Mexican Horchata: Creamy Cinnamon Rice Cooler for the School Thermos

Combine the rice and broken cinnamon sticks in a heatproof bowl and pour the hot water over them. Cover and leave at room temperature for at least 4 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked
• 2 cinnamon sticks (canela), broken into pieces
• 4 cups hot water, for soaking
• 2 cups cold water, for blending
• 1 cup whole milk or evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• Ground cinnamon, for dusting
• Ice, for serving

Instructions

1. Combine the rice and broken cinnamon sticks in a heatproof bowl and pour the hot water over them. Cover and leave at room temperature for at least 4 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.
2. The rice will swell and soften and the water will turn cloudy and smell strongly of cinnamon. That cloudiness is the starch you are after, so do not drain it away.
3. Tip the entire soaked mixture, cinnamon sticks and all, into a blender. Add the 2 cups of cold water.
4. Blend on high for a full 2 minutes. Stop, scrape down the sides, and blend for 1 minute more. Under-blending is the most common reason homemade horchata comes out thin.
5. Set a fine mesh sieve lined with a double layer of cheesecloth or a nut-milk bag over a pitcher and pour the mixture through, pressing and then wringing to extract everything.
6. Whisk the milk, sugar, vanilla and salt into the strained liquid until the sugar has fully dissolved. Taste and adjust the sweetness; it should taste slightly sweeter warm than you want it cold.
7. Chill for at least 2 hours. The horchata will separate as it sits, which is normal and not a fault.
8. Stir or shake well, pour over plenty of ice and dust each glass with ground cinnamon. It keeps 4 days in the refrigerator and travels well in an insulated thermos.
9. Horchata reached Mexico by way of Spain, where Valencian horchata de chufa is made from tiger nuts, and was rebuilt around the ingredient that was actually abundant: rice. The result is thinner, cleaner and far more cinnamon-forward than its ancestor. For a dairy-free version that packs just as well, replace the milk with an equal amount of oat or almond milk and add an extra tablespoon of sugar to compensate for the lost body.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 196 kcal
• Protein: 3g
• Fat: 2g
• Carbohydrates: 41g
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 22g
• Sodium: 120mg