Description of the exotic drink. What are the flavor and aroma characteristics of the product? Chemical composition, benefits and harms. How to cook horchata and what to combine with? The Spaniards call this drink their white gold. First of all, they appreciate the benefits of horchata, while she also gives pleasure to her outstanding gastronomic qualities.
Useful properties of horchata
Regular use of the product will not affect your figure, because the calorie content of horchata is quite low. At the same time, the drink will help to achieve a serious health-improving effect:
- Get a boost of energy quickly … Fans of the national drink believe that it tones up much better than coffee and tea. This is due to the content of various types of sugars, which are very quickly converted into energy and have a strong invigorating effect.
- Reduce cholesterol levels … The components of the drink dissolve harmful deposits on the walls of blood vessels, regulating blood pressure, preventing atherosclerosis, stroke, heart attack. In addition, this effect is cumulative. You will stop drinking horchata, and its ability to dissolve cholesterol will continue for some time.
- Unload the kidneys … Due to its pronounced diuretic effect, this drink helps to reduce the burden on the excretory system. Your kidneys and urinary system will especially appreciate it. It will also serve as an excellent prevention of calculus formation in these organs.
- Strengthen the heart muscle … This is mainly due to the presence of a component such as potassium in the product. It is he who provides invaluable benefits to the human motor. In addition, it improves blood circulation, removes excess fat from the structure of organs, helps to cope with arrhythmias, and prevents coronary heart disease.
- Balance the nervous system … Reducing the load on the nervous system is reflected in improving moral well-being, normalizing mood, getting rid of insomnia, migraines, and apathy. Depressive thoughts go away, interest in life appears.
- Prevent the formation of gallstones … The ability to dissolve cholesterol prevents the formation of cholesterol stones in the gallbladder. A strong choleretic effect helps to remove small bilirubin stones through the ducts, thereby avoiding surgical intervention. Even 10 years ago, a complex abdominal operation was used for this. Today, laparoscopic (through small incisions) is more often used, which is not so difficult in terms of recovery. But, you must admit, it is always more pleasant to be cured with the help of a delicious drink than to go to the surgeons under the knife.
- Maintain youth … Vitamin E contained in the drink is responsible for this ability. It helps not only in the production of collagen and elastin, which keep the skin wrinkled and elastic, but also participates in the improvement of internal organs, increasing their resource of work.
- Stay in good spirits … Popular wisdom says: if you want to improve your mood, eat a chocolate bar. The Spaniards believe that there is a much more wonderful way to stay in good spirits - to drink horchata. It is more useful, and contains no less components needed to raise the mood.
- Increase the chances of early parenting … The thing is that the drink is an aphrodisiac, which also increases sperm motility and the ability of the egg to fertilize.
Contraindications and harm of horchata
But no matter how the Spaniards praise their national drink, colorfully describing all its wonderful properties, one should not forget that horchata can also bring harm. First of all, this applies to people prone to food allergies. Since the drink contains nuts, and they are strong allergens, you need to start taking the product with one sip. If discomfort does not follow, you can increase the dose, but still gradually.
The drink is not recommended for children, pregnant and lactating because of the possible development of unexpected reactions and exacerbation of chronic diseases.
It is strictly forbidden to horchat:
- Have hard gallstones … There are two main types of gallstones - hard and soft. And if the horchata can dissolve soft (cholesterol) stones, then, alas, it will not be possible to do the same with hard (bilirubin) stones. Therefore, you need to be very careful. Juice will remove small stones, but large ones can get stuck in the ducts, then they will have to be removed surgically.
- Suffering from stones in the bladder … If, in the first case, the choleretic effect can harm, then the vaunted increased urinary ability will serve as a disservice. It can also provoke the movement of stones, which must be crushed with special preparations or the shock wave method before being withdrawn.
How to cook horchata?
The preparation of a drink for our compatriots is both simple and complex at the same time. Its simplicity lies in the absence of any sophisticated culinary activities. And the difficulty lies in the absence of all the ingredients in the public domain.
First of all, you need chufa - its tubers are also called peanuts or peanuts. It is rare in Russian stores. It is much easier to order it online.
Soak overnight in different vessels 200 g of chufa, 100 g of almonds, 50 g of barley. In the morning, remove the peel from the chufa and almonds, combine the ingredients and grind them as much as possible in a blender, adding 200 ml of water and 200 g of sugar. Wipe through a sieve, remove any debris and add another 2 L of water. Add a pinch of vanilla sugar and cinnamon. Serve chilled, with ice if desired.
Consider the features of cooking horchata in different countries in the form of a table:
| Country | Chufa | Almond | Sugar | Milk | Water | Spices / cereals |
| Mexico | - | + | + | - | + | Cinnamon, vanilla |
| Salvador | - | + | + | + | + | Hikaro, sesame |
| Nicaragua | + | + | + | + | + | Hikaro |
| USA | - | - | + | - | + | Barley, rice |
Features of using horchata
In Spain they like to tell the legend that the name of the drink was given by the king of Aragon. One day, while walking in Valencia on a hot day, he asked for something refreshing. The girl brought him a drink, calling it "chufa milk". He tasted it and said that "This is not milk, this is gold, beauty!". However, later historians came to the conclusion that this is a beautiful fairy tale, and not a real story.
However, neither tourists nor traders are upset by this. They continue to present history as the truth, sometimes even embellishing it. They are especially fond of telling it in orchards - cafes specializing in the sale of horchata. The most famous in Valencia is the "Horchateria Santa Catalina".
The answer to the question of how horchata is used is best known in Valencia. It is here that there are old cafes specializing in serving this drink. It is customary to serve it cold. As a rule, it is garnished with national bread sticks called fartons. They come with or without a sweet filling, most often sprinkled with powdered sugar. The drink is also served with a crispy rosquilletas biscuit.
For those who have tried horchata for the first time, it may seem too cloying, but the Spaniards cannot imagine their life without this delicacy.
It is sold in almost all local cafes and restaurants, as well as in supermarkets in a wide variety of containers - glass, plastic, cans and tetra-packs. Horchata shelf life is 72 hours if stored in a refrigerator. If it is stored for longer or on regular shelves, it contains preservatives, which reduces its beneficial properties.
How to make horchata - watch the video:
We have told you how to cook horchata. Now all that remains is to decide whether to make the drink ourselves or to trust the culinary skills of the Valencians by going to hot Spain. In any case, you should definitely try the drink.
