How to make tigernut horchata without sugar

The tigernut horchata is one of many people's favorite plant-based milks (no doubt mine is!), and you'll love to know that horchata homemade it's milk with infinite and highly valued nutritional properties, but the sugar that has traditionally been added often holds us back from enjoying it. But this is going to change today, with this sugar-free homemade horchata recipe and super delicious!

I hope you find in this post all the Important details when preparing Valencian horchata. You will also see 2 ways to prepare horchata:

Things to keep in mind when making horchata at home

1. Making traditional Valencian horchata is about as easy as it gets. We saw it on the recipe that you have the blog from a few years ago. During this time, one thing has changed that you'll love: now, we have the Vegan Milker to make plant milks (and of course horchata) in the easiest and most efficient way. In fact, the Vegan Milker (popularly known as "Chufamix") was created as a tool to make horchata at home, and it lets you squeeze ouuut all the flavor from tiger nut in a super easy and very clean way (as well as from almonds, hazelnuts, rice... or any milk you’re going to make, among others). So today we’re making the recipe with the Chufamix, although you can use a cotton mesh if you prefer.
2. Tigernut is very sensitive to temperature, and must not be exposed to more than 20 ºC when you leave it to soak (otherwise, the fermentation process speeds up, and the horchata won't last even 2 days). That's why, and especially from spring and summer onward, it's important, when you soak the tiger nuts, let it soak in the refrigerator if the ambient temperature is above 20 ºC.

Sugar-free horchata recipe

Ingredients

• 200 grams of whole tiger nuts*
• 1 liter of water
• 4 pitted dates**
• lemon zest (optional)

*The ratio of 200 g of tiger nut per 1 L of water This is the ideal ratio for making an exquisite horchata in the traditional Mediterranean style. If you prefer a lighter horchata, you can increase the amount of water (or reduce to 150 g of tigernuts/1L of water).

**Dates are the trick to sweeten horchata without using sugar. If you want to use sugar instead, substitute the dates for 60 g of sugar white (or cane if you prefer).

1) Preparation con the Vegan Milker Chufamix:

1. In a bowl, put the 200 gr of tigernuts with enough water to cover them generously, and leave them to soak for 8 hours (remember to keep them in the fridge in summer, and do not exceed that time).
2. After 8 hours, remove it from the refrigerator and drain.
3. Put half of the soaked tiger nuts in the filter of the Vegan Milker (approximately 100 g), add the 4 pitted dates and the lemon peel (optional), and place the filled filter in the container that is part of the Vegan Milker pack.
4. Add 1 liter of water into the container (the Vegan Milker filter will be covered and filled with the water as well).
5. Insert the blender into the filter and blend for approximately 2 minutes. Add the rest of the soaked tiger nut in the same filter and blend for two more minutes. With this blending, you are completely emulsifying the tiger nut, and extracting all its flavor.
6. Once blended, remove the blender and let it rest for 15 minutes with the filter filled with the blended tigernut in the water, so the water becomes fully infused with the flavor of the tigernut (in the refrigerator if the room temperature is warm, to prevent the tigernut from macerating).
7. Next, lift the filter out of the water and insert the Vegan Milker pestle into the filter, squeezing out all the pulp. Press several times, squeezing and extracting all the tigernut flavor. Your horchata is ready! Cover it with the lid of the Vegan Milker container and leave it in the fridge to chill.
8. Let it chill for at least 2-4 hours, and always shake before serving.

• Look at the following notes to see that you can get even more horchata with a second extraction.

2) Preparation with a traditional or Chinese cotton mesh

1. In a bowl, put the 200 gr of tiger nuts with enough water to cover them well, and let them soak for 8 hours (remember to keep them in the refrigerator in summer, and do not exceed that time).
2. After 8 hours have passed, remove from the fridge and drain.
3. Put the soaked tiger nuts in a bowl, add the 4 pitted dates, the lemon peel (optional), and add 1L of water to the container.
4. Beat for 2 minutes approximately.
5. Remove the blender and let it rest for 15 minutes with the filter full of the blended tigernut in the water, so the water becomes fully infused with the tigernut flavor (in the fridge if the room temperature is warm, to prevent the tigernut from macerating).
6. Next, in another bowl place a cotton mesh (or a chinois) and pour the blended mixture into it. Strain well, lifting the mesh, closing it, and draining all the pulp completely. Squeeze several times, pressing to extract as much flavor as possible from the tiger nuts. Your horchata is ready!
7. Cover it (or transfer it to a bottle or pitcher) and leave it in the fridge to cool.
8. Leave it for at least 2-4 hours to chill, and always shake before serving.

More things you'll love to know to get the most out of tigernuts

• You can add a pinch of cinnamon! It’s an ideal option to change up the way you drink it or to enjoy a different horchata from time to time (I personally really like doing this). With a touch of cinnamon, it’s also ideal if you’re going to use that horchata when making sponge cakes.

• Remember that you can do a second pressing of the pulp with which you just made horchata! (that’s why we also love the Vegan Milker), and get even more quantity. Simply add about 400 ml of water to another container, insert the filter with the pulp inside, blend again for 2 minutes with the hand blender to emulsify, and press out all the flavor using the mortar. Store in the fridge that almost another half a liter of horchata! You’ll see it’s a bit less concentrated than the first, but it’s also delicious. You can add it to the previous horchata (knowing you’ll make it a little lighter), or what I always do is keep it separate, either to drink or to make a dessert or smoothie.
• You can use the crushed pulp to add to salads, yogurts or—what I love—to breakfast muesli to enjoy with yogurt and fruit. You can also use it to make bread or cakes (you'll see how delicious they turn out with that hint of tigernut in the background!).
• Finally, a fun fact! Did you know that chufa is also known as tiger nut? Chufa is a small, sweet tuber that grows on the plant Cyperus esculentus, also known as "hazelnut sedge" or "edible sedge". In English, these chufas are called "tiger nuts" (hence the literal translation, tiger nuts), although they are not nuts, but tubers. I heard it just a little while ago and thought it was a very fitting name for the lovely tiger nuts.

You can see how the vegan milker works to make horchata (and any other plant-based milk) in the video they made, which you’ll see below. Despite being a very homemade video, it explains very well how to use it and how to make homemade horchata (remember that the Vegan Milker was created by master artisans of Valencian horchata, so they have a lot to share and a lot we can learn from them):