Post #305090 by BastardoSaffrin on Wed, May 9, 2007 6:35 AM

On 2007-05-07 09:44, The Gnomon wrote:
Horchata has the same linguistic roots as orgeat and, though they are somewhat related, they are two different things. The almond milk that goes into making orgeat is a kind of horchata. The original horchata (supposedly) was a nut milk popular in ancient Egypt made from chufa (tiger nut). Horchata has since come to refer to a variety of vegetable milks; chufa, rice, almonds, and more. Soy milk could probably be called a type of horchata.

Exactly. I purchased some almond milk and it was very similar to horchata. But unlike Scottes' almond milk, that one (Almendrola, a Spanish brand) has a strong almond flavor. Well, the fact is that I tried to brew some orgeat. I wrote before I have no idea what orgeat syrup looks like, so that was a big deal for me, and anything I get would be fine. Well, not anything, but I can't tell "That's not orgeat syrup", because I can't compare.

Well, so I had orange flower water, and almond milk, but I just couldn't find almond extract. Well I did, but in big bottles for professional cooks that were like 40$, and honestly, I prefer spending that money in a good rum. So it was like:

• I brew a simple syrup with 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water. Let it cool.
• Added 1 cup of almond milk.
• 2 tablespoons of orange flower water.
• 1 oz light rum, to preserve.

I tasted that brew and for me it was OK. It had almond flavour, it was sweet and has that orange flower water aroma in it. Slight rum flavour, but not the first one. But, as I told, I don't know if that's exactly like orgeat syrup, but can anyone tell me if that recipe can give something similar? Anyway, I'm doing the best to get the almond extract. Anyway, that almond milk I used gave the almond flavor.

I'm a pain in the ass, I know, but thanks a lot!

BS