Traditional Horchata Recipes

Steps:

• Grind rice into very fine, cornmeal-sized pieces using a blender or coffee grinder.
• Transfer ground rice to a medium bowl, pour warm water on top, and drop in cinnamon sticks. Cover and refrigerate, 8 hours to overnight.
• Remove the cinnamon sticks. Place mixture back in the blender and puree until as smooth as possible.
• Line a sieve with a couple layers of cheesecloth and strain the mixture. Squeeze cloths to extract as much flavor as possible.
• Stir in milk, sugar, and vanilla extract until sugar has dissolved. Chill completely, at least 2 hours.
• Serve over ice, garnished with cinnamon.

Steps:

• Heat water, sugar, and cinnamon in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until sugar is dissolved, whisking occasionally, about 5 minutes. Allow mixture to cool for 10 minutes.
• Pour rice milk into a large pitcher.
• Stir sugar water into rice milk. Serve chilled or over ice.

Steps:

• Combine the rice and cinnamon stick with 4 cups water in a blender; pulse to coarsely grind. Transfer to a large bowl and add another 4 cups water; soak at room temperature for 3 hours.
• Puree the rice mixture in a blender in batches until smooth. Strain through cheesecloth or a fine sieve into a pitcher. Mix in the sugar; chill.
• Stir the horchata well before serving. Pour into ice-filled glasses; garnish with cinnamon sticks and a dusting of ground cinnamon.