Horchata is the name given to a variety of plant-based milks across Latin America. The drink was brought to the ‘new world’ by the Spanish who conquered Latin America; however, the origin of the drink actually lies in West Africa. The drink is known as kunnu aya in West African Countries such as Mali and Nigeria, and it is often made with tiger nuts (as is the case in Spain). Records show that this drink was made in Valencia as early as the 23th century.
In Latin America the milk is usually made with rice that has been soaked overnight instead of tiger nuts, it is sweetened with sugar and often flavoured with vanilla and cinnamon, the resulting beverage is normally served ice cold. The drink is reminiscent of rice pudding in a way but is also intensely refreshing! So, for this week I decided to showcase horchata for El Salvador.
El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America, it’s official language (like much of Central and South America) is Spanish or Castellano as it’s sometimes referred to. However, some of the native indigenous languages have also survived in El Salvador. The culture in El Salvador has similar stems to most of the rest of Latin America, which has seen a combination of African, Indigenous and Spanish traits intertwine to create new and vibrant legacies. Also, like much of Latin America the Catholic Church has played a big role in shaping customs and traditions.
In terms of cuisine El Salvador has also been historically reliant on Maize and there are again many similarities with the rest of Latin America. From pausas (known as arepas in Colombia and Venezuela), fried cassava, cows feet soup, fried plantains with cream for breakfast, three milk cake, and horchata, El Salvador has a lot to anyone who wants to venture into their world and try!
As I mentioned above Horchata in Central America is usually made with rice and this is also sometimes the case for El Salvador. However, they have also put their own twist on the drink my sometimes making it out of morro seeds, the resulting drink is light brown in colour and one that I would be very keen to try. Sourcing morro in England just hasn’t been possible for today and so I’ve turned to the rice version instead. This Salvadorian version is made with just water, whereas in some other countries it’s made with milk or even evaporated milk to make much thicker creamer versions.
With thanks to multiculturalfamilyrecipes for their recipe today. (I made half the amount which gave me 2 full glasses).
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 cup of rice
3 cups of water
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
Sugar to taste
Methods
Soak the rice in the water overnight.
In the morning add vanilla, cinnamon and sugar (I would start with 2 tbsp and go from there!). Blend for about 2-3 minutes until the rice is all ground up.
Strain through a muslin cloth and serve over ice.
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