shing natural vegetable drink, as well as healthy and energetic that is prepared with water, sugar and tiger nuts. An autochthonous drink from Valencia that is consumed throughout the country in summer and is also popular internationally. And it can be obtained both in an artisanal way and at an industrial level. The horchata, turns out to be the healthiest as the most recent studies affirm.

The horchata, in Valencian, orxata de xufa; from the Italian orzata and this in turn from the Latin “hordata”, “from barley”, it comes from a small tuber called chufa after a careful production process. 

The first written references in Spain about the recipe for this drink date back to the late 18th century and are collected in the book “Mayors of House and Court” of 1786. Recently, what could be the first manuscript where horchata is prescribed has been discovered. of tigernut for curative purposes, it is a document of the II Count of Soto Ameno (Mayor of Alicante in 1812), which alleviates his disease thanks to the treatment based on tigernut milk prescribed by Doctor Alcázar.

The name that was given to this drink is explained in a story set in the Reconquest . According to this, he says that a villager brought the king of the Crown of Aragon some horchata. The king was fascinated by the taste and asked what it was. The girl replied that it was tigernut milk (llet de xufa, in the Valencian language), the name by which the drink was known. The king exclaimed: “Açò no ese llet, açò és OR, XATA!” that is to say “This is not milk, this is gold, beautiful!”. A play on words between “or” and “xata” originated, giving the supposed origin to the Valencian word “orxata”, a way of writing it in said language.

How to make horchata at home

• The way to make a homemade horchata is easy, just follow these steps:
• Soaking : the tigernuts are soaked for 24 hours .
• Washing : they are washed well, shaking the water so that all the dirt that they could carry is detached . It is advisable to repeat the washing so that the tiger nuts are well cleaned.
• Grind them: we proceed to grind them as best as possible.
• Add water : shaking well to dissolve. The most appropriate proportion is 250 grams of tigernut per liter of water, if you want it to come out thicker, you can add up to 400 grams of tigernut. The sweetness is to the consumer’s taste, for this it is enough to add sugar or honey.
• Strain with a very fine strainer . The best option is to use a metallic one and then a thin canvas previously moistened with water and cast over the strainer. A second casting can be carried out, if we see that with a filtering there is a suspended solid. It is important to indicate that the horchata thus prepared lasts two days and that it should be kept in the refrigerator.

Nutritional value of horchata

Although its appearance is similar to cow’s milk, its nutritional value is different. It provides an energy of 70 Kcal per 100 ml (a 250 ml glass contains 170-180 Kcal.). Presents 12.2 g / 100 ml of carbohydrates (9-10 g / 100 ml of sucrose and the rest starch). A fiber content of 0.9-1.03 grams per 100ml, which makes a glass provide 2.5 grams of fiber.

Its protein content ranges between 0.6 and 1.4 g / 100ml, with a significant proportion of arginine, methionine, leucine, isoleucine and leucine, as well as glutamic acid and aspartic acid, which makes this drink a good alternative for people who have lipid-lowering diets in which the individual should not eat eggs, cheeses and meats.

It has a good fat profile , 77% oleic, 11% palmitic and 9% linoleic, in addition to not having cholesterol. And a lipid content that ranges between 2.4-3.1 grams per ml, of which only 0.5 grams are saturated fat.

Regarding its mineral contribution, we will say that potassium (424-567 mg per 100 grams of edible part) and phosphorus predominate. Calcium and magnesium are found to a lesser extent, as well as sodium (34-41 mg per 100 grams of edible part), iron (0.46 mg per 100 grams of edible part) and zinc. And already in cup quantities, copper and manganese.

It has vitamins C and E, both of which have a great antioxidant capacity, which makes tiger nut milk a highly recommended drink to drink. Tigernuts also contain: catalase, phytothion, peroxidase, pseudoperoxidase, lipase, glycerophosphatase, invertase, amylase, aminalase, saccharamylase and polyphenols.

The health benefits of horchata

Tigernut horchata can be considered a very healthy soft drink that can not only be taken in the summer season because it is refreshing, but also throughout the year given its good nutritional properties.

Due to its caloric power (100 kcal per 100 g) it is useful for the elderly and subjects with a state of malnutrition.

It should not be forgotten its antioxidant capacity due to its content of vitamins E and C, which together with its composition in fats, mainly monounsaturated, makes it useful in the nutritional advice of patients at risk of suffering from any type of cardiovascular disease.

Contributes to the reduction of cholesterol and triglycerides. It reduces LDL cholesterol (the “bad”) and increases HDL (the “good” cholesterol) thanks to its contribution of oleic acid.

Due to its content of oleic acid and arginine (a precursor of nitric acid, which favors the vasodilator effect), it is good for arteriosclerosis.

Its content in certain amino acids makes it good in lipid-lowering diets.

Its low sodium content and the absence of stimulating substances (caffeine and tyramine) is good for hypertensive people.

The tigernut milk without sugar is good for diabetics because of its carbohydrate content (it has sucrose and starch and it does not have glucose) and because it also has arginine which releases the hormone that produces insulin.

It does not contain gluten so it can be taken by celiacs, as well as those who do not tolerate or are allergic to cow’s milk or its derivatives.

The low sodium content makes tiger nut horchata a good drink for patients with chronic liver disease, mild or moderate kidney failure (severe may be subject to severe fluid restriction), in patients with nephrotic syndrome and pregnant women.

As it has digestive enzymes (catalase, lipase and amylase), this drink is recommended for people who suffer from heavy digestion, intestinal gas, diarrhea and avoid bloating.

Due to its high starch content, it is a good antidiarrheal.

It is ideal for children and athletes as it provides easily assimilable energy since it mainly contains starch and sucrose.

Types and varieties of horchata

• Al natural : it can be found liquid, slush or frozen.

• Natural pasteurized : it is the natural tigernut horchata that has been subjected to a pasteurization treatment below 72 ° C, without additives or technological aids.

• Sterilized : it is tigernut horchata subjected to a technological process that transforms or eliminates, totally or partially, its starch content and processed after its packaging by means of a heat treatment that ensures the destruction of microorganisms and the inactivity of their forms of resistance.

• UHT : it is tiger nut horchata subjected to a technological process that suppresses or transforms, totally or partially, its starch content and processed by means of a UHT heat treatment that ensures, after aseptic packaging, the destruction of microorganisms and the inactivity of its forms of resistance, in accordance with what is defined in the section on “Microbiological characteristics” contemplated in Royal Decree 1338/1988, of October 28.