Tiger Nut Milk (Horchata de Chufa)
Horchata de chufa, or tiger nut milk, is a delicious plant-based milk alternative. This tigernut milk recipe is raw, vegan, paleo, and nut-free.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: approx 3 cups
- Category: non-dairy milk
- Method: raw
- Cuisine: vegan
Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced tiger nuts* + water for soaking
- 2 - 3 cups water**
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- optional: 1 tbsp maple syrup***
Instructions
- Cover tiger nut slices with water in a glass jar and let sit for 1-2 hours to allow the tiger nuts to rehydrate. Then strain, discarding the water that they were soaked in.
- Add the soaked tiger nuts as well as all remaining ingredients (including 2-3 cups of fresh water) to a power blender and blend until completely smooth.
- Strain the milk through a nut milk bag into a large glass bowl. Once most of the liquid is strained through, carefully squeeze the bag to make sure as much of the liquid as possible is released into the bowl. Discard (compost or re-purpose) the pulp in the nut milk bag.
- Transfer the milk into a glass jar. Store in the fridge and consume within 3 days.****
Notes
* You can also use whole skinned tiger nuts, though you'll need to use a bit less water (2 cups of water should be good). Note if using whole tiger nuts, or a mix of tiger nuts and regular nuts, I recommend soaking them longer (at least 3-4 hours).
** Use more or less water depending on how thick / creamy you want the milk to be.
*** I really like this milk with the maple syrup. It's sweetness gives the milk a delicious flavor and takes the edge of the palpable tiger nut flavor. Alternatively can sweeten with a soft medjool date or two as well if you prefer.
**** You can also freeze some of the tiger nut milk for later use if you prefer. Just make sure not to fill the storage container to the top when freezing to allow the frozen milk room to expand. For the refrigerated milk, note that there will be some sediment at the bottom of the jar / bottle after a day or so, which is normal -- just shake the milk up as best as you can and ignore the sediment. The other thing is that if you notice your milk develops a sour smell (like on day 4...), that's a sign it's gone off and it's time to make a new batch.