Name: Chichen Itza’s Horchata Recipe
Total time: 15 min
Yield: Makes 7 ½ cups
Ingredients: 9 cups filtered water; 1 cup grated or finely chopped piloncillo (6 ounces); 3 sticks canela (Mexican cinnamon); 3 ¾ cups long grain white rice; ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons whole almonds; 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract; Light brown sugar, to taste

Print RecipePrint Recipe

By Ben Mims

Aug. 14, 2019

For Gilberto Cetina, chef at Chichen Itza, horchata should be as simple as possible. His method, though, improves the basic recipe by making a “tea” with the canela and piloncillo before blending it with the rice and a small amount of almonds for added richness. Adapted from Gilberto Cetina.

Read MoreRead Less

9 cups filtered water

1 cup grated or finely chopped piloncillo (6 ounces)

3 sticks canela (Mexican cinnamon)

3 ¾ cups long grain white rice

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons whole almonds

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Light brown sugar, to taste

In a small saucepan, bring 3 cups water to a boil. Add the piloncillo and canela, stir until the piloncillo is dissolved, then let steep overnight at room temperature.

Place the rice and almonds in a medium bowl. In a medium saucepan, bring the remaining 6 cups water to a simmer, then pour in the canela-piloncillo “tea.” Pour the simmering mixture over the rice and almonds and let sit at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours.

Using an immersion or stand blender, blend the rice and water mixture, then pour it through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. Stir in the vanilla extract and add brown sugar to taste. Refrigerate the horchata until chilled before serving over ice.

Ben Mims

Ben Mims is the cooking columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He has written three cookbooks and has worked as a food editor and recipe developer for several food media publications, such as Lucky Peach, Food & Wine, Saveur, Food Network and Buzzfeed/Tasty.