Horchata

UPDATE! ---- We got a Ninja! - Check out the bottom of this post for updated steps. :-)
My horchata is a slightly modified method suggested by a friend. His Momma apparently makes the best in the world.


Horchata = Cinnamon Rice Milk


My method is super simple, it's just time-consuming. I'm able to make about 1 gallon with three cups rice and three cinnamon sticks. It's just the perfect mild, non-overwhelming flavor. More cinnamon sticks equals more flavor. =D

Recipe: 3 cups long grain rice 3 cups water 3 cinnamon sticks Approximately 12-13 more cups water 1 large bowl (I use a gigantic mixing bowl) Straining materials (tips at bottom) 1 1/2 cups sugar (or to taste) 1 Gallon jug, or several smaller to equal Funnel Soak 3 cups rice, cinnamon sticks, and cups of water for a minimum of 8 hours. Cover, but don't seal. Do NOT pour out the water.  Get your straining method ready before you start blending. Scoop out approximately 1 cup of the soaked mess and water in to a decent blender and add enough additional water to equal 4 cups of stuff in the blender. Don't forget to get 1 of the cinnamon sticks in there too! Blend baby blend! (suggestions below) Strain, strain, strain in to your large bowl. Set bowl aside for next batch. If you're straining well, you'll have a mass of pureed rice and cinnamon bits. Set this aside for now. Do steps 2 through 4 again. Set aside rice bits. Do steps 2 through 4 again with whatever is left of the soaked mess. Remember the strained out rice and bits from the three batches?  Throw it back in the blender. Add enough additional water to equal approximately 4 cups of stuff. Complete with steps 3 and 4. Now, at this point, you should have just about 1 gallon of rice milk in your gigantic bowl. Stir it, and pour in to container(s). You stir, because some of it will settle, and you don't want to miss out on the good stuff.  Add your sugar. If using multiple containers, be sure to divide evenly amongst them. Refrigerate! Dispose of remaining after 4-5 days.

 

Straining tips and suggestions:

We, haha..... I.. spent a lot of time trying to figure out the best way to strain this mess. Each time getting better.

We'd tried:

• Cheese cloth (40%)
• Regular strainers (50%)
• Grease splatter screens (20%)
• Nut Milk Bag (15%)
• Chinois (will let you know)

The results in parentheses represent approximately how much of the rice-bits mixture made it through that particular straining method. 

And yes, it's called a "Nut Milk Bag", and I still giggle like an idiot every time I have to say it out loud. I found a recommendation online to use it when making almond milk, so did some research and ordered one. It's AMAZING! 


I did try the nut milk bag, pouring the mixture right in to the bag, and it was good, but not great. Then I laid the bag flat over my splatter screen, and we're getting significantly fewer rice bits. I'd say we're at about 5% instead of the 15% with the bag alone. Obviously, since we now have 3 layers of straining power. I'm also considering ordering a couple more bags.

When I pour my horchata in to the jugs, I line my funnel with my Nut Milk Bag, to give it that one extra strain before it hits the jar.

Cheese cloth isn't terrible, it's just nearly impossible to get the cinnamon chunks out of, and frankly, I want stuff I can quickly clean, reuse, and not have to buy again in a week.

We're working on getting a Chinois that has a fine enough mesh for this. I'll update this post when I find one.

Be sure to shift your contents around, no matter what your straining method. Spots of the mesh will become clogged with bits, and you want stuff to break through. We used a spatula to move stuff around on our splatter screens, and for the nut milk bag you just squeeze the milk out. Stop giggling. =P

Blending:

My blender is a hunk of garbage, and I can get a decent blend in 1.5 to 2 minutes. Some recipes say go for 5.

This part is really up to you. The more you blend, the more cinnamon ricey goodness flavor you get.

Do NOT burn out your blender! 

Some blenders cannot handle running on high liquefying its crunchy contents for 20 minutes nearly straight. So be sure if your blender is as terrible as mine, unplug it, and give it a breather in between batches.  I actually run mine on high for about a minute, and then stop for a minute or so, and do it again. Like I said, hunk of garbage..... In all fairness, it was awesome years ago. At 15 years old, it's just ready for retirement.

Serving suggestion:

The horchata will separate while it sits. Be sure to give the jug a healthy shake before serving.

I give it a few seconds to sit after shaking it before pouring to allow some of the remaining bits to settle in the bottle instead of in the glass.

Some days, we like ours a little creamier/thicker, so we'll poor about 2-3 oz of regular milk in to an 8oz glass and then top it off with horchata.

Where to get stuff?

Nut Milk Bag
Splatter Screens

Enjoy!!!!

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UPDATE! ---- We got a Ninja!
We picked up one of those new fangled Ninja Kitchen Systems (It's a blender...). Now, thanks to our new amazing blender we have a new process:

Using same recipe as previously noted below:

• blend the dry rice for 2-3 minutes, no water, no cinnamon (This will give you some rice flour.)
  
• soak for 8 hours, just like before
  
• divide rice mixture in to two batches
• with first batch, add enough water to equal 64 ounces (If using Ninja, it's marked on the pitcher.)
• blend for 3 minutes
• using Nut Milk Bag lay flat in funnel, so you have two layers of filter
  
• pour through funnel, shift bag as needed to let fluid flow through
• squeeze bag as needed to get remaining liquid, careful not to let rice bits slip in to bottle
  
• discard rice bits

Do the same thing to the 2nd half of rice mixture. Done!


We have so little debris left, we don't even see it anymore. We drink the entire bottle every time. Plus, this whole process takes about 10 minutes once you've completed soaking.