Not too long ago I discovered a Mexican drink called Horchata. For those who are unfamiliar with Horchata, it is a Mexican drink traditionally made from ground almonds, rice, barley or tigrenula. Horchata is typically available at Mexican food restaurants, convenience stores, and taquerias. While until recently I was only able to have this delicious Mexican drink when going out in a Mexican restaurant, recently I discovered Juanita’s Horchata Mix at a local Mexican grocery store here in Santa Cruz, CA. Now I can enjoy a glass of Horchata at my leisure and at home whenever I am in the mood for a glass of this creamy and delicious drink.
Horchata is distinguished by its creamy texture. Although not strictly speaking a dairy product (although the food Juanita Horchata Mix contains milk derivatives), Juanita Horchata Foods are instant. The mix has what I think is a creamy texture that is similar to fresh dairy milk. Creamy texture and flavor in Food Juanita’s Horchata Instant Mix, using nondairy cream as the base of the Horchata mix. Nondairy creamer is the number two ingredient, after sugar, and the combination of these two main ingredients is likely responsible for a lot of the creamy goodness in the Horchata mix. Rice flour also provides a heavy list of ingredients for Food Juanita’s Horchata Mix, which is the reason, drink mix what most of sugar and nondairy cream can get away with calling themselves Horchata. As for the ingredients, however, I find that Juanita’s Esca Instant Horchata Mix is a close enough approximation of real Horchata for my purposes, and I enjoy the flavor to a great extent.
Another benefit of Juanita’s Foods Instant Horchata Mix is that the mix can be made by the glass or by the jar. A container of Juanita’s Foods Instant Horchata Mix includes a serving spoon that allows one to prepare a glass of Horchata individually made from a glass of water and a mixing bowl of Horchata. It takes five scoops of Juanita’s Instant Horchata Mix to mix up a thirty-ounce jar of Horchata, so one of the ingredients of Juanita’s Horchata Mix is that it tends to disappear faster if you regularly mix through a full jar.
For the actual preparation, I find that Juanita’s Horchata Instant Food Mix works best if you use hot water instead of cold water to mix it. Although the horchata is served cold, hot water will help the horchata powder to dissolve in the water. When the horchata mix is completely dissolved in hot water, you can use ice or the refrigerator to cool the horchata before serving. The package instructions recommend using a power blender to make the horchata, but I have not found this necessary if I use hot water to dissolve the horchata mix.
In conclusion, Juanita’s Instant Horchata Mix is an adequate substitute for real Horchata that can be made in the comfort of your own home. While it really doesn’t compare to the taste of real Horchata, I rather enjoy the flavor and texture easily as an instant version of the traditional Mexican Horchata from Juanita Foods< /a>.
