similar to taro, but horchata is a bit sweeter. Horchata is typically made with the ground almond, rice, sesame seeds, or barley.
morro seeds from the jicaro plant
You can buy instant horchata mix at Latin American grocery stores, but if you really want to get great authentic flavor, here’s a relatively simple recipe for homemade horchata with morro seed.
- Crushed pound of morro seeds, you can find morro seeds in Latin American grocery stores across New York City.
- 2 ounces of cinnamon
- 2 whole nutmegs
- 2 ounces of coriander seeds
- 25 allspice berries
- 4 pounds of rice
Begin to brown the rice (do not add water). To make sure it doesn’t burn, keep stirring it. Add in the cinnamon, coriander seeds, nutmeg, and allspice berries. Keep stirring until golden brown.
Later mix in a blender with the crushed pound of morro seeds until it becomes a fine powder. (In Latin America, cooks have the added benefit of local mills to do this, but for city dwellers, a blender will do). Your yield will be high, perhaps enough to last you all summer. In this case, store extra horchata powder in airtight container, like the ones you use for cereal, or in glass jars.
Now to make a liter of horchata you’ll need 2 cups of water, a cup of milk (almond milk adds an extra dimension of nutty flavor to the drink), and 8 table spoons of your horchata mixture. Mix the 8 table spoons of mixture with some of the water and strain through a cheese cloth. You may want to strain it back and forth a couple of times to get the most out of the horchata powder. Once strained, add in the rest of the water and milk and add sugar or honey to taste. Garnish with a stick of cinnamon, serve ice cold and enjoy.
Wary about the taste? Why not try some taro bubble tea at T-magic and see if horchata might interest you!
Catherine, Hudson County Community College, Read my blog and follow me on Twitter
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