Horchata – What is it?

On the banks of the Nile, a white milky drink was consumed. Made from chufas grown along the riverside. When I was a kid, the closest we ever got to Horchata was a handful of ‘Tiger Nuts’ which we had to buy from the chemists. In Valencia, and indeed, the whole of Spain, Horchata and Fartons are a popular drink for both children and adults alike. ‘Fartons’ are soft bread sticks coated in a sugary icing used to dip into the milk which is made from the Tiger Nuts, or Chufas as they called in Spain.

An old legend tells that the conquering king, Jaume l, fascinated by the young handmaiden who was offering him a glass of chufa milk, told her “aixo es or, xata” (“that”s gold, my dear”). Legends apart from that sovereign pleasure, “horchata from the Latin “hordeata” – made with barley – is pure Mediterranean essence, white, liquid gold attributed with healing powers and a pioneering summer refreshment, despite its antiquity and is a thirst-quencher that goes straight to your palate.

But moreover “chufa”, “horchata” and “fartons” are nowadays the star ingredients for making desserts and dishes in nouvelle cuisine, taking into account that, in Spain, there is really only one chufa nut, the genuine one, the one grown in the Valencian farmlands of l’Horta Nord, mainly in the sandy soil of Alboraya.

Chilled or iced horchata is something more than just a refreshment and, although it is drunk all year round, its consumption becomes massive when the summer heat arrives. It is actually an excellent source of vitamins C and E and minerals such as phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, calcium and iron, along with starch, unsaturated fats, proteins and some enzymes that help digestion.

It seems incredible, but analyses demonstrate that horchata has more iron, magnesium and carbohydrates than milk itself, with the added advantage that it doesn’t ’t contain either lactose or caseins or cholesterol and it has rather more oleic acid than olive oil.

Doctors, biologists and naturalists such as Antonio José Cavanilles or Pío Font Quer have written essays defending the benefits of horchata. The first of these, a renowned botanist and tireless traveller described the process of cultivating chufa in his “Observaciones” and assured that “in Madrid they take it as a refreshment”. In his book “Flora Espanola“, published in 1850, doctor Font Quer also declared that it was “warming, desiccating, expels flatulence, fortifies the bowels, alleviates colic, induces urine and menstruation, remedies nausea and dizziness and is used in rinses for ulcers of the mouth and gums. The scholar Sebastian de Covarruvias, Felipe ll’s chaplain and advisor of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, defined chufa nut in his dictionary of Castilian ad Spanish Language as a “a small, sweet fruit that grows attached to its roots, under the ground, and is a children’s sweetmeat”. Although it is no longer used for medicinal purposes, experts in nutrition continue to recommend it for its nutritional properties and its capacity to quench thirst.

Apart from scientific essays, though, chufa or cyperus esculentus, is a plant related to papyrus and
grown for thousands of years in the Sudanese region Chuf. It is also known that a white, milky drink was consumed on the banks of the Nile, made from chufa nuts grown along the riverside and chufa seeds even appeared in tombs and sarcophagi from the first Egyptian dynasties. Chufa cultivation spread from Egypt to North Africa, from where the Arabs introduced it to the Iberian Peninsula and Sicily in the first centuries of the Middle Ages. There is written evidence from the 13th century of a “Ilet de xufa”, the probable ancestor of modern “horchata. The latest novelties are ecological horchata, chufa oil production and its use as a spice in Holland, where the sativius variety is greatly appreciated as an exquisite, exotic condiment.

The chufa is a perennial plant whose fasciculated roots, quite short in length, bear the tubers which
can be rounded or “armelas” and elongated or “llarguetas”. It is planted in spring, between April and May the aerial part develops in June and from that moment on the rhizome begins to grow on its roots. The growth cycle ends in October and it is harvested in November and December although sometimes, if the crop is late, it can be harvested in January.

The “obrador” (workshop) is the place where the “horchateros” make their horchata. The process begins by washing the chufas to get rid of roughage and, after draining, they are then dried. Next, they are put to soak for no more than eight hours, to avoid the loss of sugars, periodically stirring and changing the water then, they are washed a second time, disinfected and rinsed. The next step is crushing, which takes place in a cross-beater mill, where a uniform flow of water is simultaneously added, about three litres per kilo of chufas, Then, they are pressed a second time and the fibre and starch are recovered. The pulp obtained is macerated with more water and it is then pressed and sifted. The preparation process for horchata is completed by dissolving in the desired proportion of sugar. Once this has been done, all that remains is to cool the mixture and thus obtain a liquid or iced horchata depending on the level of cold it is subjected to. Conservation temperature should always be below two and a half degrees. lt is then ready to serve.

The cottage-industry “horchaterias” in Alboraya make horchata every day some of them reaching production levels of 1,000 litres daily. Nowadays in Spain, there is only one kind of chufa and it grows in the loose, sandy soil of the Valencian district of l’Horta Nord in the mild local temperatures,
ideal for its cultivation. Although chufa is grown in other countries like the lvory Coast, Ghana, South Africa and Egypt, there it is only consumed fresh and is not used for making “horchata”.

Horchata, however, is not alone now, as in Valencia a horchata is unimaginable if not accompanied by “fartons”, a product invented by the Polo family in the decade of the sixties. Since then, an iced horchata and half a dozen well-heated “fartons” make a delicious summer snack and one of Valencia’s most traditional.

In the early sixties, the Polos set up business as bakers in Alboraya and it was then that they decided to try out an idea they’d had in mind for years; to create a product for “dunking” in horchata, as a substitute for the hard bread that had been used up until then. That initiative gave rise to “fartons”,
a kind of light, natural cake, made only with oil, sugar, flour, water, yeast and salt and which is unique in texture, healthy and cholesterol-free.

The head cook Ximo Séez, of Casa Ximo in Port Saplaya, has been investigating for a number of years
and making new chufa and horchata—based recipes. Traditional desserts like the three textures crème caramel with cream and foam, where milk has been replaced by horchata, a new dessert of horchata and fartons and rice pudding with horchata, make spectacular new dishes. At present, Séez is looking into using chufa in salads and grated or sliced for the exquisite meat or fish carpaccios, which it gives a touch of chufas characteristic moisture and earthiness and, in fact, healthy innovative food doesn’t ‘t have to be just associated with what happens in the kitchen. The last challenge that Saez has set himself is horchata caramel.

Surprises involving the world of horchata don’t stop there, however as the latest novelty is ecological horchata, unique in the world and hand-made by Mon Orxata, a company set up by a group of young entrepreneurs with new ideas and enthusiasm for innovation and whose
aim is to make horchata the real alternative to chemical-based refreshments.

A total of 3,000 kilos of ecological chufa has been produced this year in Alboraya. The first ecological plantation was set up in 2004 and the forecast is to increase production gradually over the coming years.

Mon Orxata distribute their products in modern carts, distributed around the cities of Valencia and Barcelona, externally similar in appearance to the old mobile “horchateros”, and in the Mercado de Colon icecream parlour in Valencia. Mon Orxata let you visit their facilities in Alboraya and they also organise guided tours around the plantations and the “obrador”.

ln Alboraya, it is precisely Avenida de la Horchata that welcomes visitors, also concentrating the largest number of cottage-industry “horchaterias ” open all year round, some of them, such as Daniel, Bonaire and Panach still remaining from the “horchateros” who initially set up business here, and let you try a traditional, refreshing drink that, since ancient times, has been surprising kings, clergymen and scholars.

Recipes from Spain with Bill & Sheila

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