When tasting the offered drink, King of Valencia James I smiled and said: “This is not milk, it is gold”.
Tiger seed milk (horchata de chufa) is smooth like cream, has a sweet, refreshing aftertaste, fragrant with cinnamon, yellow lemon zest and is best when chilled. American magazine Good Housekeeping likened it to the “super drink” in Spanish cuisine.
Tiger seed milk is often eaten with farton cakes. Image: Turismo Alboraya
Visitors to the Valencia region at the end of the harvest will see tiger nuts (earth almonds or chufa) piled up on a large expanse of land that looks like small sand dunes in the desert from afar. Their outer shell is wrinkled, but this is a food that is considered healthy. Locals believe that horchata is more effective than oysters, chocolate or any other male enhancement tonic.
Ani de la Prida, co-founder of a company that supplies tiger nut milk, says the nut is full of healthy substances like fiber and iron, calcium, vitamins C and E, and is especially gluten-free. lactose sugar. Currently there are 19 towns in the region that grow this nut, as Valencia’s mild climate is ideal for the tree to grow.
Set amidst a field of tiger nuts, Alquería El Machistre is home to the Horchata Museum and Tiger Nuts. Image: Alqueria El Machistre
Horchata has been popular with Valencians since the 13th century, and tiger nuts also appear in many dishes. Legend has it that James I de Aragon, king of Valencia from 1238 to 1276, was offered a drink made from tiger seed milk by a young woman in the town of Alboraya. When James I asked what this was, the girl said “It’s chufa milk”. James I replied: “Wrong beautiful girl, this is not milk, it is gold”.
Inspired by this story, horchata de chufa is still fondly referred to as “white gold”. Usually, people will eat long sponge cake, sprinkled with sugar on top when drinking horchata in the middle of the meal. This habit is likened to the British like to eat cakes and drink afternoon tea.
Recipes for tiger nut milk may have varied over time or geographical location, but the Valencians mostly followed the same simple process and recipe from the 13th century. The seeds were dried, soaked in water and ground. crushed, then add water along with some cinnamon and lemon zest. Today, other flavorings can be added such as vanilla and sugar to enhance the flavor, but many believe that the traditionally simple recipe produces the best milkshake.
Spaniards often dip fartons in tiger seed milk. Image: The Unconventional Route
To learn more about the history, visitors can visit Alquería El Machistre, home to the Horchata & Tiger Nuts museum in the town of Alboraya. This place has been open since 2007, visitors need to make an appointment in advance. The tour begins with a tour of a sprawling, whitewashed manor house with mostly 18th-century furniture, followed by a museum specializing in nut milk in a small room.
Visitors can easily find this drink at cafes, ice cream parlors or restaurants Horchaterías specializes in this drink in Valencia. For example, Horchateria de Santa Catalina; Horchateria Vida; Horchatería Daniel…
Mr. Minh (According to BBC)
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
