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

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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.

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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 a former 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.