Horchata
Template:Short description Template:About
Horchata (Template:IPAc-en; Template:IPA), or Template:Lang (Template:IPA), is a name given to various beverages that are generally plant-based but sometimes contain milk.<ref name="ocss"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In Spain, it is made with soaked, ground, and sweetened tiger nuts. In Mexico, it is made with rice, cinnamon and other ingredients and it is well known as a type of Mexican agua fresca.
Etymology
The name probably derives from a Latin word for barley, the term Template:Lang, which in turn comes from Template:Lang (barley), related to a Mediterranean tradition of grain-based beverages.<ref name="Rios et al, 2017">Template:Cite journal</ref> The Italian and Maltese Template:Lang and the French and English orgeat have the same origin, although the beverages have diverged and are generally no longer made from barley.<ref>Lobscouse & Spotted Dog: Which It's a Gastronomic Companion to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels : Grossman, Anne Chotzinoff; Thomas, Lisa Grossman Template:ISBN</ref>
History and composition
A barley drink originated in ancient Egypt, where the Romans got to know it as hordeata, from the Latin word for barley, hordeum. The main ingredient changed in time to tiger nuts, which were brought to the Iberian peninsula in the 8th century, during Muslim rule,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and became a staple ingredient in the area of Valencia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is estimated that during the 11th century it began to spread throughout Hispania (now Spain and Portugal).<ref name="ocss">Template:Cite book</ref> There are 13th-century records of an Template:Lang-like beverage made near Valencia,<ref>Clifford A. Wright, Mediterranean Vegetables, 2012, Template:Isbn, s.v. 'chufa'</ref> where it remains a common drink.
From Spain, the concept of horchata was brought to the Americas. Drinks called Template:Lang or simply Template:Lang came to be made with white rice and cinnamon instead of tiger nuts.<ref name="ocss" /> Sometimes these drinks had vanilla added,<ref name="dietary_fiber_and_health">Template:Cite book</ref> or were served adorned with fruit.<ref name="ocss" /> Similarly, flavored plant-based beverages are sold in various parts of the world as varieties of Template:Lang or Template:Lang.
Varieties
The drink now known as Template:Lang (also sometimes called Template:Lang<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> or, in West African countries such as Nigeria and Mali, Template:Lang<ref name="dfh">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="newmilks">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="fatflush">Template:Cite book</ref>). It is made from soaked, ground and sweetened tiger nuts.<ref name="ocss"/><ref name="spainonafork/horchata">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="bake-street/horchata">Template:Cite web</ref>
The Valencian or Template:Lang is made with dried and sweetened tiger nuts (Cyperus esculentus).<ref name="ocss" /> This form of horchata is now properly called Template:Lang.<ref name="ocss" /><ref name="dietary_fiber_and_health" />
It remains popular in Spain, where a regulating council exists to ensure the quality and traceability of the product in relation to the designation of origin.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The majority of the Spanish tiger nut crop is utilised in the production of Template:Lang. Alboraya is the most important production centre.<ref name="fst">Template:Cite web</ref> In total, sixteen Valencian municipalities grow tiger nuts protected by the quality seal, the only one that guarantees its Valencian origin, which in aggregate covered around 485 hectares of tiger nut fields, with an approximate annual production of 8,000 tonnes, which is normally all sold by the time it is harvested.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In rare instances, various forms of aflatoxin could be present in Template:Lang.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Template:Lang (es) is made of rice, sometimes with vanilla, and typically with cinnamon.<ref name="ocss"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
It is the most common variety of Template:Lang in Mexico.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the United States, it is popular in Template:Lang and Mexican ice cream shops.<ref>Emeril Lagasse, Horchata Recipe : Food Network Taste of Mexico, 2007.</ref><ref>Horchata Recipe & Video - Martha Stewart.</ref><ref>Refreshing Rice Drink: Horchata de Arroz by Karen Hursh Graber 2003 (MexConnect).</ref>
In Alvarado, Template:Lang is scented with flowers of the Aztec marigold (Template:Lang or Tagetes erecta).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Horchata lojana
In Ecuador, Template:Lang is a vivid red-coloured infusion or tea, consisting of some 18–20 different plants and herbs, and is most famous in the province of Loja (hence its common name of horchata lojana).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Some of the herbs frequently used are escancel or bloodleaf (a type of amaranth), achiote or annatto, hibiscus, lemon verbena, lemongrass, spearmint, peppermint, chamomile, lemon balm, and rose geranium, among others. It is not at all similar to the sweet, grain-based horchatas of other Latin American countries, but simply shares the same term.
The urban and rural populaces who consume this drink, notably in the Loja province, report improved overall well-being and cognitive benefits.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> They also believe that this herbal infusion promotes a healthy digestive tract, improves focus and memory, and acts as an hepatic anti-inflammatory and a diuretic. There is valuable scientific evidence for the purported health benefits of each of these various ingredients—on their own and combined—including counteracting genotoxicity in the body, as well as antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Rios et al, 2017" />
Template:Lang is made of ground melon seeds.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>[[[:Template:Cite web]]</ref>
Horchata de morro or Template:Lang
In the Central American countries of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica, Template:Lang refers to the drink known as horchata de morro or Template:Lang. Its base is made by grinding jicaro seeds, locally referred to as morro seeds, with rice.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In Nicaragua, it is also made with semilla de jicaro and rice as a base; these ingredients are toasted or dry-roasted, then ground into a fine powder. The powder is then mixed with water or milk, topped with ground cinnamon and, finally, sugar.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cocoa beans are sometimes added to the horchata, also toasted and ground with the base.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Horchata as a flavor
Horchata, as a flavor, makes appearances in ice cream, cookies, and other sweets, and other products such as RumChata, an alcoholic tribute to the beverage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Some smoothie shops, cafés, and McDonald's in the U.S. have been experimenting with horchata-flavored frappés.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
External links
- The Regulating Council of Denomination of Origin "Chufa de Valencia": Quality council regulating tiger nut horchata in Valencia
- Article about Horxata, Ltd.: Valencian Horchata in New York