Classic Mexican Horchata is a cold, creamy, cinnamon drink served over ice. This popular drink is family-friendly & tastes great on hot days!
- 1 cup uncooked white rice any type
- 4 cups water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 12 ounces evaporated milk (canned) = 1 can
- 14 ounces condensed milk (canned) = 1 can
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 cups fresh water additional
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Rinse and drain uncooked rice in a wire mesh strainer. Place drained rice in a large bowl. Snap 2 cinnamon sticks into big pieces and add them to the rice. Add 4 cups water; stir to combine. Cover bowl; refrigerate a minimum of 6 hours (overnight is even better!).
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After fully soaking, it's time to puree it! You will need to blend this in two batches, because of the sheer volume of liquid. Remove cinnamon sticks, and tear ONE of the big pieces into smaller pieces. Place these small pieces into a blender with HALF of the soaking water and rice mixture.
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Blend (puree) water, rice and small pieces of cinnamon sticks on High speed for 3-4 minutes, until smooth. Place wire mesh strainer over a large, 2-3 quart pitcher; pour puree through strainer into the pitcher. This strains out pulp remaining from cinnamon sticks (discard pulp). Repeat with the other half of soaking water, rice and small pieces of another cinnamon stick.
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Add evaporated milk and sweetened, condensed milk to the pitcher. Add vanilla and 4 additional cups of fresh water. Stir horchata very well to combine, because condensed milk is very thick!
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Once fully blended, cover pitcher and refrigerate until it's cold. To serve, pour horchata over ice cubes. Sprinkle each cup of horchata with ground cinnamon, and serve!
If desired, you can add ½ teaspoon of vanilla to the horchata (optional). Store horchata, covered in refrigerator up to 4-5 days. You will need to stir the horchata again well, before serving.